ON SET WITH... Ray Liotta

5 MONDAY Matt Wozniak is a veteran cop who’s working the system for his own benefit, indulging in corruption that’s been spotted by the FBI. Jennifer Lopez plays one of Matt’s team, Harlee Santos, who’s been forced by the FBI to go undercover, to be the rat in Wozniak’s team. Matt has some personal secrets too, one of which is that he’s bisexual. I didn’t see this coming in the script, I must admit, but the kissing scenes with Michael Esper, who plays Matt’s lover Donnie, are an interesting departure for me. 6 TUESDAY Today I have to cry on camera, and it’s not always easy to find that emotion that makes it look authentic. In the end I come out with a lot of tears because I’ve done the homework, I’ve immersed myself in Matt’s character to the point where I can imagine how he feels when he thinks about the suicide of his teenage daughter 19 years ago. It’s not hard to imagine myself in his shoes, the devastation he must feel. The waterworks are in full flow and I feel pretty satisfied with the scene when it’s done. 7 WEDNESDAY A lot of my scenes – as they are today – are with Jennifer [right] and that’s great. I must admit I worried at first that because her people were producing the series it would turn into The J-Lo Show with me very much in the shadows. Happily it hasn’t been that way, it’s been much more democratic. 8 THURSDAY It’s no secret that I argue my corner with the producers. Matt Wozniak would argue that what he does is for the ultimate good – because he puts the bad guys away – and I hope that when I make a stand it ultimately helps the production. We’ve been filming what might best be called a moment of intimacy and I’m not happy when I learn it’s been cut. The NBC Entertainment chairman has to step in to resurrect the scene. Then a similar scene is added, which is actually better. I guess I’m being diva-ish. In fact generally I’ve been more diva-ish than Jennifer – by about tenfold! 9 FRIDAY Some of the scenes are being filmed in a studio here in New York but we’re also out on the streets and while I know it’s a cliché, it’s true that New York has become a character in the show. Today we’re filming in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, where Wozniak and Santos are in a shoot-out with glass shattering all over the place. Safety precautions have been taken – the glass is safer than the real stuff and the bullets are blanks – but some of the onlookers may think a real raid is taking place. Somebody needs to tell them to tune in to Shades Of Blue to find out the truth... Shades Of Blue, Wednesday, 9pm, Sky Living.