Academy Award nominee Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (“The Color of Money”) Chatted about appearing in “Law & Order: Organized Crime” Season 5, where she played Isabella Spezzano.
‘Law & Order: Organized Crime’
On her experience in “Law & Order: Organized Crime” she remarked, “It was fine! It was rigorous with long days but the whole enterprise is so well-organized.”
“It’s a well-oiled machine so things go pretty smoothly, and most of everybody has been there for a long time, so they feel quite at home, so that’s always nice,” she noted.
“It’s my second foray into the whole ‘Law & Order’ family… with different actors but it was great. It was fun,” she added.
Portraying Isabella Spezzano
On playing her character, she shared, “I did a three-episode arc because doing this show is a huge commitment of energy. It’s a big lift to do and I applaud any actor who commits to it because it involves long, long days. This show came at the right time for me.”
“It’s funny because earlier in the year, I played another Italian (who had to use an Italian accent), and it was just funny. It’s like my year of Italy, especially to play an Italian elder,” she elaborated.
Working with Christopher Meloni
On working with Christopher “Chris” Meloni, she remarked, “The story was good, and Chris [Meloni] is great; He is a dynamo, and he really, really cares, and that’s professionalism, and it is always appreciated.”
“Chris is in such a good form, and it is nice when the lead is respectful of everyone’s time. I met him years ago and he and I have the same management team, so I decided to go ahead and do it,” she added.
Lessons learned from ‘Law & Order: Organized Crime’
On the lessons learned from “Law & Order: Organized Crime,” she shared, “It taught me that I don’t want to do a whole series. It is just too much. I’ve been doing this for many decades, so you know how much you’ve learned over the years. If you do procedurals, the elements are more personal; it is all facts.”
“The guest stars bring all the emotions,” she noted. “So, these actors come in, nobody knows who they are, and the guest star has to come in and suddenly emote.”
“When you are in it, you are taking in a lot of information, where you are putting a human element, so you are delivering information, and that is challenging, and some people are brilliant at it,” she elaborated.
“Jeff Goldblum could memorize more information than anyone I’ve known in my life,” she said. “So, you learn how to do that and how to pace yourself. Then, you are not as nervous going into it.”
Oscar nomination for ‘The Color of Money’
Regarding her Oscar nomination for “The Coney of Money,” Mastrantonio said, “That was just a day many decades ago. It was fine, lovely, and it happened very early on. I was doing a play at the Public Theater, and Jane Greenwood was the costume designer and she found me a dress.”
“I did the matinee performance on a Sunday, and I got on a plane in my dress, and I just went to Los Angeles, and then, I turned around and came back. So, it was really more like a business trip than an event,” she added.
Advice for young and emerging actors
For young and aspiring actors, she said, “Learn your craft. Get somewhere you can act. Go to a regional theatre, and if you are going to cry each time someone gives you a note, then don’t be an actor.”
Mastrantonio continued, “We are like sports people; you do the play, and then you go to the sideline and someone says ‘that was really crap’ or ‘you were too sarcastic.’ I’ve worked with a lot of people, none on this show, who seem to think that the material comes to them even though it may not suit them. You need to go to the material to figure it out.”
“It’s more difficult to work in regional theaters because there are not that many and they are not as well-funded; everybody took a bit hit. Sometimes, I want to say to people to ‘create their posse’ and to find your posse of people,” she noted.
“Be anywhere in this country and just be creative,” she underscored. “Find your directors, find your actors and just do it. If you are going to New York and you are going to wait, you are going to be doing a lot of waiting.”
Stage of her life
On the title of the current chapter of her life, she said with a sweet laugh, “The Search for Solitude.”
“That’s where I am,” she admitted.
Mastrantonio defines Success
Mastrantonio furnished her definition of the word success. “I managed to live a life as an actor and that’s how I’ve been able to pay my bills and that’s how I’ve been able to raise my children,” she said.
“It hasn’t always gone my way; my choice was to be home with my children as much as I could, so we did decades of traveling,” she noted.
“The success of it all is that we are all together and we are happy and we have peace of mind. Also, we are still alive and thriving, so that’s success,” she explained.
Message for her fans and supporters
For her fans and supporters, she expressed, “I am so chuffed that I even have fans. I don’t know why anyone would pay attention to me.”
“I’m not being belittling in what I do, but I am appreciative of the attention paid for everyone involved in everything. If the fans don’t watch, then what we are doing is moot and pointless,” she elaborated.
Closing thoughts on ‘Law & Order: Organized Crime’
For fans and viewers, she remarked about “Law & Order: Organized Crime,” “I hope the fans enjoy the work. It was lovely; it was short-lived, which is a nice thing, and it also gave us structure to the year for various reasons.”
To learn more about Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and her filmography, check out her IMDb page.
