The Menendez Murders’ Edie Falco

PREMIUM: Edie Falco, who has won numerous Emmys, Golden Globes and SAG Awards, talks to World Screen about playing the passionate and controversial defense attorney Leslie Abramson in Dick Wolf’s Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders.

The actor who gave life to such iconic fictional characters as Carmela, wife of mobster Tony, in The Sopranos and drug-addicted Jackie Peyton in Nurse Jackie is now taking on a real-life person in Dick Wolf’s Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders. The eight-part series re-examines the notorious 1990s case of brothers Lyle and Erik, who were tried for brutally murdering their parents, and sheds light on information that wasn’t revealed at the time.

WS: What appealed to you about the role of defense attorney Leslie Abramson?
FALCO: I like the fact that she was really good at her job; that she took an unpopular position defending the Menendez brothers and she gave it her all. She defended them according to the letter of the law, and that was impressive to me.

WS: Do you have a process for preparing for a role?
FALCO: I don’t really have a process for preparing for a role, not that I’m aware of; it might be an unconscious one. I read Leslie Abramson’s book [The Defense Is Ready: My Life in Crime] and I certainly looked at some videos, but I don’t know, whatever it is I do to prepare is unconscious. Because she is a real person I needed to see what she looked like, certainly, and how she sounded, which I only used as a guideline. I was not interested in imitating her, per se.

WS: Why is it important to revisit the Menendez case?
FALCO: It’s important because there is so much that was deeply [relevant] to the case that was not allowed in the trial; that was not allowed as one of the variables as to why this happened and how the brothers should have been treated afterward. There was a whole aspect of their lives that the public was not made aware of. People made snap judgments, myself included, when there were hugely important pieces that people didn’t know and Law & Order True Crime sheds light on a great deal of that.

WS: What does Law & Order True Crime say about prejudices and preconceived notions we may have?
FALCO: It says that we know what we are told. We know what we are fed by the media. We made a snap judgment about these boys. That was how I felt about this case. I think it did them a terrible disservice and I know that this is not the only time and place where this has happened.

WS: Do you think the Menendez brothers would get a different verdict if the trial were held today?
FALCO: I think they would get a different verdict if they were tried today. We know a lot more about child abuse and about [the mental state of abused people] now than we did at the time they were tried.

WS: I’ve been told that acting is very much about listening and reacting. What difference does it make for your performance if you are acting opposite another great actor?
FALCO: Acting opposite another great actor is why I do this. That brings the whole thing to another level. It takes you out of your head and into the heart of the character. Looking into the eyes of someone who is also doing the same makes my job 50 times easier. You can’t help but get better when you are acting opposite someone great.

WS: This is not your first experience on a Dick Wolf show; you were in Law & Order. What’s it like working on a Dick Wolf show? Is there anything that sets it apart from other acting experiences you’ve had?
FALCO: I worked on Law & Order and it’s a rite of passage in New York. Most New York actors have done Law & Order. It’s like a well-oiled machine. They all know each other. They know whatever way is the best way to tell a story that involves this kind of thing—law and order.

WS: You have played some of the first flawed women on television, including Diane Whittlesey in Oz, Carmela Soprano and Jackie Peyton. We’ve seen lots of flawed men, but fewer flawed women. What roles interest you?
FALCO: Flawed characters interest me because people are flawed. When the general public sees a character on television that appears not to have any of the same conflicts that they do, they are less likely to attach themselves emotionally. So, yes, a character with struggles is always going to interest me.

WS: What are some of your upcoming television, film or theater projects?
FALCO: I’ve done many movies in the last year [including] Landline, Outside In, The Land of Steady Habits [from writer/director] Nicole Holofcener and a bunch of other things that will be out hopefully in the next year or so.