The perfect complement to Vincent D’Onofrio’s character in Law &
Order: Criminal Intent (Robert Goren) was his partner in crime (no pun
intended) Alexandra Eames, played by the unique Kathryn Erbe.
She calls herself a “blue collar actor”, but in reality she’s so much
more than that. Kathryn began her career as a member of the Steppenwolf
Theatre Company and starred in some critical-acclaimed plays, A
Streetcar Named Desire and The Grapes of Wrath among them.
I remember watching her in a movie called Rich in Love. It is one of
those films featuring some true gifted actors, not exactly “movie
stars”: Ethan Hawke, Piper Laurie, Albert Finney and Kathryn herself. It
was such a great experience, as Erbe’s portrayal of Lucille Odom
displays enough expertise while allows you to take a glimpse of her work
ethic.
However, every great actor finds a way to expand their own horizons by
taking the most challenging roles available for them. In some cases, it
doesn´t necessarily implies earning millions of dollars or having your
name all over the place in showbiz TV shows on a daily basis. Actually,
it takes so much more than that.
This is exactly what Kathryn Erbe did in Oz. Shirley Bellinger, a woman
in death row, was the perfect character to showcase her skills, and
great enough to disturb the audience and got them thinking for a change
about the nature of evil and the darkest side of mental illnesses.
Kathryn Erbe was completely exposed as an actress both physically and
emotionally, during every scene of Oz in which she appears. Bellinger is
a mother who drowned her own daughter by sinking her car in a river.
She's so disconnected from the real world that uses kinky, emotionless
sex as the only way to express her feelings.
The execution scene of Shirley Bellinger shows how great Kathryn Erbe
is. No wonder why she stated later in an interview that after this
character, she knows how to check out and not be affected by all the
stuff she portrays on screen.
The cold murderer and evil mother beg for forgiveness just seconds
before being hanged, but the law was stronger than her survival
instincts. The whole sequence is extremely frightening and Kathryn’s
performance is raw, wild and perfect.
Fortunately, we will always have Alexandra Eames, her most memorable
character, to remind us that true friendship lasts forever. Kathryn
worked very hard and along with Vincent D’Onofrio endured long hours of
filming to create such a memorable TV show. Worth the effort, as she
embodied a tough and determined detective able to solve the most tricky
cases with the help of her brainy partner Robert Goren.
Even if the show never turned into any cheesy comedy à-la Bones to
appeal to a wider audience, Kathryn and Vincent are still the perfect TV
couple who gave us the best of their talent for almost a decade.
Pretty much as Vincent himself, Kathryn Erbe is a real actress whose
passion for what she does goes beyond shallow recognition by the media.
She knows exactly where she stands both as a woman and artist... and
that’s all that matters.
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