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Angie Harmon talks Rizzoli & Isles, TNT show begins July 12

By April MacIntyre Jul 12, 2010, 5:27 GMT

"Rizzoli" - Angie Harmon - © Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos

"Rizzoli & Isles" is the latest from TNT and stars Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander.

Based on characters created by best-selling author Tess Gerritsen, the series launches Monday, July 12, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT), following the sixth-season premiere of TNT’s hit series The Closer.

Take one tough blue-collar North End-type Boston detective Jane Rizzoli (Harmon) and a Brahmin braniac medical examiner Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander), and together their unlikely pairing is the engine for the character-driven series that goes from modern day serial killer hunts to Albert DeSalvo-land, the old Boston Strangler who is resurrected in episode two.

Jane and Maura work together to figure out the “who, what and why" of Boston’s most complex cases.

Bonus casting sees Brian Dennehy, Donnie Wahlberg, Lorraine Bracco, and Chazz Palminteri working in this new series.

Bracco is cast as Angela, Jane’s intrusive mother; Chazz Palminteri as her father, Lee Thompson Young as Det. Barry Frost, Jane’s partner; Bruce McGill as Det. Vince Korsak, Jane’s seasoned former partner; and Jordan Bridges as Jane’s brother, Frankie, a patrol cop who hopes one day to become a detective.

Angie Harmon spoke to journalists last week about her new role, and how she nearly dropped out of the business:

On why this role stood out for her:

Angie Harmon:  I think the thing that made this stand out the most was just the fact that you know it's – there's a lot more character to these characters.  I mean you know we see their back stories, we see their present situations you know and I think that to me was a lot more interesting than just the regular procedure you know or – it's like four heads standing around a body spelling it out for you.  And you know I mean it's a lot more of a roller coaster ride.  It’s definitely got a lot more grit to it. 

And you know we don't pretend to be the smartest people there.  We don't – you know we're not like, and this is how we did it and now we're just going to show you how we go catch them.  It's – you know the audience gets to figure it out with us.  But also, I mean, with the caliber of actors that we ended up getting, I mean you know we've got Lorraine Bracco plays my mom, Chazz Palminteri plays my father, Brian Dennehy, Donnie Wahlberg in the first (episode).  I mean, we've just got Billie Burke from ((inaudible)).  We got all kinds of fantastic actors. 

I think that you know speaks for itself – Bruce McGill you know and Sasha and it's just like – I think that kind of shows that it's not just a typical procedural show, that you know we have these actors because they can come here and actually act and show the different colors of actual you know people.  I mean, no person is just one color, no person is just who they are at their job 24/7.  And that was really you know what I was excited about.  (Plus being) on TNT I knew we'd have a lot more creative freedom you know to tell the stories that we wanted to tell.

And I've spent a lot of time with the actual homicide unit in Boston and it was amazing, and I thought OK, well I can't play a homicide detective, then I'll just be one, and now I have the best of both worlds. 

On her chemistry with co star Sasha

Angie Harmon:  When we were trying to find the woman to play Maura -  it was kind of like a no-brainer when Sasha came in, and we knew it was her and she did such a fantastic job, and she got the job right then and there in the room and it was great. 

We actually played a little joke on her, she's a great lady, and we've had a really fantastic time.  I mean, you don't often get what you ask for and I got exactly that.  I got a show, it was on cable that I could you know shoot 5 months a year and go be mommy the rest of the time, and to have a cast and crew that I really love and adore and respected, and I got all of that.  And we just had the most amazing time.

And every now and then we'll come across a review like the person didn't like it and we're like, what, really, how could you not like it, because I think all of us like it so much and we have such a great time at work, we've just really been blessed, and we're all kind of like standing here going, wait a minute, how did this happen? 

On how her character Rizzoli and Gabrielle Dean fall in love in the books, and how closely they're planning on following that storyline.

Angie Harmon:  I just finished "The Sinner" and it's just been so great because coincidentally enough we're shooting a couple of episodes with Billie right now.  So the story has a lot to do with Dean and Jane and all that.  I mean, do I think they're going to get these girls hitched first out of the gate? 

Absolutely not and I think it's more fun to watch them date and watch them scramble and try and figure out their relationship and things like that.  And I kind of almost felt like this was like a prequel to Gabrielle and Jane.  I almost feel like I'm sort of seeing them before the stories take place. 

On her interpretation of the character of Rizzoli:

Angie Harmon:  She's witty, she's funny, and a lot of people - they don't I guess see me as a funny character because I don't usually get to play them.    I'm usually cast in the more dramatic roles, and it's been a really fun time playing her humor and playing her attitude. 

And she's a complete tomboy so I did sort of a really intense study on men and how they relate to each other in the way they walk and the way they hold themselves and the way they sort of position themselves in the hierarchy just in something as simple as a conversation. 

Some of them are threatened by another one.  Some of them aren't.  Even with you know my costar Lee, I keep trying to figure out how do they know which handshake to do?   They know if they're going to do this handshake and then the finger grip and then the gun, and turn it into a snap and a chest bump, and they've got that whole figured out, and I cannot figure it out to save my life.

I think the things that I like the most about playing her is she is such a tomboy and that's very different from me and from how I am, and her humor.  Those are the two things I love about her the most.

On how she heard about the series:

Angie Harmon:  TNT offered it to me.  I was pretty much getting ready to retire and thinking that I'm going to move back East with my kids and raise my little girls and go be mommy, and I wasn't really finding the roles that I thought that I wanted to play really. 

And so I made a deal with God, and I was like, OK, I would love something on cable, shoot 5 months a year, and then I get to be mommy the rest of the time, I like to be funny and strong and intelligent. 

And literally the next day it was on my front porch because my manager lives down the street.  So  I feel very lucky, and very blessed because you don't often get exactly what you wanted and hoped for.  And working with Sash and with Bruce and Lee and Jordan and you know every (guest star), and Lorraine (Bracco) and Chazz Palminteri who plays my father.   It's just the caliber of actors that we've had come through here.  All of us are just sort of pinching ourselves thinking how on earth has this happened, and it's just been fantastic. 

I would love to say that I'm you know waiting for the anvil to fall, but I'm not.  It's like I think I'm in a place in my life where I can really accept good you know things and – I don't know.  I guess you really should be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. 

I'm thrilled that they offered it to me.  I'm thrilled that it's with TNT.  And you know they understand what it's like to be a working mommy.

On Bruce McGill and his character's arc:

Angie Harmon:  I mean, I don't want to give too much away just because I want you to enjoy the roller coaster ride. 
You know it's not one of them little bumper boat ride.   It's a roller coaster.  It's got its ups and its downs and it's a precarious situation, and that's one of the things I think I love the most about the show is that it's the characters, and they truly are characters in their relationships with each other, and you know – and that's life.  That's how people truly are. 

I love the fact that my character with Bruce - we have a relationship – the two characters have a relationship that is as close as partners you know knowing that each other's lives is in each other's hands, and then Bruce and I are you know pretty close as well. 

I mean - we're both from Texas, we both understand each other, we both get each other – like when I'm having trouble with a scene I'll just go over to him and be like I have no idea what's happening here, what are we doing.  And he's been such a wonderful sounding board, and obviously, he's a tremendously talented actor. 

And we were just so lucky and blessed that he said yes to this because obviously.  I mean, you being a fan of his you know what he brings to the table.  

I think when you take him, you put him next to Lorraine Bracco and Chazz Palminteri who plays my father and Brian Dennehy's in the first episode, and Billie Burke and Lee and Jordan and you know me and Sash, it just becomes this giant pot of fantastic and rich characters and it's like watching people. 

And that to me is what good television is.

On how the books have influenced her role:

Angie Harmon:   I hadn't read any of the books of the Rizzoli character, and I have since we started.  And it's so funny because you know in some sort of serendipitous way I keep reading – I keep reading one – like, for example, Billie Burke is in this episode right now and I just finished reading "The Sinner" and it's so interesting because you know first of all I'm reading a book of a person that I'm playing. 

And then here's this person that she's in a relationship with, and what we're shooting now we're not in a relationship.  So it's like I'm getting like a prequel and a history to these people in the book.  It's very odd.  It's very weird because it's like the Twilight Zone because here I am shooting the history of these two characters and I'm reading their future.  You know what I mean?  So it's interesting.  It's almost like our head writer Janet is writing things that happened before the books. 

So I think that's kind of a really cool and interesting aspect of the story of the characters for our viewers because anyone that does follow the books, you're sitting here watching these two characters live, but if you know the books you're knowing what's happening so you're watching them – you know what happens to them before they know what happens to them, I guess is what I'm trying not say. 

And it's been very interesting having that happen you know in each episode that we do because the episodes they don't follow the books exactly.  I mean, the characters are pretty dead on.  We would run out of episodes and we would run out of things to do, plus not to mention the fact that you know we want our audiences to enjoy what's happening not already know what's happening. 

So yes, it's been really fun.  I've never actually had that happen before in a character that I play.  So you know here I am acting with Billie and we're doing our thing, and all I keep thinking about is do you know what happens, and it's very funny.  But yes, it's been really, really interesting and really fun.

TNT's 'Rizzoli & Isles' will have its series premiere on Monday, July 12, at 10:00 pm Eastern.