Courtesy of NBC
J. Smith-Cameron doesn't recall a lot from the first time she appeared on "Law & Order: SVU," way back in Season 13. It was an hour of procedural television, shot in 2011, and she played a rape victim's mother named Diane.
"I wish I could say I remembered it very vividly, but it's been a long time," says the actress, whose TV credits include "Succession" and "Rectify." Season 13, Episode 8, titled "Educated Guess," "had Natasha Lyonne in it, and Carrie Preston — who I just recently worked with her on her show, "Elsbeth," coincidentally." She smiles. "I remember one of the scenes, where Benson interviews my character, and I remember being really struck by Mariska."
Fifteen years later, Smith-Cameron is back, kicking off a recurring guest stint in the procedural's Season 28 premiere. Taking the part of jury consultant Gwen Sharpe was an easy decision, she tells TVLine, given that the character was designed as a peer for Mariska Hargitay's Capt. Olivia Benson.
"Don't get me wrong," Smith-Cameron says. "Prestige TV, my little ride in the last decade with 'Rectify' and 'Succession," and now I'm doing a show for FX, and that's tremendous." But when the Dick Wolf series came knocking, "I said 'Yes, please!'" she recalls. "Especially when I knew my scenes would be with Mariska, because I just admire her."
We talked with Smith-Cameron — whose recent credits include "Hacks" and "Murdaugh: Death in the Family" — about what to expect from Gwen over the course of the season. Read on to hear what she had to say, especially about a certain line from the premiere.
What is Gwen's connection to Olivia's work?
Courtesy of NBC
TVLINE | Olivia Benson, who is a cop and suspicious of everyone and very savvy, quickly seems to have an affinity for Gwen, and vice versa. What do you think each of them sees in each other, in a game-recognizes-game way?
J. SMITH-CAMERON | That's a really good question. Part of it is I think that, as odd as this may sound. that Mariska and I have real chemistry together. [Laughs] We shot a little bit out of order, so we'd shot the scene in the elevator — when I said, "Maybe you'd like to drown your sorrows," that scene — and Brenna Malloy, our fabulous director said, "It sounds like you were planning a date to go on." [Laughs]
TVLINE | It did cross my mind for a minute when I saw it, and I wasn't mad about it.
New things about Olivia Benson, at the 11th hour! [Laughs] I just think we really connect. And I guess our characters are allowed to have that kind of chemistry, too. From what I gather from Michele [Fazekas, showrunner], who created the role, as well, is that they were looking for a relationship for Benson to have who could be a confidant and maybe a mentor, someone a little bit older who is maybe not in her direct line of work, but certainly in a tandem kind of profession. And, you know, what happens in the first episode gets explained a little bit in a later episode. It's a little bit more than it seems.
TVLINE | Gwen has a line that mentions she has a more personal connection to Benson's work. Michele has said that you'll be around for at least three episodes. Do you have any update on that, and if so, when we might hear more about what Gwen means there?
Well, that's what I want to know, too! [Laughs] I have another television job coming up [FX's "Seven Sisters"] that doesn't shoot in New York. We knew we could probably fit in three, and then possibly more. Mariska and I would like to more, and I think Michele's interested. I mean, it's a handy character...I hope I'm not betraying a secret of anything, but there's almost a feeling that I sometimes work with the Innocence Project. I make that comment about how I didn't have the stomach for this, day-in and day-out. I think there's a real art of Gwen that really is trying to figure out how to get true justice in situations, and when you can't, what you can hope for. So you see different applications of that impulse, and I think Olivia is going through that.
She's been at the job for a while, and she's... not disenchanted, but worn down, you know? It's punishing. And I think to meet someone who admits "that's too hard for me" but that she sees how I might work for these expensive law firms but also work pro bono... Gwen is a fascinating character that I think she can see herself reflected in.
What do you think of Gwen? Let us know in the comments!
