‘Law & Order’: Jesse Metcalfe Previews Guest Spot in Ripped From the Headlines Episode

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Law & Order delivers as much a ripped from the headlines case as it gets with the March 20 episode.

In “Folk Hero,” a suspect becomes an underground hero after the murder of a health insurance company CEO, and Jesse Metcalfe guest stars as Sgt. Danny DeLuca, a Midtown cop who teams up with Detective Vince Riley (Reid Scott) to track down the shooter in the city, who seems to be in multiple places at once.

“I think the episode’s fantastic. It’s just action packed, super compelling. I think it’s really going to resonate with the fans of the show,” Metcalfe tells TV Insider. Below, he teases his guest spot.

Welcome to the world of Law & Order. What was the appeal of joining the show and the franchise in this way and of this guest role?

Jesse Metcalfe: Well, obviously I’ve always been a fan of the show and I’ve always wanted to be a part of the Law & Order universe and to get an opportunity to be a part of an episode as timely and ripped from the headlines as this one was a fantastic opportunity and I really feel like this is one of the best, if not the best ensemble cast on television. So to get to work with Reid Scott and Maura Tierney was thrilling for me.

Virginia Sherwood / NBC

Yeah, like you said, this is as ripped from the headlines as it can get. So preview the case and introduce your character and how he gets involved in the investigation.

I play Sergeant Danny DeLuca from the 27th Precinct. He happens to be in the area when this murder takes place. He has a previous relationship with Detective Riley and Lieutenant Brady. So he comes on the scene, he asks how he can be of assistance. Riley ends up taking off on foot to pursue the suspect and he asks Sergeant DeLuca to come along for the ride and help out and he’s up for it.

Talk about filming the episode because it’s so on the go.

It was challenging. Reid and I were running through lower Manhattan in 20-degree weather for eight straight days, but at the same time, it was incredibly thrilling. This was my first time ever shooting in Manhattan and the city brings such an authenticity into the moment. It just really cold you into the world and it’s really like you’re not acting. It was lot of fun and I think the scenes are intense. That’s what makes the episode so compelling. It’s like the first half of the episode is action-packed and then the second half of the episode, it’s incredibly intense and I have to give credit where credit is due to the director, Carlos Bernard. I screened the episode the other day. And I just think this is probably going to be one of the more popular episodes of the season. I just think it’s current, it’s really compelling, it’s superbly acted, and I’m just honored to have been a small part of it.

So what is Danny and Riley’s dynamic like?

They trust each other. Obviously, I was a little nervous coming onto such an established show with such an accomplished cast, and I felt like there was instant chemistry, and I think that’s due to the fact that Reid Scott was just incredibly welcoming and supportive and I had a previous relationship with the director. We worked together many, many years ago on the reboot of Dallas, so there was a shorthand there between Carlos Bernard, the director, and I. He’s a real actor’s director and he really let Reid Scott and I do our thing. We really leaned into us teaming up, at least for this one episode. And then because it was so action driven, it just kind of crystallized the chemistry that much more. We had each other’s backs in pursuit of this suspect.

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Did you come up with any backstory for Danny that we didn’t have time to see or did you get any backstory for Danny that just didn’t appear on the screen?

I wasn’t given a whole lot of backstory for the character, but obviously from an acting perspective, I always create a backstory for any character that I play. But look, my family is from Brooklyn. I’m an Italian American. I grew up in Connecticut, went to college at New York University, so I feel like I was made to play this role and shooting in lower Manhattan around NYU, it felt like a homecoming for me.

Are we going to see you again as Danny?

From your lips to God’s ears, I certainly hope so,

You can also pop up as another character. You could show up on SVU or Organized Crime. Do you have any preference? Would you want to play a different character, or would you want to do more with Danny?

I would love to build out this character. I think it would be really cool to see Sergeant Danny DeLuca again, helping out on another case and who knows, maybe there’s a storyline where Danny becomes a detective. I’m sure he has aspirations to do so, but I’m open to any opportunity in the Law & Order universe. I just think the caliber of writing and acting on these shows is excellent. And I couldn’t have asked to guest star on a better episode on a better show.

Law & Order, Thursdays, 8/7c, NBC

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