‘SOUTHLAND’

Cudlitz brings familiar face to cop drama

By RICK BENTLEY

McClatchy Newspapers

PASADENA, Calif. — Michael Cudlitz, co-star of the new NBC cop drama “Southland,” has one of those faces — you know you’ve seen him somewhere before but can’t remember exactly where.

“That’s great. That means I am doing my job,” says Cudlitz in an interview at the Langham, Huntington Hotel & Spa, where he and fellow cast members have come to talk with the press about the series.

Cudlitz’s face looks familiar because he has almost 20 years of professional acting experience, with credits such as “Beverly Hills 90210,” “Home Improvement,” “ER,” “24” and “Nip/Tuck.” The native New Yorker is probably best-known for playing Sgt. Denver “Bull” Randleman in “Band of Brothers.”

The “Band of Brothers” mentality is something Cudlitz uses in his role as a police officer.

“There is that sense of ‘who’s got your back?’ And the people you know who have your back are going through exactly what you are going through,” Cudlitz says. “When all else fails, you are really counting on the men and women who are next to you.”

The band of acting brothers of “Southland” (10 p.m. Thursdays, NBC) have taken over the time slot that was home for “Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law” and, most recently, “ER.” The show is a gritty look at the men and women who try to enforce the law on the streets of Los Angeles.

The main viewpoint of “Southland” is through the eyes of rookie cop Ben Sherman (Ben Mc- Kenzie). It is up to Sherman’s veteran partner, Officer John Cooper (Cudlitz), to teach the rookie and keep him alive. (Think “Adam 12” meets “Cops.”)

The one complaint Cudlitz has heard about “Southland” is that it offers nothing new.

“I am really curious as to which show those people are watching. There are going to be people who don’t like the show. That’s fine. But, if you don’t feel there is something new being told with our show, a new perspective, I really don’t know what you are watching,” Cudlitz says. “Our show doesn’t even have soundtrack like other shows that guide you to how you should feel.”

The actor knows his cop shows. He’s been on “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “NYPD Blue” and “CSI: Miami.”

Another difference in “Southland” can be seen inside the patrol car.

“We actually do all our own driving on the show. We have people who are working around us, protecting us, making sure we’re doing it safely. But if you notice, a lot of the actual coverage of the shots is all done primarily inside the cars with the actual actors and people we’re working with performing all the driving. So it’s pretty exciting from an actor’s standpoint,” Cudlitz says.

He says he likes the sense of realism that the driving brings to the series. During filming, the actors have been mistaken for real police officers.