British actress Julia Ormond has been quite active on the silver screen lately, appearing in 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,' 'Kit Kittredge: An American Girl' and the 2009 thriller 'Surveillance.' And she's slated for a three-episode stint on the upcoming second season of Showtime's 'Nurse Jackie.'

But before that, she'll appear on the Lifetime Movie Network this Sunday (Jan. 17 at 8PM ET) as the lead role in 'The Wronged Man.' The story centers around Janet "Prissy" Gregory, (Ormond) a paralegal who worked for 22 years to overturn a wrongful conviction in Louisiana of Calvin Willis (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali).

Inside TV spoke with Ormond about channeling "Prissy and her upcoming role on 'Nurse Jackie.'British actress Julia Ormond has been quite active on the silver screen lately, appearing in 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,' 'Kit Kittredge: An American Girl' and the 2009 thriller 'Surveillance.' And she's slated for a three-episode stint on the upcoming second season of Showtime's 'Nurse Jackie.'

But before that, she'll appear on the Lifetime Movie Network this Sunday (Jan. 17 at 8PM ET) as the lead role in 'The Wronged Man.' The story centers around Janet "Prissy" Gregory, (Ormond) a paralegal who worked for 22 years to overturn a wrongful conviction in Louisiana of Calvin Willis (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali).

Inside TV spoke with Ormond about channeling "Prissy and her upcoming role on 'Nurse Jackie.'

Before you started shooting, did you get to know the real life Prissy?
Yes, she was a really wonderful and accessible. She came down and spent some time with us and helped me enormously in understanding the process she went through. Many aspects, really, about her life. She has a rich and dry sense of humor.



The film takes place over a long period of time; what was your overall impression of her?
My overall impression is that she's somebody who's had an incredibly hard life and come out of it with an amazing combination. She's quite tough, but immensely compassionate. It seemed to me, where the heart of the story is poverty in America where someone with such a low income devoted 22 years of her life to get this guy off, because he didn't have the resources. That's an amazing commitment for one individual to help out another individual, who at the start of it, was someone she didn't know.

Rarely do you hear stories about people who are in the same economic boat stretching their life out for someone else in that same condition. I'd imagine because they're too busy trying to keep their own head above water.
I mean specifically, I think there were times she was in financial jeopardy. Not to mention, the relationships she was around -- it took so much out of her, and with her job on the line. In my experience with working in England or in blue collar areas here, essentially that's an ethic that's really rich within those communities. Certainly in England, they do it because it's the right thing.

What were you most conscious of in the way you portrayed her?
I think for me, part of it that intrigued me was the element of race and how it played out. Also, the impact it had on her family. The relationship she had with her child, she was trying to live up to being a role model that he would be influenced by, but obviously the child may not have as much nurturing as he might need. I wanted to try and play it as real as it is and not sugarcoat it. And I think for me, there's something about Prissy where her mouth takes over and she says the thing that isn't the best thing at the time.

Had you been involved with the Innocence Project before this film?
No, I hadn't. I mean, obviously their work is really extraordinary and somewhat disquieting in terms of the backlog of work they have. The process that people have to go through to have their cases reexamined or opened up -- it's not even every state will allow you to have access to your evidence. Some of the things that happened when Calvin left [prison] were truly extraordinary. Not being allowed to access certain services; there were no rehabilitative services offered, no official apology, nothing.

That a group like that should has such a backlog of work ...
Yeah. I think the number of people they have processed and taking it all the way through, it's really staggering. And doesn't bode well. That's a really sad thing for the whole of society; I think the way that poverty works impacts the community more than others.

To switch gears real quick, you're going to be on the upcoming season of 'Nurse Jackie.'
It was a lot of fun; great group, great cast, fun writing. It was a lot of fun to do something that is both funny and moving. It's sort of a magical combination. Edie [Falco] is wonderful.

What's your role on it?
I play an international reporter, who has a relationship with one of the cast members. I think I'm on three episodes.

You've been so busy the last few years, what's been the highlight?
All of my highlights have been kid-oriented, but I guess through a work lens ... I think the variety. I don't want to single out one particular thing. Playing supporting roles has yielded a lot of variety in terms of what I've gotten to do. I liked doing 'Nurse Jackie' because I don't usually get cast to do comedy, so that was really joyous. I didn't get to die.

Not dying is good.
Not dying, not crying is always good. You're always looking for those, but not often getting them.