Jimmy Smits Returns to Court on 'Outlaw'

Jimmy Smits has had a long and varied career on the stage, the big screen and the small screen. He's done everything from 'Star Wars' to 'Pee Wee's Playhouse' to last year's 'God of Carnage' on Broadway. But he also keeps returning to the law, as a senator, lawyer or cop.

On NBC's new drama, 'Outlaw' (special premiere preview tonight, 10PM ET), Smits returns to the well again as a Supreme Court justice who leaves the bench for private practice when faced with the possibility of keeping an innocent man in jail.

'Outlaw' is a mix of serious issues and light comedy, of legal procedure and personal drama, and the charismatic Smits is its soul and focus, similar to Hugh Laurie in 'House.'

TV Squad spoke with him by phone Tuesday to discuss the show and his legal history. NBC will show a preview of 'Outlaw' tonight; the show premieres in its usual timeslot Fri., Sept. 17 at 10PM ET.

You started out on 'L.A. Law,' you've been on 'N.Y.P.D. Blue,' you were a senator on 'The West Wing,' you played a lawyer on 'Dexter' and you've even popped up on 'Cop Rock.' Is there any specific attraction you have to roles that have something to do with the law?
I guess just trying to stay on the right side of it. I don't know. I can't say that it's typecasting because they're different types of roles in the same kind of area, more or less. Certainly I know what attracted me to this particular project, 'Outlaw,' was the fact that it's about something. The cases that we deal with on a week-to-week basis are substantive, topical, and at the same time, the writers have created a kind of character that has a lot of foibles and eccentricities. And there's a nice light touch of humor and banter amongst the group that he's with. There's a good juxtaposition of both things going on, and that makes an interesting hour of TV.

Was the role written for you, or was it something you had to compete for?
No, it wasn't written for me.

The character walks a line with his political leanings as a conservative judge who leaves the Supreme Court for what seem to be more liberal convictions. Is that kind of political ambiguity something that's attractive in the role?
I wouldn't go so far as to say that ... That kind of implies that he's going to be going from the right to the left. I think more than anything, you're not going to know on a week-to-week basis where he's coming from in terms of the particular case that we're dealing with.

Part of the character construct is that he is, or was, one of the more conservative jurists on the Court, but comes from a family background [where] his dad was a very liberal activist. You have that in play. He kind of keeps a team of rivals in his stable. All of the people who have clerked for him, his best friend who is an attorney, they all have different types of political viewpoints. And he's comfortable with that. So that when they deal with a particular issue, you hear all of the different viewpoints and sides coming up.

There are hints that he's a party guy in the first episode. Do we get to see more of that as the season goes on?
I don't know if he's a party guy, but he's definitely lived his life out in the open and that's one of the things that gets him into trouble and will continually get him into trouble. He gambles, he's a mature guy and still single, so he's out there, and unapologetic about it.

So how did you become involved as a producer?
They asked [laughs] ... I'm not being flip... No, that's the way that went down. You know, it's great to be doing a great role in front of the camera but it's also a wonderful challenge and a good opportunity to kind of learn a different part of the business and to be a part of something from the ground floor up and have your voice a part of that, also.

Are you involved in the writing or any other aspects?
I don't go as far as the writing, because that's where my facilities kind of like stop. But I'm certainly there where the seeds for ideas for stories come about. You know, the day-to-day machinations of what happens on the set.

You mentioned that the show has a light touch. Would you classify it as a dramedy, or a drama with occasional humor?
I just think more than anything, it's real. A number of the writers that are on the writing staff, besides being attorneys, have done shows that have a kind of lighter bent to them. So I like the fact that we're dealing on a week-to-week basis with, again, substantive, topical issues, but at the same time there's a great banter between the ensemble. And because of the character's eccentricities, there is a kind of lighter touch to it.

Are you able to mention some of the more serious topics you'll be talking about in future episodes?
I'm in D.C. right now but I was just in L.A. where we were shooting episode five, so we dealt with extradition, Miranda issues, states' rights, the immigration issue, but not in a soapbox kind of way. They're all through the lens of a very personalized case that has large ramifications.

Watching the pilot, it struck me that this isn't quite a procedural, although there are elements of that. It mixes that in with a more personal drama.
You will have a case that gets resolved, an 'A' storyline that gets resolved every week, but because it's character-driven, there will be ongoing arcs with all the characters. That's what I like about character-driven shows, is that the audience gets engaged these people and they want to see how those characters would react in [different] situations.

Did any of your other roles inform your playing Cyrus Garza, any of the lawyers or other roles that you played?
It didn't hurt in terms of the learning curve that I did play an attorney in the late '80s and '90s on 'L.A. Law,' but it had been a while since I had been in the well, as attorneys say, that area where the jury and judge is. But that's kind of like being off a bike for a while and getting on again. That learning curve, to adapt to that.

Is there a particular rhythm to playing a lawyer, where you have to know the jargon and be in a particular headspace?
More of what you just said, a headspace. My wife tells me more and more that, you ask a lot of questions in life. You have this... judiciary process. Stop asking so many questions! It does bleed in.

Do you remember your cameo on 'Cop Rock?' It was amusing to find that in my research. I hadn't realized you'd played your 'L.A. Law' character on it.
I think it was Michele Greene and I. We just walked through a dancing bunch of cops, if I remember correctly.

We won't see that on 'Outlaw' then? You won't be singing?
Uh ... Dancing cops? I don't think so. But I could always make an appearance on 'Glee' or something like that.