There’s many reasons behind the continuing success of the Dick Wolf’s Chicago series, and one of the biggest ingredients comes from the collaborative spirit of the ensemble and crew. Chicago Justice actors Monica Barbaro and Philip Winchester talked about their work with Wolf and showrunner Michael S. Chernuchin, and the video is found after the jump!
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Monica Barbaro, who plays Assistant State’s attorney Anna Valdez, says Chernuchin’s showrunning skill set includes gathering as much insight and input from his team as possible.
“He’s an incredible listener,” says Barbaro. “He does that with us and from what I’ve heard he does that with the writers as well. Rather than going in and (saying) ‘No, no, no this is how you do it,’ he’s really interested to hear what other people would like to put into it.”
“Early on, he found out my I was a vegetarian and now my character has become one,” adds the actress. “It’s kind of fun and it’s interesting to see that play out and it gets to be relevant in a conversation about one particular story that we have. It comes up and it’s interesting and nice to have that sort of personalization. He’s always willing to listen to our personal beliefs.”
Winchester plays Peter Stone, the Deputy Chief of the Special Prosecutions Bureau. The character has principled bloodlines, as Peter’s father is New York City District Attorney Ben Stone (Law & Order’s Michael Moriarty).
For Winchester, one of the great aspects behind Chicago Justice is, quite simply, giving the actors excellent and oftentimes organic material to work with. “If we’re comfortable, the characters are comfortable,” adds Winchester, who previously headlined the NBC series The Player. “That’s just smart.”
**I had to crop the Video as a fellow reporter had his big camera blocking my little Zoom recorder. Thus, you’ll see his camera and wire in front of Winchester. My apologies!!
Chicago Justice, co-starring Carl Weathers as Cook County State’s Attorney Mark Jefferies, airs Sunday evenings on NBC (9/8c).