Tony Goldwyn Explains How He Landed 'Law & Order' Role to Replace Sam Waterston & How It Differs From 'Scandal'
Tony Goldwyn is speaking out about taking over for Sam Waterston on the NBC legal drama series Law & Order!
If you don’t know, Sam played D.A. Jack McCoy since season five and exited the series during the February 22 episode.
Tony, 63, signed on to join the series as the new District Attorney, Nicholas Baxter. He’ll make his debut on the series tonight.
Keep reading to find out more…
EW asked Tony how he ended up landing the role.
Tony shared, “Well, a couple of months ago I just got a call that they were thinking about me to replace Sam, so I met with the showrunner and he described the character that they were thinking of, Nicholas Baxter. It was really interesting to me and I really admire the cast that’s currently on the show, and know a couple of ‘em. I thought it sounded like a really fun opportunity.”
He was also asked how his work on Law & Order compares to Scandal, where he played President Fitzgerald “Fitz” Grant opposite Kerry Washington.
Tony shared, “I’m still just discovering it. There are certainly similarities to playing the President of the United States and the District Attorney of New York, since they’re both very powerful executive positions and they’re in charge of a system and solving intractable problems — and they both wear a lot of blue suits. The difference seems to be that Scandal is much more outrageous and operatic in the storylines, and subsequently we got into Fitz’s crazy personal life more than we, I’m sure, ever will on Law & Order. That’s just not what the show is, since it’s more focused on the work of the characters.”