Oscar-winning actress Dianne Wiest has joined the cast of "Law & Order," replacing departing cast-member Steven Hill, Variety reports.
Wiest, who won Oscars for her supporting work in two Woody Allen films -- "Hannah And Her Sisters" and "Bullets Over Broadway" -- will be cast as the show's new district attorney, Variety said.
"I thought to make this kind of switch, we needed someone with a lot of bang," series creator Dick Wolf told Variety.
"The first woman at the top of the list was Dianne. Quite luckily she was intrigued. Not in your wildest imagination could you pick up not only a single but a double-Oscar winner."
Wolf told Variety part of the attraction to Wiest was her work with Allen.
"I think in a strange way there is a similarity between 'Law & Order' and Woody's movies in terms of them being so a part of the fabric of New York," he said, adding Wiest's character will be a change from Hill's portrayal.
"If you're going to replace a character you have to come up with a vastly different rhythm than someone who's been on the show 10 years and an icon like Steven," Wolf told Variety.
"When you have to make that change, you want to make it with someone as bulletproof as you can possibly get and at the same time very different." |
