Posted on: Tuesday, April 16, 2002
Diane Farr stands out on cop show 'The Job'
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By Frazier Moore
Associated Press
On ABC's "The Job," Detective Jan Fendrich wears a savory half-smile that declares her tough and sexy. But underneath the heavy lids, her eyes say different: sadness and vulnerability.
"She's a very straightforward New York woman who has a lot going on underneath," says Diane Farr, the actress who plays her.
As written, Fendrich is an unusually well-rounded character for any half-hour comedy; well-rounded even for "The Job," with its precinct full of richly drawn personalities.
But Farr can bring alive this cop/single mom with just one flash of her come-hither-get-lost look. Among a solid ensemble including series star Denis Leary as well as Bill Nunn and Lenny Clarke, Farr is seldom upstaged.
Even more impressive, she comes at her role from a chasmic distance: In real life, she is chipper, open and, at 30, nearly a decade younger than Fendrich.
"Even people in the business say, 'Who are you on "The Job?' " she says with a laugh. "I say, 'I'm the girl!' "
"The Job," which airs two new episodes tomorrow at 8 p.m., is very much a guy show as it tracks the chaotic life of New York City Detective Mike McNeil (Leary), whose substance abuse, philandering and overall recklessness takes only an occasional break for law enforcement. As the lone woman in the squad room, Fendrich is necessarily one of the boys.
So is Farr, and she loves it.
"They're guys' guys," she says of her castmates — "a bunch of blue-collar people who happened to become actors. I think I'm also the youngest member of the cast, which is nice, because I worked on 'Roswell' for two years, where I was the oldest."
Her first acting job was on the late-night crime drama "Silk Stalkings," and, more notably, she dispensed sex advice on MTV's "Lovelines," a gig she accepted to raise her profile as an actress who aspired to move beyond shows such as "Silk Stalkings."
She is now starring in "Superfire," a TV film about the risky world of smoke jumpers in the forest-fire-besieged Western United States. Farr is heroic as a tough-gal pilot who must navigate dialogue like "This is gonna be bad, isn't it — no matter what we do?" The film airs at 8 p.m. Saturday on ABC.
"The Job," which premiered for a short run last spring, returned in January for a run that ends, likely forever, April 24. Although critics have generally hailed the show as fresh, funny and shrewdly true-to-life, it has struggled for viewers in a brutal time slot.
But whatever its fate, "The Job" has been a great job for Farr, she says, and Fendrich a great role. "Someone like her probably has more baggage than anyone. They're just not the kind of people who will ever tell you."
Fortunately, Farr is an actress who can guarantee her audience gets the message.
