Vincent D’Onofrio’s character in NBC’s “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” is one of the most idiosyncratic on television, a homicide cop with Sherlock Holmes-like deductive powers and an interrogation style that goes way beyond “in your face.” More like “in your nose.” Detective Robert Goren pops up suddenly. But sometimes he’s just not odd enough for D’Onofrio, who has played everything from a freaked-out Marine (“Full Metal Jacket”) to an intergalactic terrorist (“Men in Black”) to a despicable chemist/drug dealer (“The Salton Sea”).
“Sometimes we have criminals that I want to play so badly,” D’Onofrio confessed to a group of TV critics in Hollywood last week. “Fred Berner, one of our producers, is basically in charge of our casting. And he always brings in these really good actors. Once they start performing, I think, Well, OK, he’s going to do it great.’ I better stop worrying about it because I ain’t ever going to get there on our show.”
He takes comfort in knowing he can satisfy his urge to play weirdos in films when he’s on hiatus from the series.