Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 15, 1994 TAG: 9401150303
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: 14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LYNN ELBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
Between takes on the set of the ABC police drama, an amiable Franz shows off the small white mutt featured in an upcoming episode. The actor, it turns out, is a dog owner with a soft spot for animals.
Franz is also soft-voiced and nearly courtly in his manner - a contrast to the explosive Sipowicz, who helped kick off the series with his memorable crotch-grabbing insult to a woman lawyer.
In fact, Franz is downright light-hearted, and with reason: He is preparing to film a romantic scene with that same lawyer, prosecutor Sylvia Costas (played by Sharon Lawrence).
"Yahoo! Finally. After 28 cop roles I finally get a kiss," Franz says.
And maybe more. He signed a nudity clause when he joined the "NYPD Blue" force, as did his co-stars. Towels and clothing already have dropped fast and furious for others in the series.
"I was very flattered to be asked to sign (the clause)," Franz said. "I don't have any reservations. If anybody's interested in seeing this, they're welcome to it."
The nude scenes do create a buzz on the set.
"We have one lady, all she does is body makeup. When she appears on the lot, it's like somebody's going to the electric chair . . . the executioner is on the lot," Franz says with a smile.
Franz seems relaxed, and understandably so. Despite the protests that lay in wait for "NYPD Blue" (Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on WSET-Channel 13) before it hit the air, the show has drawn enough viewers to make it the hottest new drama of the season, ranking in the top 20.
The series' nudity, coarse language and adult plots have not driven audiences away - although Franz admitted some early fears about the possibility.
"When all the controversy began, it made you start second-guessing and having doubts," he says. "You believe in the show and you think, `Is there any way I could possibly have been wrong about this?'
"Never was the quality in question. I just thought perhaps the public was not going to accept the boundaries we have stepped over and how much we have pushed.
"The violence was not a factor, because I knew it was never a violent show."
The show's success, then, came as a relief to Franz.
"I thought, `They do like it.' I feel like Sally Fields, `You do like me,' " he says, his voice rising as he mimics the actress' emotional Oscar-acceptance reaction.
"You can walk around with your head held up. . . . It feels good when people stop you, not just because they've seen you on television but because they really want to share with you how much they love this show."
After more than two dozen cop roles, Franz says he welcomes the chance to play a character with the complexity of Sipowicz, who is fighting a corps of demons, including alcohol and his own rashness.
"This has been the furthest down I've played of any of the police characters, the furthest in trouble," Franz says. "From the first episode, he's on an uphill battle, trying to get back on track again.
"I never had to do that with a character. Where they're at is where they're at."
Sipowicz repeatedly confronts the dark side of his nature, including racism and his shortcomings as a parent. But there's a sly, leavening humor as well.
Exchanges such as those with a novice police aide - Sipowicz teaches her how to handle nut calls and other routine precinct business - give Franz a chance to strut his comic stuff.
"That's thanks to David," Franz says, referring to David Milch, co-executive producer with Steven Bochco. "I've said that I get to play his alter ego. I don't know if he 'fesses up to that or not."
Franz, Milch and Bochco go way back to "Hill Street Blues" days. Franz first played bad-to-the-bone Sal Benedetto, who died after five episodes, then returned as police Lt. Norman Buntz.
(Franz reprised Buntz, briefly, in the 1987-88 NBC series "Beverly Hills Buntz.")
He describes his longtime relationship with the series producers as "comfortable." So is his fit with Sipowicz and the series.
"There's so many talented actors who are longing to get the opportunity to play good, well-written characters," he says.
by CNB