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Whitaker on active duty with 'Shield'

Wednesday, October 05 11:53 EST, PR Newswire

There's a new menace in Vic Mackey's life. Multihyphenate Forest Whitaker has joined the cast of "The Shield" as a regular for the FX police drama's upcoming fifth season, set to bow in January. Whitaker will play Detective Jon Kavanaugh, an ambitious newcomer to the Los Angeles Police Department's Internal Affairs division who is tasked with investigating rogue cop Mackey, played by series star Michael Chiklis, and the strike force he leads. Whitaker was pursued for "Shield" duty by series creator and executive producer Shawn Ryan. "He's going to be a great foil for the guys on our show," Ryan said. "Forest has always impressed me with his range. He's got an incredible sweetness and soulfulness but also strength. It's a rare combination for an actor and that appealed to me with this character. "Whitaker is committing to series TV at a time when his schedule already is overflowing with feature projects. He recently was onscreen at the Toronto International Film Festival in the indies "American Gun," which he also produced, "Mary" and "Little Trip to Heaven." He also has taken on the role of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the upcoming Fox Searchlight political thriller "The Last King of Scotland." Whitaker was feted this month with a tribute to his work as an actor, director and producer at the 31st annual Deauville Festival of American Cinema in France. "Shield," a co-production of Fox Television Studios and Sony Pictures TV, wrapped a strong fourth season in June that was highlighted by the addition of Glenn Close as Mackey's boss, Capt. Monica Rawlings. Ryan said that the character of Kavanaugh "will present the biggest danger to Vic and his team in the history of the series so far." Whitaker's recent TV work as an actor includes Showtime's "Deacons for the Defense," and he was host of UPN's short-lived revival of "The Twilight Zone" in 2002. Whitaker is repped by CAA, the Collective and attorney Phil Davis.



can't wait for this to return...he should be a pretty good addition to the cast..I hope he's in more than one or two episodes due to his busy schedule ..

Groucho

Excellent addition to the cast.

Will this be the last season? The promos currently running on FX say "The Beginning of the End."

Red Dog

I heard it almost didn't happen since he demanded whatever Glenn Close got paid.

Jimmy James

I wonder if it actually did happen that way. You know, "I don't know what you guys paid Glenn Close, but you're going to have to give me the same." I heard the same thing about him demanding the big money, so I know that is right. I'm just questioning whether it is coincidental that he wanted that same amount.

My guess is that this *won't* be the last season. I see Vic beating out this internal investigation only to get tripped up by something really ironic.

Jadzia

Cool. Anything that keeps him away from directing movies.

Groucho

I'm not sure how anybody could have anything against First Daughter.

DJariya

I think this is probably the end for the Shield. Shawn Ryan has a mid-season show on CBS called "The Unit." Thus, meaning bigger budgets and a bigger paycheck for him. Unless the ratings are spectacular and FX throws alot of money at him, he's probably jumping ship. That is unless he leaves the show and they hire a new Executive Producer.

Jimmy James

The Unit could also flop, leaving him very grateful for the work he can get on The Shield while he develops another concept. It also occurs to me that he worked for Joss Whedon on Angel before leaving to create The Shield. He probably knows quite well what he'd need to do to keep a 22 episode network series and a 12-15 epiosode cable series going.

pilot

If Jerry Bruckheimer can do a dozen shows a season, Ryan can do two