How The Shield Snagged Glenn Close TV Guide Online: Which came first: the actress or the character?
Shawn Ryan: The character came first. The writers and I started working on this season in July and we came up with [the idea to have] a new captain in the barn, and it needed to be someone who had some years on the force. Our show has pretty much stuck with the formula of casting people who aren’t all that recognizable; we don’t really do any stunt casting. But when we started thinking about who we would cast for this role… we needed someone who could really stand up to [Mackey and Co]. So we thought, “Who’s the absolute best actress we could get if there were no obstacles?” and Glenn Close’s name came up. We pursued it, and it seemed like the right thing for us and the right thing for her. TVGO: Why not promote Claudette (CCH Pounder) instead of bringing in someone new? Lord knows she’s earned that post. Ryan: The way our [third] season ended, it really didn’t make sense to do that. We have a story line in mind for her character that is much more about dealing with the aftermath of
