his guest-star turns on “ER” and “The Shield,” where he played
obsessive and violent men, to his 2006 Oscar-winning performance in
“The Last King of
Now he has taken what appears to be an odd fit: a
network TV drama where he plays the good guy. In this “against type”
role, Whitaker is the lead in “Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior,” a
spinoff of the successful
“This is a new situation for me,” admitted Whitaker
while sitting in his darkened office at Walt Disney Studios. “I’m not
used to being in just one place — I’m more like a gypsy, going from
place to place. But I really like this character and I realized what I
could do with him.”
Showcasing an Oscar winner in prime time is a major coup for
and Fishburne are two of the only African American dramatic leads on a
broadcast network.
“We started out thinking, ‘You think
beyond amazing,” said “Criminal Minds” executive producer
who is also serving as show runner on the spinoff. “It helps define
what this show is — like ‘Criminal Minds,’ it’s not a procedural. It’s
all about character.”
The dynamics of the two shows, Bernero added, are
very different. The team in “Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior” has its
own problems: “This is a new family, and they are a lot more damaged.
(Whitaker’s character) Cooper is also damaged. They all support each
other.”
In person, the 6-foot-2 actor, dressed in a
sweatshirt and black pants that camouflage his size, is still
formidable, though it’s obvious he has slimmed down from what audiences
may remember from his portrayals of the British soldier in “The Crying
Game,” jazz legend
He is soft-spoken and thoughtful, in sharp contrast to his often volcanic outbursts on-screen.
It’s that subtle internal tension that animates Whitaker’s portrayal of Special Agent
the leader of a special group of agents inside the FBI’s Behavioral
Analysis Unit. Cooper maintains a quiet and spiritual approach as he
strives to understand the mind of his psychopath suspects.
“Playing someone like Sam is at the source of what
I’m always trying to do in my work,” said Whitaker. “He is a leader
that thinks everyone has a light inside of them, no matter what kinds
of horrible things they are capable of. I’m always interested in human
nature. He wants to heal those that come in contact with this darkness.”
His talent for delving into and understanding the
dark side can be disconcerting to his on-screen co-workers. In the
second episode, a local detective teamed with the BAU to track down a
suspect who is mutilating victims doesn’t approve of the unusual method.
“You have to know them,” declares Cooper. “You can’t
be afraid. Just because I choose to walk in their worlds doesn’t mean I
have to stay there.”
Though a weekly TV series marks a new path for him,
Whitaker is no stranger to taking unexpected steps. The actor, not
noted for his comedic talents, memorably hosted “Saturday Night Live”
in 2007, and in one skit played a waiter who could not stop singing.
The actor has also notched success behind the scenes: directing the
black female-bonding movie “Waiting to Exhale” in 1995, and
executive-producing “Brick City,” a
The often demanding schedule imposed by a TV series
has meant some adjustments for Whitaker. “It was a challenge at first
trying to find that rhythm with the writers that would make me feel
good,” he said. “We’ve really developed that now, it feels good.”
Playing his “Criminal Minds” character Cooper nicely fits with his philosophy of creativity.
“I have a discipline about trying to do work that is
truthful,” he said. “I was always fortunate enough to play interesting
characters, and I’ve always gone by my heart.”
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