Climbing into the heads of 'Profiler' stars

'Profiler'

April 21, 1998
Web posted at: 3:22 p.m. EDT (1922 GMT)

From Correspondent Jim Moret

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Ardent criminals, beware: "Profiler" is on to you. Over the past two seasons, NBC's talented agents have been solving some of the worst crimes imaginable, while carving a new face in network crime-fighting.

Ally Walker stars as Dr. Samantha Waters, a forensic psychologist working with the FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force as a profiler -- as she explains, "I climb inside people's heads."

Her character is based on an actual profession, one that gives law enforcement the edge in identifying criminals. Special skills and a keen sense of observation allow profilers to understand the human psyche and envision how crimes were committed, both through the eyes of the victim and the killer.

CNN's interview with the cast of "Profiler"

Walker's Waters is joined by an elite team of specialists, including Robert Davi as Bailey Malone, the task force's leader. Roma Maffia plays forensic pathologist Grace Alvarez, and Julian McMahon is FBI Detective John Grant.

Early on, some TV analysts compared "Profiler" to "X-Files" and particularly to "Millennium," both Fox network shows that, to some degree, explore the criminal mind. But the show's stars say their drama is different in that no element of the paranormal enters into their detective work.

"It's not paranormal at all," Walker said. "There are actually profilers in the world who do this kind of thing, and they look at crime sites and the behavior associated with the clues that are left there. And they determine what kind of a person would leave clues, leave them in that way, and you can tell what kind of a person would do the crime."

'Profiler'

"They can get really specific," she added. "They can get down to age, what kind of religious beliefs they would have."

Davi has had experience playing the bad guy in other roles -- most notably, the drug czar in "License to Kill." He isn't sorry to be playing a good guy this time -- but adds that the meatiness of a part like the one he has in "Profiler" is what keeps him interested.

"A good character is a good character," he said. "I mean, with this character, Bailey Malone in 'Profiler,' we have a great team of people to work with. Ally and I have a lot of fun, and being able to express the lighter side of my soul is enjoyable."

"People don't know how funny he is," Walker interjected. "Robert Davi's actually one of the funniest men I've ever worked with in my life" -- a fair compliment, given her past starring roles in romantic comedies like "Singles" with Bridget Fonda and Kyra Sedgwick, and "While You Were Sleeping" with Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman.

Their characters' relationship on the show is a unique one, Davi said; Malone is not only a mentor to Waters, but a close friend. "I think it's the deepest friendship, even human friendship, that they've had, and she is able to take profiling to another level," he said.

"Profiler" will wrap for the season on Saturday, May 9, with a two-hour season finale.

Related site:

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• NBC: Profiler (official site)

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