ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke to The Lincoln Lawyer stars Becki Newton, Jazz Raycole, and Angus Sampson about their characters and the show. All 10 episodes of Netflix’s series adaptation of Michael Connelly’s bestselling crime novel are now available for streaming.
“When his former law partner is killed, Mickey Haller is left to take over the firm, including a high-profile murder trial,” says the synopsis. “With the biggest case he’s ever had to tackle out of the back seat of his Lincoln Town Car, Mickey discovers there may be more at stake than he thought.”
Tyler Treese: Becki, there’s just such a fun dynamic, where Lorna’s working with her ex-husband but you’re not at odds. You still care about each other a lot. What did you enjoy most about that dynamic?
Becki Newton: I thought it was unconventional. I think a lot of times in TV, we see if we do see exes, they’re often at odds and there’s a bitterness. I loved the idea that they have a past, they were romantically involved, obviously incredibly close. That didn’t work out, but the love that they have and the support for each other remains. It does add some complications. For example, when she and Cisco become involved. I would say the one thing Lorna’s afraid of, if there is something, would be to disappoint Mickey somehow or to do something that would make him feel not supported. So I think it creates a wonderful amount of complexity, but doesn’t create a conflict we’ve seen before in TV, and dares to go into a new territory: a modern relationship after people are no longer married.
Jazz, I loved your character in the show and I love how this series just handles the topic of addiction. You have some great speeches about it. What preparation went into playing a recovering addict in Izzy and making sure it was handled with care
Jazz Raycole: A lot, actually. I talked to quite a few addicts in my research of it and I watched a lot of Intervention. I really, really did want to do justice to that, because it’s such a sensitive thing, and so many people are plagued by it. Not only the addicts themselves but the family that surrounds them. So I really, really wanted to do it justice. So the preparation for it was interesting. It was heartbreaking, and it was really, really, really educational for me. I really love the fact that that’s the meeting point for Mickey and Izzy, the fact that they connect over their journey with addiction. So it’s really, really cool. Ted and David are brilliant for that.
RELATED: The Lincoln Lawyer Interview: Manuel Garcia-Rulfo on Playing Mickey Haller
Angus, I love that Cisco throws this tough biker guy archetype totally on its head. You’re such a sharp-witted investigator, but what really stuck out about this role and made it so fun to play?
Angus Sampson: I was curious about what he didn’t say, because no one explained to me why he worked for Mickey, on a level that he could set aside his own ego to work for the man who was married to the love of his life. I felt that he must have had secrets or stories. There must be something there that … not that he’s indebted to Mickey, but he probably is. He probably got him out of some nasty or sticky situations.
But I think that was the first thing that appealed to me. I couldn’t, as a red-blooded male, certainly as an Australian red-blooded male, I couldn’t reconcile that Cisco wouldn’t say to Lorna, “Come on, we gotta work somewhere else in all of America… We are working for your ex-husband, why?” And so that, that was the sort of jumping-off point for me.
Becki, I love the core mystery of this show and I love that it’s on Netflix because it’s the definition of bingeable TV. How exciting is it having this platform and knowing people are gonna watch this whole season in a day?
Newton: I’ve never worked for Netflix before, so I come from the network TV world. It’s very, very different. I’m so excited at the thought of people loving it enough to binge it all at once. I can’t wait. I feel very, very fortunate to be in the Netflix world.
Jazz, the pre-production on this show was pretty drama-filled, and ultimately it was saved by Netflix. This role took a while to come to fruition, but how exciting was it finally getting to play this role after all the buildup?
At first, we were supposed to be filming as soon as I got it. We were supposed to go right into production. And then there was this like year-long wait. And part of that was in limbo. And during that time, I really got to … I was praying to God that I still had a job, but I really got to do a lot of research, on Izzy and kind of develop her and figure out, what is it that she can offer Mickey? And who is she? And how does this character grow and what her arc is? So it was exciting. Netflix is amazing, but to actually be able to film and go to work, not only having David E. Kelly and Ted be a part of it but being able to work with such an amazing cast and crew was absolutely incredible after that long period of time.
