Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 11, 1995 TAG: 9511140047
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: HARRIET WINSLOW THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``He called it a no-brainer,'' said Bratt, the newest member of NBC's long-running legal-cop show.
The black-haired Bratt, 31, was a lead in Wolf's ``Nasty Boys'' series in 1990. Two years before that he made ``Knightwatch.'' Both were hour-long crime shows, and both were quickly killed.
``I think after `Nasty Boys' I sort of gave up on TV and concentrated on feature work,'' said Bratt, who had roles in ``The River Wild,'' ``Clear and Present Danger'' and ``Demolition Man.''
``That's the area I wanted to concentrate on in particular because of the artistic freedom accorded the actor in films.'' But when Dick Wolf calls with a two-year offer on the esteemed ``Law & Order,'' you answer.
So Bratt's Det. Reynaldo ``Rey'' Curtis arrived this season, the show's sixth, to give an energy boost to the brawny half of the brainy drama.
``When Dick Wolf told me about the job he said, `Don't worry about it, you won't draw your gun or chase anybody.' But I did within the first four days.''
Indeed, Bratt's character is quick to chase down a suspect or get rough in an interrogation room. Curtis is a conservative father of three with a dark temper, and contrasts starkly with his predecessor, Chris Noth's Mike Logan.
``I think one thing the cast change brought about was some new vitality,'' Bratt admitted.
Now, we watch as Jerry Orbach's Lennie Briscoe bristles over his much-younger partner.
``What's great about these differences is that you have a clear case of the archetypes. The grizzled old vet whose experience is on the street, a person who relies on his instincts and his perceptions of people; whereas Rey might not have as much experience on the street. He did not come from being a beat cop - he was in fact recruited. He's green at reading people.''
But he's college educated and technologically savvy, freely leaping on to the Internet to solve a biker-bar murder causing further suspicion on the part of the cynical Briscoe.
``I think that in time they will grow to first of all respect each other, if that's not there already. ... ''
Will we meet Curtis' family?
``Yeah. You're going to meet my wife and three daughters.'' It will be a brief scene, he said, but will illustrate why Curtis is so principled.
``He's very much an idealist. He truly believes in right and wrong.'' And he wants to make the world a better place for his children, which is a big reason why he is a police officer, Bratt believes.
Although the actor is only half-Peruvian, his father's German-American blood is obviously overwhelmed. But his Latin looks make him perfect to play the Spanish-speaking Curtis, and in case his on-screen accent isn't up to snuff, Bratt's mother is sure to correct him.
``My mom's life story would make a fascinating film,'' he said. ``She moved to this country when she was 14 years old, under the guardianship of her grandmother who was a domestic worker for a wealthy San Francisco family. She asked if she could bring my mother along. Two years after she arrived in San Francisco, my mother's grandmother passed away.''
The family basically adopted her, paying her way through private schools to a nursing degree.
``She met my father at a nursing-school dance. She has seen so much. She grew up in a dirt-floor shack in Peru. They had five children. After the divorce, my mom raised the five children. It was then that she became involved in the Indian-activist movement.''
Bratt said she had become very influenced by the suggestion that Indians of all nationalities are stronger banded together. That led Bratt's mother to take the children to live on Alcatraz Island, site of the abandoned federal prison.
Bratt explained: ``Until early '69, it was unoccupied. They [Indian activists] went ahead and took it over and occupied the island for almost a year and a half. For a period of about nine months we lived on the island. I was about 5 or 6 years old. It was a great way to grow up, crabbing on the shores.''
by CNB