"I think Oz really is one of those pieces that shed a light.
The cast of oz tv series series#
"We always were able to access the risk-taking and bloodshed that American theater could have Tom brought that to television." On top of humanizing its prison population Perrineau, who played prisoner and narrator Augustus Hill, added the series opened new doors with its commentary of the criminal justice system.
The cast of oz tv series full#
"One of the things this show pioneered was creating full people that have a great range of ugliness in them," he said. Kinney, who played warden assistant Tim McManus, lamented how Oz created layers of its incarcerated characters. "I was sitting on the set with Vince Gilligan and he told me he…became a writer because of seeing Tom Fontana's work in Homicide and made Breaking Bad because he thought he could get away with it after watching Oz." Winters added that Fontana broke down more barriers than anyone and claims he opened the floodgates.
"I did a show seven years ago called Battle Creek," he said.
Gloria Nathan on 'OZ' and Stephanie Jameau on 'Law & Order: SVU'. Winters, who's also worked on Wolf shows, discussed how inspirational Fontana's work became. Christopher Meloni played Chris Keller on 'OZ' and Elliot Stabler on 'Law & Order: SVU'. He looked around and very quietly goes, 'You guys got it right,' and walked out." Image courtesy of HBO "We were in the bathroom and Chuck D from Public Enemy came in and saw us. "I was with Lee at an event," he recalled. Thats why weve added a new Diverse Representations. Winters, who played the incarcerated and vengeful Ryan O'Reilly, recalled a compliment that validated their work on the series. Research shows a connection between kids healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. Simmons), leader of the Neo-Nazis at the Oswald Correctional Facility. "We were all out there going, 'Let's see what happens.'" Tobias was constantly terrorized by Vern Schillinger ( J.K. "Nobody knew how people were going to take it," he recalled. Tergesen played Tobias Beecher, a person forced to be hardened by the prison system due to his lengthy sentence for his DUI manslaughter from his judge. "I think…we took a chance, and it has allowed other people to make TV shows that take a chance." Image courtesy of HBO I thought that gave permission to do Sopranos and Six Feet Under," he said. "HBO trusted me, as the writer and producer, to make the show I wanted, as opposed to the show they thought they wanted. The three aforementioned Fontana series along with the short-lived The Beat share the same universe with creator Dick Wolf's Law & Order and Chicago franchises. Elsewhere and the police procedural series Homicide: Life on the Street. Before Oz, Fontana was already a creative force with his contributions in the medical drama St.