Noth, Bratt in Demand
September 17 -- Since they left their cop-hunk days behind on Law & Order, things are looking rosy for Chris Noth and Benjamin Bratt.
Noth, who acquired a sizable following as hotheaded New York City detective Mike Logan on the long-running NBC series, has gotten an even bigger set of fans thanks to his turn as Mr. Big on HBO's Sex and the City. Now the two nets that helped launch him are giving him a bigger boost; HBO has signed Noth to a series deal, and he'll headline a four-hour sweeps miniseries on NBC.
With his HBO deal, Noth will either star in a series already in the network's pipeline or headline a brand-new show.
The NBC mini, based on the Steve Martini bestseller The Judge, will star Noth as a lawyer who comes to the defense of a compromised Florida judge suspected of murder. Noth will also produce.
It's not just TV titans who are clamoring for Mr. Big; his turn on Broadway begins next week in the political play The Best Man, and you can look for him in roles in the Tom Hanks flick Cast Away and The Glass House. He's also set to star in the new film by Tom DiCillo (Living in Oblivion), with Elizabeth Hurley and sarcastic smart guy Denis Leary.
Bratt Gets PoeticBenjamin Bratt (Detective Rey Curtis to you L&O fans) has had small roles in Clear and Present Danger and The River Wild (not to mention wooing Madonna in The Next Best Thing), but his upcoming popcorn flicks Red Planet and Miss Congenality are what will cement his matinee idol status. Time then, for an actorly turn as a poet.
Bratt is attached to star in Pinero, a biographical feature about the Latino poet, whose urban verse is recognized as a precursor to rap and hip-hop and whose life was already told in the 1974 Tony Award-winning play Short Eyes.
Rounding out the cast are Giancarlo Esposito, Talisa Soto, and Mandy Patinkin.The film will shoot in New York and Puerto Rico. No release date has been announced.
Reuters/Variety contributed to this story.
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