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Southland continues to explore the different sorts of cops who work in different departments of the LAPD, and the very different sort of cases for which the city needs them. Ben McKenzie plays rookie officer Ben Sherman, riding with veteran John Cooper. So far their cases included Hollywood players and cheating stars, plus a little personal family drama at home.
Crave Online: Are cops now telling you all their stories so you can pass it on to the writers?
Ben McKenzie: Sure, yeah. I've rode around with Hollywood division, which encompasses not only Hollywood Boulevard and the scene where we're with the transvestites and the Russian gangsters who beat them up and the car chase and sort of the seedier side of that, but also it runs all the way up to Mulholland Drive. So it was about 5 minutes into my ride along, and he knew I was an actor, so he was in a storytelling mode and was telling me about getting a call from Paris Hilton and then getting another call from Paris Hilton and then the week later getting another call. By the time he was on his fourth or fifth call for Paris Hilton to get the people out of her house because she had the party or whatever it was, he was kind of over it. That's the kind of stuff that, in that particular division, the cops see. I think what's nice about this show is that we can have an episode set in South Central or South East L.A. that is a completely different episode from the episode which is about the more colorful elements of being a cop in Los Angeles.
Crave Online: Do you like shooting on location around town?
Ben McKenzie: I love it, actually. I really love it. We did a great chase sequence thing that won't air until near the end of the season, but that was yesterday with helicopters and stunt cars and it was really, really fun. So these are pretty different shows like I said.
Crave Online: Are you training any harder because of the physical aspects of the show?
Ben McKenzie: I'm trying to take care of myself, yeah, absolutely. I workout, lift weights and I run. I do a little boxing.
Crave Online: What did you find out about the LAPD that maybe challenged a preconceived notion you had before you started the show?
Ben McKenzie: I mean, I think the truth of the matter is that I, at least, did not spend a lot of time thinking about the hard work that they do. Unfortunately, I think people only see the LAPD when a situation goes sideways and something bad happens. But the truth of the matter is that once you ride along with these men and women you see that on a daily basis they're confronted with enormous challenges. Ninety nine percent of the time they succeed in at least helping to rectify the problem, getting a person arrested or comforting a victim or any of the numerous things that they face. I think it's the daily struggle and how honorable their work is that surprised me.
Crave Online: What's coming up on the show that you can tease as far as your character?
Ben McKenzie: I don't really know how much I can tease, but I think that we will continue, like there was the introduction of my father and some of my family members. We'll probably continue to explore that.
