Jill Hennessy recently joined the Hallmark family to play the role of Hattie Quinn on the series “Hope Valley: 1874.” Long before Hennessy took on this new role, she played Assistant District Attorney Claire Kincaid on the series “Law & Order.”
Hennessy recently opened up about how much she learned from some of her iconic co-stars.
Jill Hennessy Credits ‘Law & Order’ for Giving Her an Incredible Acting Education
On March 29, Hennessy joined the “Nostalgia Tonight with Joe Sibilia” radio show to talk about her days on “Law & Order.”
As People noted, Hennessy played the character of Kincaid from seasons 4 through 6. Her character was written out by having her killed in a car accident.
In those early seasons of “Law & Order,” the cast was jam-packed with talent. Hennessy worked with the likes of Jerry Orbach, J.K. Simmons, Chris Noth, S. Epatha Merkerson, Steven Hill, and Michael Moriarty.
Hennessy admitted, “When I first joined that show, it was intimidating. It was just a new environment for me. I’d never done a series like that.”
“Law & Order” wasn’t Hennessy’s first acting gig, but it was certainly her breakout role and most significant at the time. Her gig on the show came shortly after she had left Canada and moved to New York.
Despite feeling intimidated, Hennessy recalled that “very quickly, you just feel like you’re just part of this well-oiled machine.” She credited the cast as well as the crew for helping her learn the ropes.
“It was the best acting education, or even college education, I could have gotten,” Hennesy declared.
The ‘Law & Order’ Cast Welcomed Her With Open Arms
Not only was the “Law & Order” cast “phenomenal,” the crew “couldn’t have been nicer.” Hennessy was broadly welcomed to the series by everybody on the show, and she still looks back on those experiences fondly.
Hennessy remembered meeting actor Len Cariou, who played her father in one episode. When he introduced himself to her, he noted he “Really liked your work.”
She said during the radio show that she was floored by that. “I mean, who am I?”
Another story Hennessy relayed from her “Law & Order” days was about Steven Hill, who played a district attorney named Adam Schiff in those early seasons. She noted that Hill was “an acting god.”
Before she started working with Hill, Hennessy explained, an assistant director cautioned her not to touch him as he practiced Orthodox Judaism.
On her first day on the “Law & Order” set, Hennessy recalled, Hill “walked right up to me. He smacked me on the back and he said, ‘Hennessy, so good to meet ya! Welcome to the show!”
Hill also invited her to stop by his dressing room anytime to have a cake donut, which he generally always had there. She remembered, “Sure enough, I would go to his room to get cake donuts every time he was working. But I loved him.”
Hennessy’s time on “Law & Order” set her up well to have a long and successful acting career. Several years after leaving the role of Kincaid, Hennessy landed the lead role in the series “Crossing Jordan.”
“Crossing Jordan” aired from 2001 to 2007. Since then, Hennessy has starred on shows such as “The Good Wife,” “Madam Secretary,” “Crawford,” “Yellowstone,” and “City on a Hill.”
“Hope Valley: 1874” marks the first series Hennessy has done in several years that has her appearing in more than a quick guest stint. She said during the radio show she is loving it so far, and Hallmark fans have responded quite positively to her work on the show.
I watched Jill on Law and Order and totally loved her in the series Crossing Jordan. She is one really talented actress. I hope Hallmark keeps her in the series.
I am ecstatic to see Jill acting in another series. I LOVED her in Crossing Jordan🤩😍