Several brand new shows joined network lineups this midseason, and the most intense has to be CBS' Training Day. Katrina Law joined the cast to play LAPD Detective Rebecca Lee of the Special Investigation Section, and her scenes put her in the thick of the action. The actress already had plenty of experience with action sequences, but it turns out that Training Day required something new of her, and it wasn't easy. Katrina Law spoke with CinemaBlend about her new show, and she said this about the most challenging aspect of filming Training Day:
What Training Day does ask of me is to wield a weapon which is a gun. I've shot before and I've gone to a range but I never had to carry a weapon like it's a part of my body. I think that was the biggest challenge of Training Day, was to figure out how do I use a gun and make it look like I'm completely at ease with this thing, it's an extension of my body and have held it on my body somehow for the past ten years or so. I think that was the biggest challenge.
Anybody who has tuned in to Training Day since its premiere already knows that shootouts are going to be a big part of the show. The S.I.S. seems to get into sticky situations that can only be resolved via gunfight on a regular basis. The detectives do a dangerous job in the dangerous parts of Los Angeles, and it shows by how often they draw their weapons. Katrina Law has certainly had to pull out her character's gun plenty of times already. Judging by what she told me about carrying the weapon, I think it's safe to say that the action won't get any less intense as Season 1 continues.
Of course, Katrina Law has had to wield weapons for previous roles. Prior to joining the Training Day cast, Law was best known for her performances as Mira on Starz' Spartacus and Nyssa al Ghul on The CW's Arrow. Both roles involved a lot of action, but usually with extensive stunt choreography and old school weapons like a bow and arrow. She could kick ass, take names, and shoot arrows in the middle of battle sequences without skipping a beat; Rebecca's mastery of a gun was nothing that Law needed for her work as Mira and Nyssa. After all, although Spartacus took its fair share of liberties with history, even the wildest moments didn't involve the Romans pulling sidearms from shoulder holsters.
Katina Law isn't the only member of the Training Day crew who has had to work with a gun for the show. Bill Paxton, Justin Cornwell, and Drew Van Acker are usually by her side in the epic shootouts. The S.I.S. team is so capable with weapons that it's actually believable that they survive firefights even when wildly outnumbered. The actors have clearly put in the work to sell their characters as cops who have been carrying guns for years, and Training Day is all the more thrilling for it.
Tune in to CBS on Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET to see what's next for Katrina Law as Rebecca Lee on Training Day, and don't forget to take a look at our midseason TV premiere schedule.
