14 DAY TRIAL // After the cancelation of her “Ghost Whisperer,” fans wondered about what Jennifer Love Hewitt would do next and not few were surprised when she announced an appearance on “Law & Order: Special Victims’ Unit.”
Though skeptics doubted Love had what it took to play an assault victim convincingly, not only did her episode fare wonderfully with critics and fans, but it may also earn her a new accolade.
The role that the actress did was so realistic and well done there is actual hope she may land an Emmy nomination for it, the series’ creator Dick Wolf says for E! Online.
Critics, of course, couldn’t agree more on that she completely deserves a nod.
“I think she will get an Emmy nomination. I think it’s one of the more amazing actor transformations that I’ve seen. She put herself onto a different level,” Wolf says for E!.
This is precisely how Love herself described her part, saying she had to literally go to a very dark place inside to relate to her character (a victim of repeated assaults by the same mystery man) and to finally bring it to life in front of the camera.
Shortly after the episode aired at the end of last month, Entertainment Weekly reviewed it and called out Hewitt for being a too good actress to be limited to Lifetime movies.
“Hewitt gave a good performance (or, anyhow, a good enough performance to indicate that she deserves better than the Tori Spelling purgatory of Lifetime movies and vanity reality shows),” the review said.
As for the “soliloquy of terror” her character delivers at the beginning of the episode, EW says it was a “it was a long, slow, artful sequence” that deserved to be duly praised.
Speaking about her role and what it cost her to make it believable, the actress said in a one of her latest interviews that she could best describe it as “raw.”
“Looks-wise, wardrobe-wise, hair-wise, makeup-wise... [I had to] take everything off and be something that I’ve never been before. [It] really allowed me emotionally and physically and mentally to go to a different place, she told TV Guide before the episode was aired.
At the same time, Jennifer hoped her portrayal of an assault victim would help put a face to a very burning issue.
“It’s showing you what this issue can do to someone. And it’s hopefully making [people] feel it... it’s a gift that we get to be able to tell those stories. And it’s a duty to tell them,” she also said at the time.