Senator Previews His TV Character
During his eight years on Capitol Hill, retiring Sen. Fred Thompson has rarely been one to mince words. The character he plays this fall on “Law & Order” may be an even tougher talker.
In a clip from the NBC legal drama, Thompson’s character, Arthur Branch, says:
“With all the money we spend on the so-called war on drugs, we could buy all the poppy fields in the world and burn them to a crisp. But do we do it? No. And why? Because without a war on something, people in Washington wouldn’t get elected.”
After the clip was aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Thompson joked: “And you thought I wouldn’t find work.”
The Tennessee Republican announced unexpectedly in March that he was leaving the Senate for personal reasons. NBC announced last week that he would be joining the “Law & Order” cast as a politically conservative district attorney.
“Meet the Press” host Tim Russert asked, “What is the difference between politics and movies or TV?”
“The pay,” Thompson said.
“I’ve always thought there was an affinity between Washington and Hollywood because neither really understood what the other did, and I’m still convinced of that,” he said.
“But I think most of us have a creative side. This is going to allow me to do that.”
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