The Law : Chris Noth

“I want you to know that ‘Law & Order’ is a right-wing, conservative, fascistic show,� teased Chris Noth with a sly grin. Noth, a thirtysomething hunk who plays Officer Mike Logan, admitted that once he might have seen the series in just those terms.

Indeed, he called himself a “child of the ‘70s who viewed anyone in a badge as a right-wing despot.�

He has changed, he said, mostly because of his current role and the police officers he has befriended in preparation for it.

“The world of cops was totally alien,� Noth said, so he started hanging out at Upper Manhattan’s 34th precinct in Harlem, one of New York’s more dangerous, and rode in patrol cars “to let their world sink into my psyche.�

He concluded that the real world of cops is a galaxy away from the way police are routinely depicted--�mostly heroics to beef up the actor.�

New England-bred and Yale-trained, Noth appeared on “Hill Street Blues� and said he would “love to do Chekhov.� But in his dressing room, he became the slightly arrogant, street-smart Logan, who wears a tiny American flag pinned to his lapel.

Noth, a staunch gun-control advocate, said that while he views “Law & Order� as a model of “realism and mystery,� he would like to see fewer “socialite, white-collar crimes that appeal to advertisers and more gritty, ethnic stories that mirror New York life.�

Paul Sorvino

Affable and totally relaxed Paul Sorvino makes one wonder: Is he fundamentally in synch with the “Law & Order� sensibility, or does he approach his role as Detective Phil Ceretta as simply another acting job? One thing is sure: He has no apparent axes to grind.

Consider his comments about “Law & Order�: “It’s totally rational. No philosophy. And no politics. Not right, not left. It can’t take a wrong position. All it does is uphold the law.

“If something offends me artistically, I won’t do it. But it’s all very gentlemanly here. All problems can be worked out.�

Sorvino, 6-foot-3 and 50ish, is a native New Yorker whose recent roles include stints in “The Rocketeer,� “Dick Tracy� and “GoodFellas.� He said he has played so many cops that he’s identified with the role.

As for his current series, he said, “It would be nice if we had a little more room than we’ve been given. The cops have no arias. All the drama is in the ‘Order’ section.�

Michael Moriarty

Peering with sincere blue eyes, Michael Moriarty admitted that playing a prosecutor creates a bit of an inner conflict. But the self-described “knee-jerk liberal and card-carrying member of the ACLU� has been able to accommodate his role as Assistant District Attorney Ben Stone to his political bias.

“I’ve come to see the virtue of a good prosecutor,� said the Emmy- and Tony-winning actor. “In his ability to maintain the balance of power, he is a blessing. It’s very important that the victim, especially if he’s from the underprivileged, get impartial treatment, and that justice be as swift as possible. That’s the role a good prosecutor can play.�

Describing his series as “a show with soul,� Moriarty, 50, launched into an impassioned speech about the virtues of working in New York. “New York actors are different from L.A. actors. There’s an intensity and commitment and creativity. The New Yorker has a pugnacious honesty that’s entertaining and arresting. The New Yorker has lived with so much he can’t afford to be anything but honest. It’s proof of survival on the cutting edge.�

Richard Brooks

“There’s always the potential for ‘Law & Order’ to be making political statements that are uncomfortable,’ said Richard Brooks, who plays Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette.

“It’s the nature of the show. The title alone glamorizes the subject. But for the most part, we play in a gray area.�

For Brooks, the hardest episode was, he said, “the one about a serial killer. Here, Robinette wants to extradite the defendant to Connecticut, because in that state there’s a death penalty. I had problems with the ramifications of a black man being in favor of the death penalty.�

Playing an assistant district attorney, one with a flattop hairstyle evoking images right out of the hip-hop community, raises a number of issues for the reserved and thoughtful Cleveland native, not the least of which is that the character is “straddling two worlds.� And for Brooks, not yet 30, that’s a defining element.

“Usually we think of black as one thing and the system as another. And we think of them as in conflict. But Robinette is able to bring it all together. ‘Law & Order’ shows that anyone can work within the system and not be an outsider.�

The hairstyle, Brooks added, is pivotal: “If I had a plain, round, vanilla look, it would be out of tune with the times, and no one would be able to identify with me, certainly not young blacks.�