Law & Order’s Odelya Halevi Chats About Working on Her

The Law & Order revival is going strong.

TV Fanatic recently had the opportunity to sit down with Odelya Halevi, who plays Samantha Maroun on the revived hit series.

Check out this interview while you’re waiting for Law & Order Season 21 Episode 7.

I’m a huge fan of Law and Order. But first, I want to ask you about your role on Good Trouble. Was it hard for you to switch gears from that role to the role alone order?

I definitely enjoyed every minute of playing Angelica. I’ve always wanted to play a gay character, and there was a lot of research that I had to do about poly relationships and what that means for people. And how do I feel about that? And how does my character feel about it?

But I have to say I have always wanted to play a lawyer. This was challenging for me because moving here from a different country; there was a language barrier. And I never thought in a million years that I would get to play a lawyer.

You know, I didn’t think I sounded like a lawyer. And so when I got the part, it was definitely out of my comfort zone; in terms of this is new, this is something I’ve never done before.

This is something I, in my craziest dreams, never even thought I would do. And, so there was a lot of pressure.

It’s something that I really wanted. I wrote on a sticky note at the beginning of 2021. I said, “I want to be on an Emmy nominated show in New York City.” And this part came, and then I was just so nervous about it. So it was definitely switching gears and moving to New York City and starting a new life here. And I’ve loved every minute of it.

Awesome. That’s really exciting, and it’s so cool when you have a dream, and it comes true like that.

Yeah, I didn’t even pay attention to that sticky note for a whole year.

And when I packed to move to New York, I found it, and I was like, whoa, I was truly manifesting the specific thing!

And then playing a lawyer.

I’ve been watching Law & Order my whole life. When I was a kid with my mom, I always thought I wanted to be a lawyer. But my mom was like, oh, no, you just want to be one on TV. So I’m so happy it came true.

Oh, that is that is really awesome. And is this kind of manifesting the way you approach things in general? Do you do that kind of thing a lot?

I do. I learned to ask for things out loud. I think people, in general, should just ask for things out loud and know that they deserve to receive them from the universe. And that’s what I try to do every day.

I wake up in the morning, and I just write down what do I want to work on today? What am I asking for today? What do I give in order to receive that? And that’s just how I try to live my life.

I love that. I meditate every morning and do my intentions too.

Getting back a little bit to Good Trouble, you mentioned it was great to play a gay character. Are there any plans on Law & Order for an LGBTQ supportive story that Samantha will get involved in or anything like that?

I think that the writers are incredible. And I don’t know because I’m not writing the show. But I really hope so.

You mentioned there being pressure when you got this role. And I was just wondering, did you or do you feel any extra pressure from being involved in such an iconic show?

Yeah, I mean, I wanted to work with Emmy nominated actors, but as soon as I got the part, my imposter syndrome[kicked in].

I was just, you know, “You don’t deserve it. So you’re gonna get fired? How will you match their performance? How? How are you going to do that?” I was really, really nervous.

But then I met the cast. And they made me feel like I’m a part of this family, that I deserve to be here, and that I worked hard to be here. And it helped with the pressure. And the more we got to know everyone, the more comfortable I felt.

That’s awesome. That kind of goes into my next question as well. In my Law & Order groups, I asked, “What do you guys want to know? Everyone said, “Ask her. What it’s like working with Sam Waterson?”

You’re really asking me what it’s like to work with God.

I love working with him. He is so funny. And you know, when I do scenes with him, he says a line, and it just gets you. Anything that comes out of his mouth, you’re just stunned. And I forget my lines.

I can’t even look at him. He’s so brilliant and funny. And when I was nervous in the beginning, I think he saw that, and he just came up to me. He said, “Remember that we tell serious stories, but we’re also here to have fun.”

Ever since then, we’ve just been having so much fun. There are so many laughs. We joke all the time.

That’s awesome. It sounds like a really fun atmosphere to work in.

Absolutely. Yes.

When you’re telling these kinds of serious stories, where you’re talking about things that are happening, that are horrible, you have to have that.

Yeah, you have to have some lightness. And even in the writing, there’s always one scene for Maroun and Nolan that is a little bit lighter with a little bit of dry comedy, which I still enjoy. I thank the writers for that all the time.

Do you have a favorite story of what you’ve done so far?

I think my favorite part is this episode — I think it’s episode three — where Maroun crosses a line and goes behind Nolan’s back. And she takes care of the defendant in a way. She convinces her, through Bernard, to take the plea, which is something that Nolan probably wouldn’t approve of.

But for justice, she still went and did it even though she knew it could cost her her job, a job that she worked so hard to get, or her career. But she still went and did it.

And at the end of the episode, he says, “You pull something like that again, and I’ll fire you.” And it’s sad. And it feels lonely for Maroun but also, she is sort of proud of herself that she still went and did that for justice.

Yeah, I remember that moment. I thought it was a powerful ending to that episode because Nolan also said, “Okay, I’m gonna let it slide this time.”

Yeah. But it’s the sacrifice that she was willing to make in order for justice to happen, you know?

Yeah. I really liked that. This leads to my next question too, which was to get you to speak a little bit about how you see the dynamic between her and Nolan and what you feel about that.

 I think that goes to what I was just saying about the challenging dynamic between the two of them. Sometimes Maroun will take things personally, and her heart will be involved, and then Nolan will challenge her and bring her back to the law and what’s right. And so, there’s always a challenging dynamic.

Is there anything you would like to happen for Maroun in particular that you haven’t had the opportunity to play?

I love what the writers have done so far. I really enjoyed the first episode where there was a backstory that was revealed with Maroun, and I think that’s something that is not always the case with the original Law and Order. And yes, I would love to do more of that.

I don’t know if there’s anything else that I would like to experience as Maroun.

I think the writers really are focusing on the stories. It’s the guest stars and the stories that are important, less about the character’s personal life. And I respect that. And I love that about the show. I think that’s why people love the show so much.

Yeah, I think so, too, because it’s very different. And it’s not always clear what the right answer is. It’s really cool that sometimes you watch it and are like, I don’t know if they should have won this one, or I don’t know if they went the right way about this.

And your opinion would be different from someone else’s. And I think that’s the brilliance of it. It raises so many different conversations. Every character represents a different opinion that’s out there.

Yeah, I think so. Another cool thing about it is that it’s ripped from the headlines, but it’s not the exact story.

Yeah, the more you watch it, the more you realize it’s actually not.

You sometimes combine several stories. I think there was one that aired recently where part of it was like Britney Spears, and part of it was like someone else.

And then you watch it, and you realize, it’s not really [like the real story].

In what ways would you say you are like and not like your character?

What we know about Maroun is that she is Middle Eastern, from the south, she comes from nothing, and she plays to win. She’s a strong character who plays to win in life. And I think in that way, I really relate to her.

I mean, coming from Israel, not speaking the language, a lot of cultural barriers when I moved here, a lot of difficulties fitting in, but still playing to win and trying to prove to myself that I can do what I came here to do. I think that’s how I mostly relate to her.

That’s really cool, having that shared background. In general, one of the things about Law & Order is that they focus on different kinds of people and different kinds of stories.

Yes, absolutely.

I also wanted to ask you a little bit about what other projects you have coming up in addition to Law & Order.

So I’m going to be in Black Adam with Dwayne Johnson. I think it will come out in the fall, but I, unfortunately, cannot talk about it.

So I know you mentioned that you watched the original Law & Order growing up. Have you watched all of the other Law & Order spin-offs as well?

I watched some of them. But the original was the one that was really big in the 90s when I was growing up, and my mom would watch that. And I would come home after school, and the show would be on TV. So that’s mainly the one that I watched.

I thought I wanted to be a lawyer; I guess because I saw a lawyer performing in front of an audience. Like, what’s the difference between a lawyer and an actor? All I could tell was that they were performing.

And so yeah, that’s the one that I really related and connected to.

Oh, that’s awesome. And now you’re part of it. Now, I know you mentioned that you’ve got that advice from Sam Waterston to have fun, and that really helped with Imposter Syndrome. How else did you deal with it?

I wake up every morning and write in my journal. I always write all the things that I remember about myself from my childhood that I liked about myself to remind myself of who I am at my core. And it gives me the confidence to let that imposter go.

And sometimes it shows up, and I go, “Oh, hi, nice to see you. I’ll let you in for five minutes; we can hang out, we can be friends. But in five minutes, you’re gonna have to leave.”

I know it’s always going to be there. There’s nothing I can do about it. I can’t change that. But what I can do is create tools in order to deal with it and just let it happen.

You cannot ignore it. You have to give it space, but only for a few minutes. And then you say goodbye.

It’s that whole self-acceptance.

It’s like, “Okay, I’m feeling like this right now. This is how I feel right now.”

And that’s totally okay. And I know it’s just a story in my head, and it’s not real, and I can choose to believe it, and what is it going to create if I do? It’s only going to harm me, so I’ll just accept that. Let it in, and then five minutes later, bye-bye. It’s not real.

One last thing I think people might be curious about is what is the typical day on the set like for you?

What is the typical day on set?

Sometimes it’s early morning. So I show up. I get a few minutes to settle in in my room or my trailer, and then I go to hair and makeup, and then there’s usually a rehearsal.

And in between [scenes], we just have conversations with the cast and the crew, and it’s been amazing to get to know everyone.

We’ve done ten episodes of spending every day with these people on set, full days. We usually pop into each other’s rooms to run lines between scenes and help each other. And talk about our characters and their choices.

And that’s a typical day. Very creative and productive.

Your turn, Law & Order fanatics! What do you hope happens for Maroun and the rest of the Law & Order team during the rest of Law & Order Season 21?

Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and share your thoughts.

Law & Order returns on April 28, 2022. In the meantime, watch Law & Order online right here on TV Fanatic.

Law & Order airs on NBC on Thursdays at 8 PM EST / PST.

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Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.

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