Copyright hellomagazine
Aime Donna Kelly was upped to a series regular on Law & Order: SVU this season after four years as a recurring character as Captain Renee Curry, and she tells HELLO! that there will be some big changes on the horizon for Curry. "I think Curry's weakness is that she is very fact-based, which is both a pro and a con; she really needs to assess all of the facts and what she knows before diving in," says Aime. "I think that's the reason why Curry chooses to stay at SVU, because she knows she needs to work on putting that foot forward sooner, rather than sitting back and assessing." "I think this season you're going to see Curry tackle that very thing," adds Aime. "[She realizes] that she doesn't need to spend so much time analyzing, but do more doing. The people around Curry, and the people she looks up to, act more in that manner, and you're going to see Curry join that, which is really cool." Curry is a Captain who works for the New York City Police Department's Special Victims Unit; she was previously the captain of the Internal Affairs Bureau, but joined SVU alongside Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) several seasons prior. "I was featured pretty heavily in the past two seasons, but I do think what's different is that now I'm a part of the opening and so Curry is a little bit more recognizable to fans," says Aime of the differences. "Once you make it into that opening, it's such a moment, and so it does feel different." Aime adds that despite the heavy subject matter, there is a "lightness" on set that has been set intentionally by their "fearless leader," Mariska. "We do try to keep it light on purpose, and I think we have our fearless leader, Mariska, to thank for that because she leads with such joy," says Aime. "It is always coming from a place of joy and not heavy anxiety, which is awesome. It lends itself to all of us in the cast feeling, and operating, like a squad. I don't think we would be able to do it as long as the show has been on the air if we didn't all really genuinely love each other, have fun being together, and find moments where we can talk about our lives and make jokes about everything going on in the world." This season, longtime fans of the show have also noticed a difference in the scripts, with a return to a quippy humor reverberating around the squad. Aime praises the "fantastic" new writing team for that, admitting that it brings a "humanity" to the characters. "People call SVU characters, especially Benson, a hero because we see her tackling these huge cases, but I think sometimes it's nice to peek behind the cape, and see who these characters are as real people dealing with these awful cases that affect us physically and mentally, in the day to day, with each other in the squad rooms," shares Aime. "And I love that we're bringing more of that into the room, and I think you can tell, in every scene, who each character is and where their personality lies and what their strengths and weaknesses are. We're getting more of a sense that we're all so different and so unique." Despite being a Captain, Curry took a demotion to join SVU, and Aime shares that fans will not see her pull rank among this squad anytime soon. "Rank and title and all of that pomp doesn't mean anything to Curry," says Aime. "This is a choice to stay with this squad. She knows that she is a captain, but right now that's not at the forefront of her mind – at the forefront is becoming a better cop. And she knows SVU is the place to do this." For Aime – who previously taught acting at Marymount Manhattan College – this opportunity to join the NBC family full-time has seen her become a student again. "One of the things that I remember telling my students is that the relationships and the moments that they have with the people that they work with are going to be some of the most impactful moments of their life because what we do as artists is we're experiencing and exploring humanity," she says. "And I get to do that with some of the giants in this business and I have no words to describe what that, what that feels like. I feel so, so lucky," she says.
