I know I’m not the only one who has been enamored with Clea DuVall since she played Graham in But I’m a Cheerleader. You might have discovered her earlier on, thinking she was hot as the mean Goth chick in She’s All That or as the, uh, mean Goth chick in The Faculty. Inspired by both Clea and But I’m a Cheerleader, though, I can probably claim her as part of my “root.” Since the turn of the new millennium, Clea has played some different kinds of roles, including a part as a mom in a turtleneck sweater in The Grudge and a feature role on the short-lived HBO series Carnivale. Despite steadily working, she’s managed to coast under the mainstream radar, even while appearing as a recurring character on Heroes and in bigger films like 21 Grams and Identity. Entertainment Weekly recently made my day when they announced Clea would be appearing on one of my favorite shows, Law and Order: SVU this December. There isn’t any news about her role so far, but it has been reported she will appear on the same episode as Mike Farrell and Gilmore Girls‘ Kelly Bishop. The episode is slated to run on Dec. 2.
What kind of character will she play? In her experience, she’s often been cast as the “dark girl,” despite having tried to shake it up with roles like the aforementioned turtleneck mom in The Grudge. (Sorry, I’ll never get over it.)
Currently, Clea can be seen in Passengers alongside Anne Hathaway. She plays Shannon, who is described by the New York Daily News as “the world’s worst angry-sullen group-therapy participant.” (Her part in Girl Interrupted comes to mind.) At this point, I’d love to see Clea do something completely different, like play a lawyer, or maybe even show up on the flip side of the coin as a psychologist helping out some poor, dark, mean Goth girl.
Really, though, I have one dream only, and it involves Clea and my favorite SVU detective. Dick Wolf, make it happen.
