Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio Joins 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent'

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is set to join the cast of "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" for its upcoming season. Mastrantonio will play the working-class captain of the show's Major Case Squad, replacing Eric Bogosian. The cast will feature several new members, as four of the current actors, Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe, Julianne Nicholson and Eric Bogosian, have all chosen not to return.

Mastrantonio will join fellow Broadway star Jeff Goldblum, who joined the cast of "Law and Order: CI" this past season. According to a network representative, the 9th season of the show will likely premiere in the spring of 2010.

Mastrantonio has appeared on Broadway in various musicals, including West Side Story, Copperfield, The Human Comedy, and the 2002 revival of Man of La Mancha, in which she played Aldonza/Dulcinea opposite Brian Stokes Mitchell. She has appeared in New York Shakespeare Festival productions of Henry V, Measure for Measure, and Twelfth Night. Her New York City stage performances have garnered her a Tony Award and two Drama Desk Award nominations. She also starred in Grand Hotel at the Donmar Warehouse in London's West End. In 1984, Mastrantonio was featured in a benefit performance of A Christmas Carol with Helen Hayes, Raul Julia, Harold Scott, F. MacIntyre Dixon, and Len Cariou at the Symphony Space in New York. Mastrantonio most recently appeared in A View from the Bridge as Beatrice, playing alongside Ken Stott at the Duke of York's Theatre, London.

Mastrantonio first appeared on screen in Brian DePalma's Scarface as Gina, sister of Al Pacino's Tony Montana. She achieved prominence for her Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated role in The Color of Money opposite Paul Newman and Tom Cruise. Her other featured roles of the 1980s include Slam Dance, opposite Tom Hulce and The January Man with Kevin Kline. She starred in writer/director James Cameron's science fiction blockbuster The Abyss with Ed Harris, and as Maid Marian in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, in which she replaced pregnant Robin Wright.Criminal Intent follows a distinct division of the New York City Police Department: the "Major Case Squad". The Major Case Squad investigates high-profile cases (in most cases murder, just like the regular Law & Order in this sense), such as those involving VIPs, local government officials and employees, the financial industry, and the art world; though sometimes the cases are similar to the cases from the original Law & Order show as well. Unlike the other shows in the Law & Order franchise, as of Season 5 Criminal Intent episodes typically alternate between two teams of detectives.

Season 9 of "Law and Order: Ciminal Intent" will feature Jeff Goldblum as Zach Nichols and Saffron Burrows as Julia Porter, in addition to Mastrantonio. Season 9 will premiere in March, 2010, with the season showing on NBC Fridays at 9:00pm EST.