'Rohm in LA' by Simon Bacal Xpose Magazine Issue 45 If you're a vampire setting up a detective agency in LA you need to get advice from the experts. Angel therefore sought help from Detective Kate Lockley, aka Elisabeth Rohm. Simon Bacal asked her some searching questions... When it comes to the dark, demon-infested world of the WB's Angel, Elisabeth Rohm is more than a sight for sore eyes. The actress has made a name for herself as Kate Lockley, a recurring Los Angeles detective who often works alongside Angel (David Boreanaz), the titular vampire private investigator, in solving crimes of a somewhat demonic nature. "The show is a wonderful experience. You're very rarely completely satisfied with something, whether it's a personal relationship or job. There's always some form of dissatisfaction. But, in this case, I love my producers [Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt], the cast members and my character -- I love going to work." Angel, which tasted its first blood last September, afforded Rohm the opportunity to play a strong, sympathetic and likeable character. "Kate is terrific in her job, but she frequently enters abandoned buildings in search of serial killers, and takes other risks that other cops wouldn't necessarily take," Rohm says. "Obviously, this person wants the bad guy - so she's definitely dedicated to her work." To prepare for her entrance into Angel's world, Rohm spent time with the real life LAPD - an experience which enabled the actress to better understand her character's background and sensibilities. "I visited a shooting range and tried to understand the mentality of cops and detectives," she recalls. "It's completely Zen -- total focus. In The Silence of the Lambs, Jodie Foster shakes with fear as she enters a basement, a scene which prompted me to believe that such climactic and dangerous moments naturally invoke feelings of terror. But, after years and years of training, these cops become completely calm and focused because they are trained protectors. So, when they enter an abandoned building, they're overwhelmed by a total stillness. That gave me a stronger sense of confidence and maturity when it came to getting into character. If I walked into an abandoned building, I would probably be very excited and scared, but Kate’s senses are alive and extremely calm." Aside from its steady mix of humor, action, drama and horror, Rohm believes that the new show contains important and meaningful messages - an element she attributes to the sharp skills of the writing team. "The message is always very present- whether it's about abortion, dating or whatever else," the actress states. "And it's always cool and creative to have the message colored, decorated and dressed up with demons, vampires and good and bad forces." "The camraderie between David, Charisma and Alexis is basically a message about unconditional friendship," Rohm continues, "because the characters are very different from one another - something which should teach us a thing or two about our own friendships. We don't have to be alike to like one another - we just remain loyal to those people who stick by us." Loneliness is another message which Rohm believes is explored on the show. The actress cites her debut episode Lonely Hearts, in which her character visits a singles bar during a search for an exceptionally brutal killer, as an example. "Kate is undercover at the bar, so she's initially pretending to be lonely," Rohm explains. "But, when she talks to Angel to determine whether he's the serial killer, this person suddenly realizes that she is lonely. Kate is certainly young and ambitious, but, at the same time, she just wants to be loved." Born in Germany, Rohm moved with her family to New York City at an early age, and grew up in the Big Apple. After high school, she purued a course in history and drama at Sarah Lawrence College in Westchester, New York. There she experienced her first yearning to enter the worl of stage and screen. "I sat in my dormitory room and watched a group of girls, who clearly thought they were very cool, sit around and talk about a play," she recalls. "Then they looked over at me and asked me to audition. I was very scared, but I auditioned anyway because I figured it would be a cool thing to do. After that experience, I simply fell in love with the whole acting profession." A few college plays later, Bondage, a story about a dominatrix, played a pivotal role in Rohm's decision to pursue a full-time acting career. "Initially, I was very judgmental of this dominatrix and I just didn't want the part," she recalls. "From the very beginning, I perceived this person as a real slut -- so I had already made a judgment call upon the character. Well, the director of the theater told me that professional acting requires one to become any person - regardlss of the character's qualities. So, by spending more and more time with this character, I discovered that she wasn't a slut after all - she was a very beautiful and scared person. That experience gave me a yearning to become a full time actress. At that point, I just couldn't picture myself doing anything else." Since her early acting days, Rohm has amassed a plethora of credits, including NBC's 1999 mini-series The Sixties and director Woody Allen's feature film Deconstructing Harry. "Television is wonderful, but it's very unchallenging to play the same character over and over again, so my final destiny is film," says Rohm. "I'd love to play wacky comedy and deep emotional dramas. That way, I'll play many different characters, grow and spread my wings." This article is the intellectual property of Xpose Magazine and its author. It is transcribed simply for fan purposes. No copyright infringement is intended. :: Back up ::       2008 Rohm with a View. Rohm with a View (lis-rohm.net) is an independent publication and is not endorsed by Elisabeth Rohm, her management or any related companies. Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Elisabeth Rohm or her management.