This Wednesday’s episode of Criminal Minds (CBS, 9/8c) may be titled “Closing Time,” but it’s also time for one “JJ” Jareau to open up a can of… well, you know, as she takes her profiling game to the next, fierce level. TVLine invited series vet A.J. Cook to preview this latest evolution with her character, as well as tease a reveal that will come out of the hour as well. (Hint: It involves one of JJ’s BAU buddies.)

So, [showrunner] Erica Messer told me that [executive story editor] Rick Dunkle wanted to get you get away from the typical talk-down and more immersed in the action with this episode. Did he succeed on that front?
Boy, did he ever. Yeah, we’re going to see JJ in a way we’ve never seen her before, so I’m really interested to hear what people have to say after this. [Laughs] I had a blast doing it, so…

What kind of case is at hand?
I’m afraid I’m going to give something away, but… there’s this guy who’s trying to get his son back while going through this messy divorce, and he finds out he’s sick, so he is sort of killing people along the way. Things sort of come to a head toward the end where we figure out where he may be, with his son. The team darts off like superheroes, and we all split up, and I find myself face-to-face with this unsub.

What sorts of firsts did the episode present you with as an actress?
There’s a huge fight scene at the end between me and the unsub, and it’s incredible. I’m a very physical person so I’ve sort of been asking them for a while to get me out there. We also actually find out some interesting things as to what JJ had been up to while she was away [for the back half of Season 6]. There’s a cool little moment between her and one of the other team members where you’re like, “Huh – who knew?!” I really liked that as well, finding out a little more about JJ and her relationship with one of the other team members. Ooh, how’s that for a tease!

Is it that she took, like, Krav Maga lessons with someone during her time away? Or is the fight scene a bunch of clumsy elbows to the jaw?
We’ll have to find out, won’t we? But yeah, it’s ugly…. [Laughs] But she holds her own. She holds her own.

There are photos of JJ with blood all over her – it must get ugly.
I can’t wait until it airs. I’m going to tweet a picture when it gets closer to the airdate, when I have permission. It’s such a great picture, and I’m sure it’s going to spark everyone’s interest as to how she got that way.

Might JJ diving deeper into the more dangerous aspects of the job cause more friction at home with Mr. LaMontagne?
Oh, that’s interesting…. People are starting to get nervous about that, that maybe the two are heading in different directions. We’re definitely going to see [Will and their son Henry] again, and I’m really excited for that storyline to play out, for the audience to figure out what is going on there.

Some people would rather JJ was single and “on the prowl”…
[Laughs] It’s funny because it seems to be split 50-50. There’s the women that love LaMontagne and just want to see him, and then there are these dudes who are like, “Yeahhhh, she needs to be a single woman!” I guess time will tell!

Erica said she doesn’t wish last season’s rash of transitions on any show, but that when all was said and done it gave Criminal Minds a fresh start, seven seasons in. Do you agree with that?
Oh, 110 percent. And particularly for me, because I feel like there was a rebirth of JJ, and it gave us the creative license to maybe change a couple things about her and make her a little richer a character. All of a sudden it was a blank canvas where we could do what we wanted and breathe new life into the show. Everyone was excited that everyone was back together again [for the season premiere], and that’s been a lot of fun for us to play.

Source: TVLine

The ever beautiful AJ has been featured in a new photo book in the fight against cancer called The Beauty Book for Brain Cancer. From how young AJ’s son looks in the photograph I would hazard a guess that it was taken quite some time ago – but it was worth the wait!

If you can, the please do buy The Beauty Book. It is such an amazing cause.

The Playboy Club got cancelled after a mere two shows back in October. The cutthroat response to a highly-anticipated show, like Playboy, further proved that networks aren’t playing around these days, not at all. So, when a show makes it to episode 150, there is definitely cause for celebration. Criminals Minds will reach this coveted milestone tonight with “Unknown Subject.” The Subject may be unknown but what is clear is that A.J. Cook (JJ) is definitely crucial to the show. Her fans made this evident last year by lobbying for her return to the series; her short sabbatical obviously didn’t take. We talked with Cook about tonight’s episode featuring a “top-shelf creepy” unsub, the “Piano Man.”

How are you today?
So far so good. Just dropped my son off at school and I’ve been flirting with the women of Criminal Minds via text all morning…love letters back and forth that started last night [laughs].

Congrats on 150 episodes, what does this mean for a modern day network show?
It’s bananas…everyday I just sort of think, how did I get here? It’s so great to be on a show and get to 100, let alone 150. So, we feel pretty lucky and we’re definitely not taking it for granted.

Tells us about tonight, we get to see the “Piano Man” return to assault his previous victims?
Ahhh, the “Piano Man.” Well, we have some great guest stars per usual because our casting is incredible and this killer comes back, and we are not sure if it’s a copy cat or what’s going on…then there’s the personal stuff, which I really love. Prentiss is trying to come to terms with what had happened and all that.

Jay Karnes, (The Shield, Burn Notice), plays the “Piano Man.” What kind of creepiness did he add?
Yes, [he is] incredibly creepy…I think it is going to be top shelf creepy [laughs]. Someone called the “Piano Man,” it’s like “Ohhh, there’s just something pretty creepy there.” …We always do a read-through for every episode, that’s your first glimpse into what these actors are going to do with these characters. You can always get a sense and I think my hair was standing up for that read-through because he plays it so soft spoken and on the DL, there’s just something more creepy about that…Oh, yeah but there’s also the thing of is he the serial killer, so there’s a very interesting switch up in this episode. I think the audience is going to be like, “Huh, yeah, was not expecting that.” There’s quite a huge twist in this, where I can’t even hint at it because it would just ruin everything, but things completely sort of twist for a second and you’re like “What! Shut the front door. Really?”

I always like to find where these names come from, is the “Piano Man” maybe a tribute to Billy Joel or just a coincidence?
(Laughs) I don’t know if we got the copyright, there’s a lot of music in this episode. I’m actually not too sure what songs we got clearance on.

What kind of unsubs can we look forward to the rest of the season – tough to top this one?
Well, we will, we always do [laughs]. We keep cranking out the psycho serial killers. We have some copycat killers coming up, there’s an interesting Dean Cain episode coming up that with gambling and gambling gone wrong…And you know what? We are going to see some really great happy moments too, which the show is really in need of [laughs]…and there’s going to be some really great stuff coming up for Garcia and Morgan…and for my character JJ, we are going to see her a little rough and tumble…we are going to see her get into a pretty ugly fight. That’s coming up in a couple weeks, so prepare to see a bloody JJ.

You left and came back on the show, fans were zealous about your return. How does it feel to have such a strong fan base?
Words really can’t describe the whole thing from being let go to the fans fighting, all of it was just surreal and looking back on it, it’s sort of like, “Wow, did that ever happen?” Just because you can’t write that stuff. The fans were just so incredible and made me feel loved and appreciated as an actor because I love JJ and loved playing that character. I put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into her, and to know the fans appreciated that and saw that, wow man! They fought and they fought and they fought. They know I love them and appreciate them.

Source: Hollywood

150 episodes. It’s a milestone for any series and any series star.

But the Criminal Minds instalment airing tomorrow night is extra special for A.J. Cook, considering she didn’t think she’d be a part of it following a cast upheaval in 2010.

“For me, this one means a little bit more,” the actress told me over the phone. “I’m so overwhelmed even to this day by all the fan support. Not a day goes by when I’m not grateful for it and grateful to be working with this group of actors. And here we are…”

Here they are, indeed, set to unleash “Unknown Suspect” on the world.

As previewed, the episode will focus on a serial rapist (known as “The Piano Man” and played by Jay Karnes) who resurfaces in order to re-assault previous victims. But Cook makes it sound like the case, which takes the BAU to Houston, will be anything but typical.

“The best way to say it is: expect the unexpected,” the actress teased. “It will be a roller coaster of a ride for the audience to go on, with an interesting twist that [Karnes] handles so well.”

Cook points to the show’s 100th episode and to her character’s “swan song” episode as two that really stand out over the years, but it’s clear that any time spent with her castmates is welcome, no matter what they’re shooting or doing.

“I’ve been texting with the girls all night and morning,” she said, joking: “I’m almost afraid of my next job now! What if I end up with all these crazy people? It really can’t get any better than it is now.”

The same might not be true for JJ, however. Cook is really excited about an upcoming episode in which we see JJ “in a completely different light.”

“There’s a pretty ugly fight,” the actress previews. “You see a tougher, scrapper, bloodier JJ. It was so much fun to film and I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”

Source: TVFanatic

Welcome to the brand new AJ Cook Online! It may have taken a while but we are now fully converted to WordPress! I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now, but there have been so many problems with the theme that it just wasn’t possible, and until this past weekend, I didn’t have a chance to sit down and figure it out. Now that it’s done, I can see that it was definitely worth all of the stressing out! It still might take me a few days to get all of the pages up because I am editing a few of them, but please bear with me! I should also add that I’m not planning on keeping this layout up for too long. Whilst I love the header, my coding is not all that great. Still, what do you think? Let us know by leaving us a comment below, we’d love to hear from you!

With the upgrade to WordPress, we also have a Facebook page! If you click our Like button (which is in the sidebar, towards the bottom of the page) whenever we update these updates will appear in your Facebook feed automatically.

Now, on from site updates, I have managed to get my hands on some new photographs of AJ. They are from back in November last year, when AJ attended The Animal Movers Special Event.

AJ Cook Online >> Events >> 2011 >> The Animal Movers Special Event