Greetings,
So, what does one do when they get a promotion and they are tasked with replacing themselves in their former job? Well, I bet that, either consciously or subconsciously, one may hire a "Mini-Me". Or, at least, a "Mini-Me" that more resembles them in their youth. Time for you to move on up Jack McCoy and let Michael Cutter take your place.
Michael Cutter was portrayed by Linus Roache from Season 18 to Season 20. And this actor is British, something I don't think we've ever had on Law & Order. I mean, they had them on Law & Order:UK, but that was the point. Of course, he hid that accent well, and you'd swear he was a native New Yorker. Now, I was just kidding about the "Mini-Me" thing...sort of. Cutter does actually remind me of a younger Jack McCoy, certainly in the way that he tends to look at the rules sometimes. By that, I mean he looks at the rules and pretty much says, "Yeah, maybe. Maybe not. I guess we'll just see".
I must say, though, it was rather entertaining to see him try and get away with some of this stuff, which he did occasionally. And it wasn't always small stuff either. There was the time he told Green and Lupo they had a search warrant when they didn't. And in the "Not at all about Scientology" episode, he convinced a suspect that he was a member of the religion, just to get the guy to confess. Then, there was the time that he kind of, sort of, in her words "pimped out" Connie Rubirosa when he saw that a juror was crushing on her. And can we ever forget that time he slipped into a Russian accent to convince a witness that he was a spy? Why would he do that? Well, he wanted to provoke the witness into threatening him so that Dr. Olivet would have to order the guy to take his medication...BECAUSE HE WAS SCHIZOPHRENIC! Yeah, no! That is just not right. At least, the guy got the help he needed. And Cutter got headbutted. It was fantastic.
You may be wondering to yourself "What kind of behavior is that? This guy is, after all, a lawyer in the District Attorney's office". Or is he? Yeah, that's another thing. We find out in Season 20 that he never got his Undergraduate Degree, because a few of his credits weren't recorded, but he still went through law school. In short, his entire legal career was called into question. But since he did do the work, the New York State Bar was just like "Whatever. He can be a lawyer".
Now, aside from that little incident, we don't learn much about Cutter's personal life. At least, not in present times. We do know that his parents are divorced, and his father, who he has had little contact with, left when he was ten. As far as politics go, I don't think he ever said what side he was on, straight out. Still, since he was pro-life, I always just assumed he leaned more towards the Conservative side. But who knows? And, speaking of personal lives, it is hinted at that he may have a thing for Connie Rubirosa, but nothing ever comes of it. That's sad. They would have been so cute together.
Oh, and I would be remiss to not mention the one time that he came within an inch of being murdered...in the courthouse bathroom. Use your own imaginations, but I believe it would have made for some embarrassing crime scene photos. Thankfully, Lupo and Bernard came to his rescue. By the way, I don't care if someone LIVES in the courthouse, this should teach us that even they should be subject to the metal detectors.
Look, as I said, I was kidding about Michael Cutter being a clone of Jack McCoy. Of course, because he was taking his job, there were bound to be some comparisons, even similarities. Still, he managed to stand out as his own character, and he was a fantastic one. It didn't hurt that I enjoy Linus Roache as an actor so much. I'm sure he could have just gone in there and been the new Jack McCoy, but he put forth an effort to be, despite the similarities, his own person. He had some big shoes to fill, but I can't think of anyone who could have done it better.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
