Zap2it: You’ve had quite a ride as JJ on “Criminal Minds” over its seven-season history, including the time you were off the show. Do you reflect on that much?
A.J. Cook: I do feel a lot of pride. I’ve put a lot of effort and time and sweat and tears into JJ, so it feels good that I’m still here, and our 150th episode has aired. I didn’t think we would be here for 100, let alone 150 … and I certainly didn’t think I was going to be there for the 150th, because I had been let go! It really does mean a lot to me, just to see JJ grow and how much she’s changed since she’s come back. We’ve had a lot of creative license there, and that was important to me in coming back. I wanted to take her someplace new and give her something exciting, and I’m having a blast. I’ve been able to do a lot of fun things with JJ that you’ve never seen her do before.

Zap2it: What do you recall now about the period when you were off “Criminal Minds”?
A.J. Cook: I was able to do a lot of soul-searching and remember why I became an actress in the first place. I was able to go and do some really great projects, and it sort of re-ignited the flame inside me to be a better actress, to embrace and love the profession again — because it was rough for me for a while.

Zap2it: How were the show’s fans to you throughout that time?
A.J. Cook: They’ve just been so delightful, I’m still blown away by it. Part of me wants to forget the whole thing, but it’s impossible to, because the fans are still so hurt by it.

“Criminal Minds” airs Wednesday on CBS.

Source: Zap2It

Get ready to meet JJ’s mom!

Oscar-nominated American Graffiti star Candy Clark has been cast as Sandy Jareau, the mother of JJ (A.J. Cook), on Criminal Minds, TVGuide.com has learned exclusively.

Clark will appear in the Season 7 finale, which will find JJ’s family facing a lot of drama. The two-hour episode involves a hostage situation at a federal bank, during which one of the BAU members becomes a hostage. The episode will also be the last for Prentiss (Paget Brewster) and will feature Battlestar Galactica’s Tricia Helfer. Oh, and there will be a wedding too. Could Sandy be there to watch JJ tie the knot with Will (Josh Stewart)?

Clark received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance as Debbie Dunham in 1973′s American Graffiti. She reprised the role six years later in the sequel More American Graffiti. Her other credits include The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Big Sleep, Blue Thunder, Zodiac and The Informant! She’s also guest-starred on Magnum P.I., Matlock and St. Elsewhere.

Criminal Minds’ Season 7 finale airs Wednesday, May 16 at 9/8c on CBS.

Source: TVGuide

William Brent Bell’s next venture in the horror genre is quickly taking shape as his found footage werewolf flick Wer has cast up its first actress and we have it primed and ready.

According to B-D, A.J. Cook (Final Destination 2, Mother’s Day) is currently in final negotiations to star in Wer which is scheduled to begin shotting in Romania next month.

The film takes place in a “Translyvania police station with the suspect turning into a werewolf.”

Matthew Peterman penned the script while Steven Schneider will be producing the upcoming flick.

Source: HorrorMovies

I would love some Criminal Minds finale spoilers! — Terry
I’m hearing the episode — which will include a wedding! — is actually a two-parter that deals with a bank robbery gone bad. (Really, has a robbery ever gone well on TV?) When the hot-headed thief’s brother is killed during the heist, his quest for revenge leads him to hold everyone in the bank hostage. Geez, man, there has to be an easier way to score an invite to the wedding!

Could this mean a wedding for JJ? Could we finally get some decent AJ screen time? I guess time will tell.

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