The fictional Corrections Officers (CO's) at the Oswald State Penitentiary are, by all accounts, a pretty nasty crowd. Conniving, manipulative and often guileless, they manage to keep some semblance of order throughout Em City and Gen Pop. But they often perform their duties at a high cost to the population they are paid to protect. Most have no problem lying, taking bribes, setting up inmates for beatings, various forms of torture and sometimes gruesome death, betraying each other … the list goes on and on.
In Tom Fontana's fictional land of OZ, one of the most feared CO's of all is Officer Claire Howell, brilliantly brought to venomous life by the talented Brooklyn-born Kristin Rohde. Howell is one of the toughest hacks in the OZ stable, and she exacts her own sinister brand of 'discipline.' A sexual predator as well as a psychological one, Howell's sociopathic drives veer from a failed affair with Prison Administrator Tim Mc Manus (Terry Kinney) to forced sexual liaisons with various prisoners including the equally sociopathic Ryan O'Reily (Dean Winters). Howell also commits a murder during her reign.
But in the case of actress Kristin Rohde, the role couldn't be farther from the person portraying it. Funny, engaging and witty, Rohde is as friendly as Howell is wicked. Originally hired by Tom Fontana to play two episodes, Rohde was convinced the role of Claire Howell would go no further. As it turns out, her character has become one of the most popular CO's on the show.
Like her friend and castmate Lee Tergesen ('Tobias Beecher'), Rohde received training at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy. She played the lead in MTV Networks Uncle Chuck, and she also carried top billing in numerous theatrical productions, including: Critic (Judith Anderson Theater), Pirates of Penzance (Gateway Playhouse), An Evening of Cole Porter (Amda Studios-NYC), Cabaret (Gateway Playhouse), Sweet Charity and Damn Yankees (Airport Playhouse).
Rohde's entrée into TV was via a bit part on NBC's Law and Order, Special Victims Unit. She was later cast as a featured player on Homicide: Life on the Street for four years. Rohde's film credits include The Shot (also featuring Lee Tergesen) and The Squeeze.
The actress says her favorite form of stage work is comedy, though she hastens to add that she 'didn't have the guts' to make it as a standup comic.
DAVID GUARINO: Kristin, when you look at your work on OZ, what is the most important life lesson to be learned?
KRISTIN ROHDE: Change. I think there needs to be change in the prison system … in the correctional facilities … . It's (the prison system) not doing what it's supposed to do! It doesn't come anywhere near the ideal or even the basic acceptable. The system needs change. It's not rehabilitating anyone, it's making matters worse. ... The system perhaps gets the criminal off the street, but you've made a worse one that you're going to let out on parole in another three years. So what difference does it make?
DG: I think that one of the great ironies in OZ is that although the surroundings in Em City are modern, with glass doors, updated pods and state of the art facilities, the system fails everyone who is involved: not just the prisoners, but also the staff and, really, society in general. I wouldn't want to explain away the depravity of Claire Howell, but she is a victim.
KR: (Nods) Very true. But when in Rome … And when you think about it, too, wouldn't it be horrible if you had to spend eight hours a day, or a double shift or whatever, in a prison? And yet you're not a prisoner but you work there? Oh my God! I was thinking, if I really had to go to a prison eight hours a day for a job, what a miserable life that would be!
DG: How long do you think you, Kristin Rohde, would last in a place like OZ?
KR: Not five minutes! (laughs)
DG: What was it like working with Edie Falco?
KR: I've known Edie for a couple of years; quite a few years now and she's wonderful. I love Edie. We always had quite a party beforehand (pre-OZ), what have you. Then when I got on OZ, it was great because she was already there. I got to punch her, and then she won an Emmy, so life is great! During my first year on OZ, Edie was doing both OZ and The Sopranos.
DG: And you were born in Brooklyn? Yeah. I'm a New Yorkuh! (Strains her Brooklyn accent). ... Through and through! I did my time in LA though; I was out there for five years. My marriage failed in California … is that what you'd call itfailed? ... I loved [LA] for what it was worth. I was very close to Lee (Tergesen) out there because I went to school with Lee. I later met Tom (Fontana) through Lee out there and several other future OZ castmates …
DG: What would you consider the most difficult thing you had to do as Officer Claire Howell on OZ, Kristin?
KR: The sex scenes. ... Oh, they were horrible to do, yeah.
DG: Because of the crew watching, or your own inhibitions?
KR: Well, it's certainly not a lovely tranquil type setting. (Kristin laughs) ... You have to do the scenes repeatedly because you have to get each angle, and it was horrible. Horrible. I mean, every woman is self-conscious, I mean you want to talk self-conscious! That's kinda all out there in front, you know what I mean? The crew was extremely supportive of course. But it was just a horrible, horrible experience. But you know, a lot of people on the show (OZ) had to do unpleasant things … I actually had a nude scene on OZ which never made it to airing, thank God! I
DG: What about when the guys (prisoners) get thrown into 'The Hole?' They are always naked ...
KR: Oooh! But they just get thrown in there. In my nude scene I was talking, I was moving around … it's just … throw me down, that's one thing, but this ... [was in] the locker room. Oh, that was a nightmare. I used to say to Dean (Winters), 'This is what we went to acting school for.' Yeah, David, that was my worst nightmare.
DG: How did you feel about taking a role on a controversial show like OZ?
KR: Some people love it, some people hate it. People always tell me that they love it (my portrayal).
DG: What is the reaction that you get from other women as far as your character of Officer Claire Howell.
KR: (Kristin smiles and laughs) Well, the girl from across the street always yells at me, 'You GO, Girl!'