After Mandy Patinkin walked away from the television series Criminal Minds, due to those pesky “creative differences”, the producers sought a big name star to headline the show. Arguably, the series may have a bigger star with Harvey Keitel stepping in as headliner. Keitel may even bring people who haven’t watched Criminal Minds before.

Keitel has had experience with both sides of the law, on screen at least. Nominated for an Academy Award for his supporting turn in Bugsy, Keitel first was noticed in his starring performances in two of Martin Scorsese’s earliest films, Who’s That Knocking on my Door? and Mean Streets. Among Keitel’s more prominent performances as a cop one would count Clockers, Thelma and Louise and of course, The Bad Lieutenant. I would think that unlike that last film mentioned, Keitel will most likely keep his clothing on and most of his manners in check for the television audience.