For some actors, a role is an opportunity to step away from reality temporarily. For others, it could mean challenging their acting chops. For Vanessa Ferlito, a part like that of agent Tammy Gregorio on "NCIS: New Orleans" was a great way to fuel a personal obsession. As Ferlito told in an interview for Parade Magazine, the actress was always interested in the life of federal agents despite not interacting with too many cops as a child in her "tough, Italian neighborhood" in Brooklyn.
"I didn't know many cops growing up, but I do think I would be a good FBI agent in real life," she said. "I'm kind of obsessed. It's to the point where my aunt told me, 'You can get arrested for trying to portray a cop,' because I was like throwing that around a little bit. It's gotten to my head. I don't know how to act. So, I am a little obsessed with that whole life, I don't know why."
A particular moment in Ferlito's childhood could have also influenced why she tends to take on law enforcement roles. In an interview with TV Guide, Ferlito said that her father died of a drug overdose when she was two. She then admitted that a scene in "Graceland" where her FBI agent character gets revenge on a drug pusher was therapeutic. Perhaps if acting hadn't called for her, Ferlito might have really gone into criminal justice.
