Criminal Minds: A.J. Cook Opens Up About JJ's Loss, Her Real-Life Sons Playing 'Big Emotions,' And Negotiating That Brief Cameo
The following contains spoilers from the May 22 episode of Criminal Minds: Evolution, now streaming on Paramount+.
It's all over but (more of) the crying.
Criminal Minds this week said a sad farewell to Special Agent JJ Jareau's husband, Will LaMontagne, Jr., who from Season 2 through 16 had been played now and again by Josh Stewart. The funeral and the fraught scenes leading up to it offered a fine acting showcase for series vet A.J. Cook, while her real-life sons got to tackle "big emotions" as the suddenly fatherless Henry and Michael.
Through in a wonderful guest-starring turn by the late Linda Lavin, and the happy (if brief) return of Matthew Gray Gubler's Dr. Spencer Reid, and you get one of the long-running crime drama's most memorable hours.
TVLine hopped on a Zoom with Cook this evening to break down the evolution of this tragic storyline, and the "strange places" it will lead JJ....
TVLINE | When were you first told that Will would be dying? Was it actually at some point last season, or between seasons?
It actually took us a while to arrive to that. When we found out that [Josh Stewart] wasn't, that we weren't going to be able to get him back, we sort of sat on it for a while, trying to figure out what the game plan was moving forward. But the nature of the streaming version [of Criminal Minds], it's definitely more oriented around the personal stories and that side of our characters' lives. Back on the original [CBS] version, we would go seasons and seasons without seeing JJ's family life and that that would have been fine. I think ultimately that's what made us pull the trigger on it, that JJ's family life is a huge part of her and her story, getting to see her juggle work and family, all the things that a woman gets to do. We've always written to life in the past, and why not with this? This is going to hurt, it's going to hurt. It's going to be really, really hard, but that's life, and It's really kind of opened up this whole other side of the show — for JJ especially.
TVLINE | I was going to say, she's not defined by her relationship with Will, but she is defined as the team member who's married with children.
I know, and we don't take that lightly, [showrunner] Erica [Messer] and I. We're so protective of this family, so much so when we wrote in [Will's] cancer storyline, we were like, "No, we don't want to do this, no, we're not doing this to our family." That's how much we did not want this to happen. But here we are.
I love Josh [Stewart] so much. He and I, we have such a wonderful relationship, we've known each other for so long now. We've done #Willfer together for so long, we've done movies together—
TVLINE | When Tara said they'd been together for 18 years, I double-checked the math and was like, "Oh my God, it has been 18 years." Since 2007.
Right? It blows your mind. So, I mean, this was something we thought long and hard about. We looked at every situation and how that would play out, and this was the only way where we could really write life, and it's opened up this whole other opportunity for storytelling. There's a lot of single moms out there, and that's a struggle. And to see these boys.... This is the most heartbreaking part, like, what do these boys do now? Henry is the new "man of the house," and to see how we all evolve and move forward.... Obviously, we're going to see all of the levels of grief, and there's a lot of emotion as there should be, not just from JJ but from everyone. Having Will gone truly has changed the fabric of the show and we're going with it. In a way, it has brought all of us so much closer together, which has been a really beautiful thing in the storyline.
TVLINE | As an actress, were you solely interested in the changes that JJ would go through, or did you have any concerns?
I absolutely had concerns. This is my TV husband, so it's like, "Oh my gosh, no, I don't want him to die. I don't want to do this to my children." But that's life. Life happens, death happens. People can be gone in an instant. For example, Linda Lavin. We're so lucky to have her in this episode and never in a million years did I think that was the last time I was going to see her, or that this would be the last thing that she was going to be in. It's just boom, life happens, and you messily work your way through it.
As far as the creative aspect of it, we're going to get to see JJ really struggle and try to figure all this out. She will try to do what she usually does, which is put on a brave face — but you can't do that forever.
TVLINE | At what point in the process did it dawn on you, as their mom, "This is going to be some serious work for my sons [Mekhai and Phoenix, who play Henry and Michael]"?
Oh, right away. That was like my first thought. And that was that Erica's big thought, too, when we started to throw around that idea of, "What does this look like moving forward?" I obviously talked to my kids. I know they are intelligent, emotionally stable children, and they know that this is all fake and this isn't real. What people don't see is they call "Cut!" and Matthew Gray Gubler's whipping my son Phoenix in circles at the back of the church. [Laughs] It was such a wonderful experience all around, but yeah, these are big emotions for anyone to feel.
TVLINE | What advice did you give them to get to the emotional place they needed to be?
It was really easy for them. My youngest son is very, his heart is on his sleeve. He's an old soul. So that was easy for him. You hear a sad song and he's like, "Aww," which really plays on-screen. And then my older son, he's the more stoic one, and he's the one that [as Henry] has to step into the shoes of being the man of the house. And that's how it was played. I mean, it's heartbreaking. It's absolutely heartbreaking. But I just want to say for the record, I'm not a terrible mom forcing my children into, like, "You will be sad!" They're highly intelligent, well-adjusted children, and I'm also not opposed to kids feeling big emotions. That's part of being a human; this was just filmed for everyone to see.
TVLINE | I took some reader questions, and Amber wants to know if there are any songs that you listened to to get yourself where you needed to be for a given scene.
I used to do that, but not so much this time. I gotta say, for this whole storyline, it was so close to me and it all just felt so real that I really didn't need to do that.
TVLINE | What did you learn of first, that Linda Lavin would be playing Will's mother Connie, or that Matthew would be back?
Well, Matthew, I was the one on the phone with him. I was like, "Matthew, will you come do this, please?" I called him and said, "Look, this is happening... and I know you've got things going on... but it would be really great. It just doesn't feel right if Spence wasn't there." And he agreed, he said he'd do it, and I'm forever grateful because I feel like something humongous would have felt missing if [Spencer] didn't show up in that moment. Though it's brief, it's impactful, and I'm so happy that he took the time to come and do that. It was so great having him back. (Ed. Note: Gubler issued a statement late Thursday, saying, "It's a joy to get to tell stories with people you love so I will always cherish any moment, big or small, that I get to hug my Criminal Minds family or slip back into my dear friend Spencer's oversized wingtips.")
TVLINE | And with Linda Lavin, is it in a way easier to start an on-screen relationship from an adversarial place? Because it gives you something specific to work with, and then you can add nuance from there?
I never thought of it that way, but yeah, you know what, that is in an interesting way to put it. She is one of the most wonderful, giving, vibrant actresses I've ever worked with. It was such a gift having her there. And all of our scenes together felt so easy.
TVLINE | Though she did have to slap you, you had to hurl the F-word at her.
[Laughs] I know, things I never in a million years thought I would be able to do, and I got to do those with Linda Lavin before she passed away.
TVLINE | TVLine reader Andrea wants to know, "What was the most difficult scene to film?"
Hmm....
TVLINE | Was it the eulogy, or something smaller actually?
I mean, the eulogy, was that was tough. That was really tough.
TVLINE | Was it one take or a couple?
We did it a couple times.
What I found the most difficult was at the cemetery with them folding the flag and the soldiers saluting me. That just ripped my heart out because of how many people have stood in that place. And it just felt so real, where all of a sudden you're a single mom and your kids don't have a dad. That really hit home for me. That was emotional, for everybody. Not a dry eye on that cemetery lawn that day.
TVLINE | And Joe [Mantegna] directed this episode, right?
Yes. Those are good hands to be in. I love Joe. He did an amazing job.
TVLINE | How is JJ going to recover from this? And who is going to be her rock throughout the foreseeable future?
That's a great question. You know, I think with grief, it comes and goes, and just when you think you're past it, something else comes and triggers it....
TVLINE | She might "act out" at some point, you're saying?
I just think that there's a lot of levels to it, and we're going to see all sides of it. It's not going to be like a quick little, "Oh, let's tie a bow on it, she's done, she's grieved." That's not how it works. She's going to find comfort and healing in some strange places.
TVLINE | And it was definitely an aneurysm? Voit didn't somehow slip Will a mickey, right?
No! I mean, not that I'm aware of!
TVLINE | Because with Voit, man, you never know....
Right? Can't trust that guy.
Want scoop on Criminal Minds, or for any other TV show? Shoot an email to InsideLine@tvline.com, and your question may be answered via Matt's Inside Line!