How Denis O'Hare Really Felt About Playing Judge Abernathy On The Good Wife

Given the premise of CBS' The Good Wife, the show was a magnet for guest stars. During its airing (2009 to 2016), the creators of The Good Wife managed to snag an onslaught of beloved character actors to guest star as various individuals caught up in the legal proceedings. Judges, in particular, offered a wonderful opportunity to bring on a recognizable face for an episode. Or, 9 episodes in the case of Denis O'Hare.

While Denis O'Hare was in the worst season of American Horror Story, he's also been in some of the best. Not to mention an array of stellar television shows and movies, including Dallas Buyers Club, Milk, and George Clooney's most underrated film, Michael Clayton. For that reason and more, he was the ideal actor to portray the ultra-liberal Judge Charles Abernathy.

Not only was Denis asked to return in multiple seasons of The Good Wife to rule on various cases, but he also portrayed the character in three episodes of the spin-off series, The Good Fight. Here's what the acclaimed actor actually thought of his character and time in the television franchise.

Denis O'Hare Connected To Playing Judge Abernathy On The Good Wife

During an interview with Vulture, Denis O'Hare explained exactly how The Good Wife's creators, Michelle and Robert King were initially concerned about hiring him because they weren't sure if he could be funny. This is one of the many things that fans may not know about the making of The Good Wife. The character of Judge Abernathy was a little less serious due to his inexperience and very hardcore Liberal beliefs. So, Michelle and Robert wanted someone who could lean into the comedy.

According to Denis, their concerns were relieved when they realized that he had just won a Tony Award for a comedy called Take Me Out!

While he felt like he had something to prove to the creators, he also very much connected with the character himself.

"I really connected to the fact that he was this incredibly liberal, genial guy who wanted to dispense with protocol and just be human. He was also a newbie judge, and I was a newbie, so I could lean into the idea that I don’t know enough to do this job but I would bring my open mind to it," Denis said.

"Then, as we went on, whether the Kings knew my politics or not, they leaned into my politics. I’m incredibly anti-gun. I believe the Second Amendment should be erased, and was a historical anomaly and a mistake. More than one of the episodes intersected with my politics, and I loved that. Then of course, Judge Abernathy tended to rule against his own beliefs, because he always followed the law. There was always a shock or a turn when his verdict wasn’t what you thought."

Denis O'Hare's Favorite Good Wife Episode

Denis O'Hare's Judge Abernathy got to rule on a number of different cases during the 9 episodes he was featured in. During his interview with Vulture, the actor explained which of them were his favorites.

"I remember one about gun rights. Someone put up an anti-gun billboard [after his daughter’s passing due to a shooting in season seven’s “Shoot”], and Abernathy had to rule against his own beliefs and say that a gun manufacturer could not be held liable for the death of [the plantiff’s] child," Denis explained.

"Another one of my favorite episodes [season four’s “The Art of War”] was a crossover with my friend Linda Emond, who played a military judge."

Did The Good Wife Make Denis O'Hare A Method Actor?

During his itnerviee with Vulture, Denis addressed the question of whether or not he actually learned anything about the law by playing a judge. While discussing it, he revealed that he learned a ton due to being a bit of a method actor.

"The first episode we shot was actually in a real courtroom in Jamaica. It was my first day of shooting and the judge whose courtroom it was watching. I stood in the back with him and chatted with him and asked for tips. We also had this wonderful adviser on staff for The Good Wife and he was an officer for the court system. He was always there to give you notes. I would also do my own research. When I got the script, I’d research case law. I’m a weird method actor that way. I print things out and bring them with me."

Despite going a bit method for Judge Abernathy, Denis didn't actually make up a backstory for the character. This is partially because a judge is asked to leave themselves behind when they take on a case and also due to Denis' own beliefs about taking on a script.

"There’s a famous dictum that my acting teacher always taught me. The messenger speeches in Greek tragedy are these huge, important ideas — Medea has killed her children offstage; Antigone has buried her brother. Nobody cares where the messenger has come from! They only care about what they’re delivering."