Kojak was too close to home as a child, says Rhames
Ving Rhames, who has stepped into Telly Savalas’s shoes for a new version of Kojak, wasn’t a fan of the TV show as a child.
“Kojak wasn’t on in my house. I grew up in Harlem ... where a version of Kojak’s show was happening every day in the neighbourhood. There were thugs and criminals and detectives running around. Why would I want to watch a show about that?” he said. “I think I’ve seen one repeat.”
Rhames, 43, who is best known for his role as Marsellus Wallace in the 1994 film Pulp Fiction and the Mission: Impossible franchise, said his Kojak will be different.
“You’ll see my Kojak being very human. He interprets the law of the streets differently than what’s on the written page. It’s not the law to beat up someone who molests a child. It’s not the law to castrate someone who rapes a child.
“But if someone does that to your child, could you understand that kind of punishment? I’m not saying you like it, but can you understand it? I guess that sums up Kojak. He’s a man who happens to be a detective. He finds his own way to deal with problems.”
