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There\u2019s a new detective<\/a> coming to\u00a0Law & Order<\/em><\/a> in the Thursday, November 13, episode, and he operates in the gray. David Ajala<\/a> joins the cast as a new series regular, Theo Walker.<\/p>\n His first case as Detective Vincent Riley\u2019s (Reid Scott<\/a>) partner is the murder of a high school sports star, with several suspects who were trying to make money off his talent. Below, David Ajala introduces us to Detective Theo Walker. Plus, watch a sneak peek.<\/p>\n Introduce Theo Walker. How\u2019s he settling in at homicide?<\/strong><\/p>\n David Ajala:<\/strong> Theo Walker\u2019s originally from narcotics and now just navigating the world of homicide. I feel like the beginning part of his journey in this show is going to be about how he navigates the differences between the two and how he\u2019s able to use transferable skills from narcotics as, now, a homicide detective. Also, Theo Walker is not a straightforward kind of guy. He lives in the area of gray, but I feel like he uses that to his advantage. It allows him to understand the psyche of human beings, that everything is not binary. It\u2019s many shades of gray.<\/p>\n He has a history with undercover work. Is that where that came into play?<\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s right, exactly. So he has to, when it comes to code-switching, he is very good at it because he\u2019s from narcotics. So when he is in certain environments, he has to be who he says he is. So if that means just switching his vernacular in the way he talks or whatever it might be, it felt very important that he\u2019s able to do it very, very well.<\/p>\n What\u2019s his impression of Riley so far?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Theo looks at Riley, and I don\u2019t think he judges him, but I think he offers perspective so that Riley can be more impactful with the work that he does. It\u2019s almost like correcting somebody\u2019s style or approach to work that could be quite a sensitive subject, but I don\u2019t think for someone like Theo \u2014 he\u2019s like, I\u2019ll give you this information and share my thoughts on this, but you do with it whatever you will. But as I\u2019m empowering you and explaining to you how to read the nuances of characters, hopefully, you\u2019ll get a little insight into the way that I see things, too. It\u2019s teaching without teaching,<\/p>\n What\u2019s he getting from Riley in return, especially as he\u2019s adjusting to homicide?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think it\u2019s Riley\u2019s approach to interviewing and interrogation scenes, and I feel that Theo is smart enough to really watch Riley and to see how Riley navigates certain situations. And as he\u2019s doing it, Theo\u2019s processing the information, he\u2019s thinking, \u201cAlright, I like how Riley did that. That makes sense.\u201d Or \u201cif I\u2019m in that situation, respectfully, I\u2019m not going to do it like that. I\u2019m going to do it like this.\u201d Nothing is lost. He\u2019s always learning, and that\u2019s important, that he has to have the ability and the humility to want to be better. That\u2019s important. It\u2019s not like, oh, I know everything. I\u2019m not going to listen to you. It\u2019s not that. It\u2019s different. He wants to be great at what he does, so he\u2019s going to pay attention and learn.<\/p>\n Talk about working with Reid as these two characters are getting to know one another.<\/strong><\/p>\n Reid Scott is great to work with. Very funny guy. He makes me laugh a lot. Just naturally very funny, kind, passionate about the work, very supportive. I always see how he\u2019s supportive to our guest stars, and it\u2019s a similar way that I like to work. Whenever we have a guest star, I want them to feel as comfortable as possible so that they can share their artistry because they\u2019re part of the team. It\u2019s been fun developing a shorthand way of working, but I also do like how I\u2019m shooting my fourth episode, which is Episode 10, I think, and they\u2019re still learning each other. It\u2019s not like, oh, hunky dory. Oh, we\u2019re friends and pals. No, no, they\u2019re still figuring things out. That\u2019s important, that that is real for life, to work on your negotiation skills.<\/p>\n