Sophomore slump gone for Tenney

The prolific actor is the veteran of eight different television series. But until now, he had not been fortunate enough to be a part of a breakout hit.

"I'm up there or maybe even tied with George Clooney before he got 'ER,' " Tenney says, laughing. "It's a great ensemble to begin with and everyone involved with the show has been around the block a few times."

Tenney, whose last recurring television role was on the Lifetime police drama "The Division" in 2004, had suffered through the cancellation of "Brooklyn South," "Equal Justice" and "The Dirty Dozen: The Series," among others.

While a hit series has been a long time coming for Tenney, his more than two decades as a working actor on stage ("The Heiress," "The Real Thing"), television and in feature films ("Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World") has helped him to take the ups and downs in stride.

"You have to have perspective on all of that stuff," he says. "It feels good to be on a successful show, to be proud of the work and to want people to see it. That is sort of all you can control."

Tenney, 44, was in just one scene in last year's series premiere, and it wasn't known how much his character, FBI Agent Fritz Howard, would figure into future episodes. But the on-screen chemistry between him and series star Kyra Sedgwick (Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson) was apparent, and this year's season premiere has their characters moving in together.

"It's important to see her character in an area of her life where she is much less sure-footed," he said.

Tenney can actually credit himself for helping shape his character. He was originally called in for the part of Sgt. David Gabriel (Corey Reynolds), who was initially to be her co-worker and love interest.

"I said, 'To be honest, I wouldn't cast me in this role,' " he recalls. "This needed to be the young guy coming up, but I said the character of Fritz, that's someone you could bring in. They sort of went with my idea, which was also a sign that we could have that dialogue."

Tenney, who shares custody of his daughter, Emerson Rose, with former wife Teri Hatcher, is currently shooting episode six of what will be a 15-episode season. He politely declines to discuss Hatcher, to whom he was married from 1994 to 2003. But he's happy to discuss Sedgwick, with whom he has enjoyed working from the start.

"She's a terrific actress and a dear, dear woman, too," Tenney says. "I'm a big believer that each take is a filmed rehearsal so you can keep exploring. I sense that is how she works, too. We really do connect well."