Male Call

No way, no how would anyone ever mistake Gina Gershon for a man.

After all, Gershon is the actress who mixed up a fiery sultriness with a mischievous playfulness on the cult classic “Showgirls,” sizzled in her love scenes with Jennifer Tilly in “Bound,” seduced Tom Cruise in “Cocktail” and brought a bold femininity to testosterone-fests such as “Face/Off” and “Red Heat.”

So it may raise a few eyebrows to learn that the impossibly sexy Gershon is playing the “male lead” in the new ABC comedy-drama, “Snoops.” In the series --the latest from acclaimed “Ally McBeal” and “The Practice” creator David E. Kelley, Gershon plays Glenn Hall, the head of an outrageously high-tech private eye agency that has gadgets which would make James Bond salivate.

As originally conceived by Kelley, the role of Glenn was written for a male actor. Gershon actually was up for the female lead role, detective Dana Plant, and turned it down, much to the dismay of the producers. The role eventually went to Paula Marshall.

But when Kelley, haunted by Gershon and her reading, rethought Glenn as a female instead of a male, Gershon jumped on board. And one glance at her “work” outfits--often skin-tight leather--leaves no doubt that Glenn is a woman in charge of her life, her job and her sexuality.

“This is a great woman’s role,” Gershon said during the briefest of breaks in a day crammed with filming, looping dialogue and other obligations. “I don’t like the roles where the boss woman has to wear the suits and have the tight hair do. This is a fun part and I get to have fun with it.”

In “Snoops,” Gershon’s Hall admits that she and her investigative cohorts have “more in common with the criminals--we just have better intentions.” Simultaneously intrigued and repelled by Hall’s unorthodox methods is Plant, a by-the-book former police detective who’s looking for a new challenge. Rounding out the “Snoops” troupe is Roberta Young (Paula Jai Parker), who is known to wear some brazen disguises, and Manny Lott (Danny Nucci), described as “a whiz with a mini-cam, a mini-mic and any woman in a mini-dress.”

But much of the focus is on Gershon, who is making the leap to TV while riding the crest of a successful film career. The actress will be featured in the upcoming “The Insider,” starring Al Pacino, and in the Miramax release, “Guinevere.”

Allan Arkush, the series’ co-executive producer and director, said of Gershon: “Gina is bringing her own unique point of view, a real confidence and a dark sense of humor. She’s a woman succeeding in a man’s world by being smarter and knowing more than the people around her. She projects a lot of intelligence, and the fact that she’s sexy and gorgeous certainly doesn’t hurt.”

The allure of the versatile role and of working with Kelley convinced Gershon to join “Snoops.”

“I really had no interest in doing television,” said Gershon. “I turned down the role of Dana, and had just moved to New York because I wanted to do more theater. The first call I get in my new apartment was from David Kelley, who said, ‘What do you think about playing the guy’s part?’ All of a sudden, things were on different terms. I said I would like to do films, get pregnant, play all sorts of characters, and he said yes to everything. It’s pretty flattering to have someone so haunted by you that he’s willing to work things out.”

She is also grateful that playing Glenn allows her to do some comedy: “I’ve always wanted to do light comedy. In films, it’s just harder for me to get those kinds of roles. I’ve been offered sitcoms, and I really never been interested. This comedy that David is writing is coming from a very real place.”

However, Gershon is also seeing the rough side of being the center of a series: “People tried to warn me how difficult it can be, but it doesn’t really register until you’re in the trenches.” Still, Gershon said the role “is the most interesting she’s read in a long time,” and she has no qualms about putting her busy film career on temporary hold.

“The lines between film and television used to be way more definitive, but now it’s much more crossover,” she said. “This kind of work can lead to more film roles. Plus the movie world is in a strange place right now. It’s difficult to find good roles. This was the best one I’ve seen in a while.”

But the role that still registers most with Gershon’s fans is “Showgirls,” the notoriously NC-17 rated movie that featured her as a bitchy Vegas showgirl goddess. While the film zapped the life out of the blooming career of star Elizabeth Berkley, Gershon’s star power soared.

“It always amazes me how people still ask me about that film, and what an impression it made,” she said. “I’m proud of my work in ‘Showgirls,’ but it’s ‘Snoops’ that is at the top of my list right now.”

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“Snoops” airs at 9 p.m. Sundays on ABC.