To celebrate the new series premiere, Criminal Minds veteran A.J. Cook — who plays Agent Jennifer “JJ” Jareau — sat down with BuzzFeed to chat about the show’s lasting legacy. We talked about her first audition for the series, meeting Matthew Gray Gubler and Shemar Moore for the first time, and what you can expect in the reboot. Here’s everything we learned: So, the audition process was, you know, always super fun…not really. [Laughs] It’s always very stressful. I remember when I went to the set for the first time and got to meet everyone. Two things really stick out. One was meeting Shemar [Moore, who played Derek Morgan] because he’s Shemar. I grew up watching The Young and the Restless. And I was like, “Malcolm!” and he was like, “Hey, baby girl.” He’s so charming in real life. And he’s like my brother now. Barf, ew. [Laughs] But back then, I was like, “Oh my gosh!” The other thing that stands out is meeting Matthew [Gray Gubler]. I was in a movie called The Virgin Suicides that Sofia Coppola directed, and he was a huge fan of that movie. He was like, “Oh, my gosh, that’s so cool that you were in that!” They were both so lovely and so welcoming. Those memories stick out. Matthew and Shemar. It’s been something that’s really special for us as a family because I have my kids’ lives documented in a way. And to have that, forever, is something that I’m grateful for. It’s really special. To have them come back again, in the 2.0 version. I mean, this is something I think the fans are really gonna be blown away by because little Henry, he’s not so little anymore. My son is 14, and he’s 5'11". And he’s got little muscles and stuff. It’s almost like a timeline. He is our walking timeline for this show. It’s so crazy. I think that’ll be something that’s really special for the fans who’ve watched it from the beginning and [have] seen these kids grow up. But fast-forward to actually coming together to shoot the show. We’re shooting at the same stage that we shot at before. It’s the most bizarre feeling. It’s like we never left, but we’ve been gone as well. It’s just this strange space to be in. And a lot of our crew is new, too. So, it’s like, we’re home, but there’s, like, new members of our family. It’s cool. It’s been really nice. Everyone is so lovely. We all just mesh really well together. So, this episode I’ve been directing for Evolution, I’m actually in editing right now. I just finished directing. Today’s my last day editing. It’s so fun. And it’s just, it’s magic how it all comes together. It’s fascinating to me. One of the things that’s very different from directing my first episode to this episode is that they tend to write us really light in the episodes that we’re directing because it’s a lot to wear both hats. But this year…not so much. There’s sort of like a meaty JJ storyline with her family. So, not only am I directing and acting, but I’m also directing my children in this episode. Like, I really signed up for this. [Laughs] But it ended up being really great. And it was a lot of fun. It was great to have the boys there. I loved it because they actually had to listen to me, so I was kind of milking it for all it was worth. But, again, on the day, I had so many pinch-me moments of like, “This is such an amazing opportunity and such a cool, unique experience.” Just to sit in it for a minute and enjoy it. Like, my kids are here, and we’re acting together as a family. And it was really special. That was one of the big, big differences, having to wear multiple hats for this one. But I wouldn’t change it for anything. BuzzFeed: Will we get to see Josh Stewart back as your husband again, too? A.J.: Oh, of course! And it’s nice, we’re actually going to see quite a bit of him. It’s exciting. That’s part of the joy of getting to do this streaming version of the show; it gives us a little more of an opportunity to let these characters breathe. We see them in their personal lives and what happens after they go home. We see the struggle to balance work and family and relationships and just how difficult that is. Not just for JJ, too, but for all of our characters. We really get to see a fuller version of everybody. BuzzFeed: That’s very, very good to hear. A.J.: We all want him there. Hopefully, that will all come together because he’s so much fun to be around. He’s just that guy that you want to be around. Good energy. BuzzFeed: Yeah, definitely. With Criminal Minds and a lot of similar shows, we always see the characters ready to go at the beginning of every episode, not really unpacking everything they saw last week. A.J.: There’s definitely not everything all tied up with a nice bow. That’s another reason why I loved it. This serial aspect of it is that we have amazing cliffhangers that will leave the audience screaming at the end of every episode. Those are my favorite shows. I love when I’m like, “Don’t you dare end right here, don’t you dare end” and then the screen goes black. It’s such a compelling story. It just feels very, very real and present. Like, what did these serial killers do when everyone had to be locked down? It’s a really kind of twisted idea that our lovely Erica Messer came up with. I haven’t been able to work with him yet. None of us have actually, like, acted with him yet. But directing him was an absolute treat. It’s a very unique character, his character. In Episode 8, we really get to see him in a way that we haven’t seen him before. This is his episode. He’s a pro. He’s just really great at what he does and what he brings to this character. People are really going to see him in a different light. I’m so excited because he’s so talented, and it’s been fun to watch. BuzzFeed: I can’t wait to see it, because he’s definitely known for playing the “nice guy.” So, I’m really excited to see him as the mastermind behind all of this chaos. BuzzFeed: I know, if you wore that thing out, someone might be trying to ask you for help. A.J.: That’s just a whole can of worms I don’t want to open.
