He’s ready for his close up.
ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith continued his acting career with an appearance on the Thursday episode of “Law & Order” – as a murder victim.
“It was crazy to say the least,” Smith told The Post in a May 6 interview, ahead of the episode airing.
“I mean, from the standpoint of knowing who [sports agents] are and how they can be as professionals, I get that because I’ve been in sports journalism for over 30 years, so in that regard, that’s fine. But it’s still a challenge when you have to go in front of the cameras on a set and act the role and step out of character and be something that you’re not.”
The episode is called “Tough Love,” and it sees Smith play Ted Hunter, an outspoken sports agent who was stabbed to death while he was out jogging in Central Park, leaving numerous suspects.
In the episode, Ted advises his NBA client (played by Dushaun Thompson) to “make changes, bro,” and fire members of his entourage, in order to save money.
Ted then criticizes his client and tells him to “get real” because he’s not LeBron James, he’s a “rotation player.”
“You damn sure aint large enough to be having some entourage!” Ted slams his client.
As the police stood over his dead body in Central Park, Detective Jalen Shaw (Mehcad Brooks) found Ted’s ID in his pocket and noted, “he was about to turn 52 on Thursday.”
“I hope he made the most of it,” Detective Vincent Riley (Reid Scott) quipped.
It turns out the murderer was his son, Josh (Arthur McAlpine III), who Ted had abused.
The NBA analyst and TV personality has made forays into acting before, as he also had a role on “General Hospital” since 2016, playing Brick, the Corinthos family’s surveillance and tech expert.
Smith explained that he was approached by Pam Wechsler, a writer for “Law & Order,” about the guest star role on the show — just as he was for his role on “General Hospital.”
“We were both in LA, said she was a fan and that many of her colleagues were fans and they wanted to know if I would be interested in appearing on ‘Law & Order,’” Smith recalled of his conversation with Wechsler. “And I said, ‘The ‘Law & Order’? Are you kidding me? Prime time? Are you kidding me? Absolutely!’ So, I jumped at it and that’s how it happened. I was ecstatic.”
Smith credited “General Hospital” star Maurice Bernard, who’s played Sonny Corinthos on the soap since 1993, along with producer Frank Valentini, for taking him under their wing in Hollywood.
He also attributed longtime “General Hospital” stars, Laura Wright, who plays Carly Corinthos, and Steve Burton, who plays Jason Morgan, for “teaching me about the profession.”
“I remember when Maurice Bernard told me one time [on set], ‘This is who I need you to be at this moment.’ And when I went and taped the scene for ‘Law & Order,’ I was like, ‘This is who I need to be in this moment right here. This is what it calls for,’” Smith told The Post.
He added, “And I knew it instinctually because of the things that they taught me over the years, and I’m incredibly grateful to them, and they’re all my friends and we communicate all the time.”
Smith signed a five-year, $100 million contract extension with ESPN in March, according to The Athletic.
So, he won’t pivot to acting any time soon.
“It would have to be the right opportunity, of course,” Smith said of future acting roles. “I mean, I have a day job that pays me pretty well, so I don’t really need the work.”
He added, “If I’m gonna do it, it has to be the kind of [role] that I want. I want to be in the movies. I want to be on primetime television. I want to be on epic shows like ‘Law & Order,’ I want to work with great actors and great directors and stuff like that. It’s certainly something that I aspire to do. There’s no doubt about that.”
