Kruger plays cops with Asperger's in TV drama

SINGAPORE - Diane Kruger seems like a nice person.

So it's no surprise that it was a challenge for the 37-year-old blonde beauty to play abrasive detective Sonya Cross in TV drama The Bridge.

She relished the part because of the awareness the role brings to Asperger syndrome, a form of autism that makes social interactions difficult.

Speaking over the phone to The New Paper from Munich last Friday, the actress said: "When I first read the pilot, I wasn't sure what this person was about... Then I understood she had a condition."

The Bridge airs on Mondays at 9.50pm on FOX (SingTel mio TV Ch 330/StarHub Ch 505) and is a US remake of a Scandinavian crime thriller.

In the show, Kruger and Oscar-nominated Mexican actor Demian Bichir play cops from across the border who hunt down a serial killer after he places the halves of two different female bodies - one from the US, one from Mexico - on the bridge connecting Texas and Mexico.

To get into character, German-born Kruger worked with a man with Asperger's, Mr Alex Plank, with whom, she's said in other interviews, she spent more time than with her real-life partner, Canadian-US actor Joshua Jackson, and her on-screen one, Bichir .

"He's very charismatic," said Kruger. "He's the light on set, and all the girls (on set) are in love with him."

Kruger has taken very well to her first leading role on a TV show and is keen to stay on for a second season if there is one.

"It's a very exciting time for cable TV (in the US), whether it's Breaking Bad, Mad Men or House of Cards, all these well-directed, well-shot shows," she said. "You'd be hard pressed to find anyone in Hollywood right now who wouldn't want to work on TV.

"And especially for women, the roles are much more complex."

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