Why Officer Brandy Quinlan From East New York Looks So Familiar
The CBS series "East New York" follows a new chief Regina Haywood (Amanda Warren), who takes over the NYPD's 74th precinct in Brooklyn. Haywood has a bright, new shiny design for the future; not only will crime be lowered and the community served and protected, but the precinct and everyone within it will come together and become part of the community.
Not everyone is on board with Haywood's plans, including Detective Crystal Morales (Elizabeth Rodriguez) and Detective Tommy Killian (Kevin Rankin), who are reluctant to change their ways. However, Haywood still has plenty of support, especially coming from Officer Brandy Quinlan. Quinlan is the first and only volunteer to live in a local housing project for the community policy, and she firmly believes in everything Haywood is doing.
The actress behind the face, Olivia Luccardi, should be memorable. She joins her well-accomplished "East New York" costars. Luccardi has been an active actress since 2009 and has quite a few impressive film and TV roles to date. Here are some of her most unforgettable.
2014: It Follows and Orange Is the New Black
In 2014, Olivia Luccardi starred in two prominent projects: one film and one television show. "It Follows" is a supernatural psychological horror film in which Jay (Maika Monroe) is followed by a paranormal creature following a sexual encounter with Hugh Redmond (Jake Weary). The film follows her attempts to escape the entity that only she can see; the only way to escape it is to have sex with someone else to pass it on, but Jay and her friends attempt to destroy it. Luccardi starrs alongside Monroe as the character Yara Davis, one of Jay's friends. While most of Luccardi's screen time in the film is supportive and trying to understand Jay's predicament, audiences are able to see a creepy Yara when the entity takes on her form to attack Jay.
"Orange Is the New Black" sees Luccardi in a role very distinct from her eager Officer Brandy Quinlan character. Somewhat of a recurring character between the second season and fifth season finale, Luccardi plays Jennifer Digori, an inmate who is part of Kasey Sankey's (Kelly Karbacz) White Power Group. Jennifer Digori is a racist, illiterate, immature inmate in the slammer for second-degree murder, and the last time audiences saw her, she's crowding under a table to hide from the SWAT team. An intense divide from Luccardi's role as Officer Quinlan, who has a more honorable agenda.
2020: A busy year for the movies
Back in 2020, Olivia Luccardi found herself in "Go/Don't Go" as the main love interest of Adam (Alex Knapp), a man who has long thought of himself as the only man left in the world following an apocalypse. Through flashbacks with K, Olivia Luccardi's character, audiences are plunged into a thrilling storyline where things aren't what they seem and make you contemplate what it would be like to think you were completely alone in the world.
Luccardi was in a shorter film, "Kappa Kappa Die," which follows a college student, Shauna (Georgie Flores), joining the sorority that her late sister was in. Her sister's death occurred under strange and suspicious circumstances, so Shauna attempts to investigate by pledging to the sorority. Luccardi plays Maxine, a sorority sister who gets caught up in the dark mystery.
One of Luccardi's larger roles is in the Michael Walker film "Paint", which follows three friends who have recently graduated from art school. The trio tries to make their way in New York City as artists while trying to adjust to the new stage in their lives. Luccardi's character is Kelsey Frick, who started a semi-romantic relationship with an older artist and was encouraged to try alternate methods to get her foot in the door.
Recent big roles in The Thing About Pam and The Deuce
One of Olivia Luccardi's latest roles is in NBC's limited series "The Thing About Pam." The series follows the mysterious real-life 2011 murder case of Betsy Faria (Katy Mixon). Betsy had recently discovered her second bout with cancer was terminal and was ready to make the most of her remaining time, but never got the chance.
Betsy named her coworker Pamela Hupp (Renée Zellweger) as the sole beneficiary of her funds, intending for Hupp to gift the money to Betsy's daughters, Leah (Judy Greer) and Mariah (Gideon Adlon). Four days after Betsy named Hupp, she was found murdered at home. Hupp was the last person to see her alive and tried her hardest to blame Russ Faria (Glenn Fleshler), Betsy's husband. Olivia Luccardi joined the cast as Leah Day, one of Betsy's daughters.
She also appeared in HBO's "The Deuce," a series about the porn industry in New York City. She played Margaret Rouse aka Melissa, a sex worker who joins the industry. She's a recurring character throughout the show's first two seasons and becomes part of the core cast for Season 3. For fans who have enjoyed Luccardi's charismatic attitude so far in "East New York," they'd do well to take a chance on her previous roles. Otherwise, we'll be seeing plenty of her as Officer Brandy Quinlan as the rest of the show continues.