Behind the scenes of the hit series’s third season—streaming now!—with one of its most unforgettable leads.
“Hold on, I really want you to see this kitten,” Becki Newton says as she angles her computer screen under the sofa in her daughter’s room. She’s taking a break from wrangling her four children and four pets—including a 100 pound tortoise named Wordle and the aforementioned kitten, Walter White—to speak about her role as Lorna Crane on the hit Netflix series The Lincoln Lawyer, which recently began its third season. Moments like this, and there are several during our conversation, make it hard to separate the actress from her character, the hilarious, outspoken and brilliant secretary turned lawyer and the unmistakable backbone of the fictional Haller & Associates.
Newton, known for her razor sharp line delivery and comedic timing on shows like Ugly Betty and How I Met Your Mother, still seems a little surprised that she’s starring in a legal drama. “On paper, I would not have guessed this is where I would’ve ended up,” she admits. “I was always a fan of legal shows, but I never watched them thinking, Oh, what would it be like to do one?” But seeing her on screen, delivering quips and long strings of legal jargon with equal ease, she seems completely at east. “It’s the challenge of the material” that has been an “incredible gift to my career,” she says, a gift she credits to not just her fellow actors, but also the show’s creator, Ted Humphrey, and Michael Connelly, who wrote the books on which the series is based.
David Higgs
Becki Newton stars as Lorna Crane on The Lincoln Lawyer. The third season of the hit series is streaming now on Netflix.
The Lincoln Lawyer centers around Mickey Haller, played by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, a Los Angeles defense attorney dedicated to defending underdogs, the wrongfully accused, and occasionally the ethically questionable, while often blurring the lines of the legal system himself—and , of course, ruising around the city in one of the show’s titular vehicles. Crane, played by Newton, began as Haller’s secretary (and ex-wife) and over the course of the series, we’ve seen her grow into a legal force herself, not just relying on her innate talent but also attending law school and preparing to take the bar exam.
Given her penchant for wild outfits and a hint of Valley Girl speech, Lorna “doesn’t necessarily fit in this legal world, but she doesn’t seem to mind that she doesn’t blend in,” Newton says. “In fact, Lorna’s never been too worried about fitting in. She just is who she is.” For the unfamiliar, that means she’s usually the smartest person in the room, but is constantly underestimated—to the point that she expects it. It’s a quality with which many, including Newton, can identify. “That’s what I love about Lorna,” she says, “she’s okay with being underestimated because she will find a way to use that against whoever is underestimating her. She takes it and uses it as a badge of honor.”
Lara Solanki / Netflix
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, who plays Mickey Haller, and Becki Newton, who plays Lorna Crane, in the third season of The Lincoln Lawyer.
This season, however, is the first time viewers start to see cracks in her armor. “As she gets closer to her dream [of becoming a lawyer], she thinks, Wait, can I actually do this? I think that is very human,” says Newton. “Deep down, we all [wonder] if we actually did get the opportunity, how would we handle it? That’s something I can relate to a lot.” And if there is one thing about Lorna that Newton most admires, it’s that she always trusts her gut. “There is a lack of apology,” she says. “She works really hard, tries really hard, doesn’t always get it right, but just keeps moving forward. As a human, I would like to be more like that.”
And then there are the clothes. Newton’s face lights up when I ask about them. Lorna’s bright, colorful, and fashion-forward looks are a bright spot among a sea of standard courtroom garb. Lorna’s interest and clear passion for fashion “is not something that makes her dumb or superficial; it is part of her armor,” says Newton, “and I just love that it is all part of the celebration of this whole person without apology.”
Case in point: during the bar exam, when everyone else around her is wearing t-shirts or nondescript sweats, Lorna shows up sporting a blue tracksuit in an eye-popping print. In the script, Newton says, it called for Lorna to be in yoga wear. “But what is Lorna’s yoga wear,” she asks. “This is a power moment for Lorna, it’s not going to be just a sweat suit.” She and the costume department settled on the graphic Dolce & Gabbana tracksuit, paired with Balenciaga sneakers—“even though she’s not running anywhere,” Newton says with a laugh. It’s just one of several moments in the season where Lorna’s clothing takes center stage, not just because of how she looks, but how she evolves as a character.
Lara Solanki / Netflix
Among Newton’s favorite co-stars? Luna the pug, who plays Winston on the series. “When in doubt,” the actress tells T&C, “I’m holding the pug.”
“It’s a fine line” being the comic element in a show that frequently deals with themes like sex work, police corruption, and violent murders. “I want to make sure Lorna’s confidence and faithfulness doesn’t undermine how serious the topics are,” Newton says. The fact that she never does is a testament to her skill as an actress. “I always think that even in very intense workplaces, I’m sure people are still joking. Even in the most serious situations, humor is something I really appreciate.”
And her most frequent comedic partner in many of those moments? Lorna’s pet pug, Winston (“who is actually a female named Luna,” clarifies Newton). “I had a really serious scene where we’re talking about murder,” Newton recalls, “and the pug started licking me on the face. When in doubt, I’m holding the pug.”
For an animal lover like Newton, acting with a dog is something that comes naturally, but isn’t always easy. “The dog’s a bit of a loose cannon, but I think it’s a gift because whatever I’m saying, if a cute little pug’s face is on screen, it’s going to work,” she says. “They’re gifted in the comedic sense that they don’t have to do anything and they’re already funny.” As she tells me this, one of my own pug’s faces pops on my camera, as if hearing the siren call of Newton’s voice. “Oh my gosh,” she coos. “See how your pug just jumped into frame? Imagine me trying to deliver a line and the dog is just running free like that. That’s why I keep the pug as close to me as possible.”
Pug-adjacent acting aside, it’s clear that, much like Lorna is the glue that holds together the ragtag band at Haller & Associates, Newton is an essential part of The Lincoln Lawyer’s recipe for success. And she’s thrilled to show off what that means for the series’s latest season.
“I think people are going to be shocked,” Newton says. The season is full of twists, turns and cliffhangers, but it’s also pushing the characters into previously unseen territory. “It’s very clear that with these characters, there are so many more stories to tell,” she notes. “I want to do more and see what happens to Lorna. It’s unbelievable how many different places it can go.”
