Spotlight On: Psych’s Maggie Lawson

Working steadily since landing her first television appearance in the mid-1990’s, Maggie Lawson has been slyly scene-stealing for the past 15 years. After a string of guest appearances in shows like “Unhappily Ever After,” “Step by Step,” Cybill,” “Boy Meets World,” and “Home Improvement,” she began testing the feature film waters with appearances in the films “I’ve Been Waiting for You” with Sarah Chalke and Markie Post and “Pleasantville” with Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon.

Maggie Lawson as Det. Juliet O'Hara on USA Network's PSYCH

Working around some top notch comedians and drama film stars only continued to shape Maggie into the engaging actress she is today. With a few more quick stops to appear in the cult favorite “Felicity” and the dramatic juggernaut “ER,” Maggie next landed a seven episode arc on the series “Party of Five” starring Matthew Fox (“Lost”) and Scott Wolf (“V”), as well as a role alongside Justin Timberlake in the film “Model Behavior.” With an eye for cool leading men, Maggie continued her lightening streak working on the television series “Inside Schwartz” with Breckin Meyer and a brief appearance in the series “Smallville” with Tom Welling.

Then, in 2002, after landing the lead role in the film “Nancy Drew,” Maggie went on to star in the films “Winter Break” with Milo Ventimiglia, “Spellbound” with Dave Annable and “Love Rules” with Joey Lawrence. She also managed to score the leading role on the comedy series “It’s All Relative.” Then, once it ended, she appeared briefly on the cult series “Tru Calling” which starred Eliza Dushku (“Dollhouse”) and Matt Bomer (“White Collar”), and the series “Crumbs” which starred Fred Savage and Eddie McClintock (“Warehouse 13”).

After her role on “Crumbs” wrapped, Maggie’s career hit the jackpot when she was cast as Detective Juliet O’Hara in the comedy series “Psych” alongside James Roday and Dule Hill. On “Psych,” Maggie constantly walks a tight-rope of playing both straight-guy to James Roday and Dule Hill’s hysterical antics and funny-guy to Omundson’s by-the-book Detective Carlton Lassiter. But it is a role she clearly relishes and plays with aplomb and humor. With “Psych” entering its 5th season, the show continues to dabble with the backstories of the characters and the slow dance to see if Shawn and Juliet will end up together.

In the meantime, Maggie has taken the opportunity to use her hiatus breaks to pursue a few film projects and starred in the 2-part Lifetime film series “Killer Hair” and “Hostile Makeover” based on the “Crime of Fashion” mystery books by Ellen Byerrum. Playing fashion reporter Lacey Smithsonian with a nose for rooting out murder, Maggie stepped outside the shadow of her comedic co-stars on “Psych” and has shown once again that she can light up the screen with both charm and witty repartee. Maggie is a rare gem that makes any television show or film for which she graces with her presence much more fun and fascinating to watch.

Watch our interview with Maggie at last year’s Comic Con, and catch Maggie in the season finale of “Psych”, tonight at 10/9c on USA Network. (“Psych” returns for its 5th season next summer.)