Philip Cerreta is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

portrayed by

Paul Sorvino Paul Anthony Sorvino (, ; April 13, 1939 – July 25, 2022) was an American actor. He often portrayed authority figures on both the criminal and the law enforcement sides of the law. Sorvino was particularly known for his roles as Lucchese cri ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's long-running drama series '' Law & Order''. He appeared in 31 episodes of the show.

Character overview

Cerreta is portrayed as an

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who becomes Detective Mike Logan's (

Chris Noth Christopher David Noth ( ; born November 13, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Mike Logan on '' Law & Order'' (1990–95), Big on ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), and Peter Florrick on ''The ...

) partner after Logan's previous partner, Max Greevey (

George Dzundza George Dzundza ( ; born July 19, 1945) is an American television and film actor. Early life and education Dzundza was born in Rosenheim, Germany, to a Ukrainian-Jewish father, Roman Dzundza, originally from Kalush, Ukraine, and a Polish-Jewish m ...

), is murdered in the line of duty. Little is revealed about Cerreta's personal life, except that he and his wife Elaine (played by Maria Cellario) have five children, and he had served in the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

before becoming a police officer. His family has a history in the

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

and

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

businesses, and they are loyal

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

members. He has a 15-year-old daughter named Linda. He became a police officer in 1969.

In the ''Law & Order'' universe

Cerreta, a sergeant, joins the 27th Detective Squad after Sgt. Max Greevey is murdered. Greevey's partner, Det. Mike Logan, is initially very critical of Cerreta, who was originally brought in to lead the investigation into Greevey's murder and hence is seen by Logan as an interloper. However, in later episodes, the two develop a close working relationship. Like most detective characters on ''Law & Order'' during the early seasons, Ceretta carries a

Smith & Wesson Model 36 The Smith & Wesson Model 36 (also known as the Chief's Special) is a revolver chambered for .38 Special. It is one of several models of J-frame revolvers. It was introduced in 1950, and is still in production in the classic blued Model 36 and the ...

revolver as his service weapon. In one episode, he mentions that he has never fired his weapon on duty in his entire law enforcement career. Cerreta goes undercover to broker a deal with gun dealer George Lobrano (

Mark Margolis Mark Margolis (; born November 26, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alberto "The Shadow" in '' Scarface'', Antonio Nappa in '' Oz'', and Hector Salamanca in ''Breaking Bad'' and '' Better Call Saul''. His performance in ''Break ...

) in order to break a Colombian drug ring that had ordered a murder. However, during the course of the transaction, the hyperactive dealer panics and shoots Cerreta in the stomach. Cerreta survives, but the bullet damages some nerves and weakens his legs. Believing that he can no longer function as a street cop, Cerreta reluctantly ends his partnership with Logan and transfers to an administrative position at the 110th Precinct. He is succeeded by

Lennie Briscoe Leonard W. Briscoe is a fictional character on NBC's long-running police procedural and legal drama television series '' Law & Order''. He was created by Walon Green and René Balcer and portrayed by Jerry Orbach. He was featured on the show fo ...

(

Jerry Orbach Jerome Bernard Orbach (October 20, 1935 – December 28, 2004) was an American actor and singer, described at the time of his death as "one of the last'' bona fide'' leading men of the Broadway musical and global celebrity on television" and a " ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cerreta, Phil Law & Order characters Fictional New York City Police Department sergeants Television characters introduced in 1991 American male characters in television Fictional Italian American people pt:Phil Cerreta