Det. Cyrus "Lupes" Lupo 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 (theatre), play, Radio series, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or b ...
on the long-running
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 ...
series ''
Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering o ...
'', played by
Jeremy Sisto
Jeremy Merton Sisto (born October 6, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Billy Chenowith in HBO's '' Six Feet Under'', NYPD Detective Cyrus Lupo in NBC's ''Law & Order'', George Altman in the ABC sitcom '' Suburgatory'', ...
. He replaced Nina Cassady, who was written out of the show due to
Milena Govich
Milena Govich ( ;, Serbian: Милена Гович, born October 29, 1976) is an American actress, director, singer, dancer, and musician, best known for portraying NYPD Detective Nina Cassady on the television series ''Law & Order''.
Early li ...
's departure from the cast. He appeared in 63 episodes.
Character development
Prior to his transfer to the 27th Detective Squad, Lupo spent four years as a member of the
NYPD
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
Intelligence Division investigating
terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
groups overseas in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, and
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...
; while on this assignment, Lupo often worked alone, without backup and unarmed. Lieutenant
Anita Van Buren
Anita Van Buren was a fictional character on NBC's long-running police procedural and legal drama television series ''Law & Order'', portrayed by S. Epatha Merkerson. The character of Van Buren was an "authoritative lieutenant" in the New York ...
(
S. Epatha Merkerson
Sharon Epatha Merkerson (born November 28, 1952) is a film, stage, and television actor. Known by her stage name S. Epatha Merkerson, she has received numerous high-profile accolades for her work, including an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a ...
) notes Lupo was cited for closing important cases in "very unfriendly parts of the world, without warrants, without a weapon, and without back-up." He was a patrolman in the 27th precinct during the 1990s. His shield number is 2632. He is from
Rego Park, Queens
Rego Park is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. Rego Park is bordered to the north by Elmhurst and Corona, to the east and south by Forest Hills, and to the west by Middle Village. Rego Park's boundaries include Queens ...
.
Upon his assignment, Lupo partners with
Ed Green
Edward Green is a fictional character on the NBC crime drama ''Law & Order'', portrayed by Jesse L. Martin. He appeared in 202 episodes (198 episodes of ''Law & Order'', two episodes of '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', one episode of ' ...
(
Jesse L. Martin
Jesse Lamont Martin (''né'' Watkins; January 18, 1969) is an American actor and singer. He originated the role of Tom Collins on Broadway in the musical ''Rent'' and performed on television as NYPD Detective Ed Green on ''Law & Order'' and Ca ...
) in order to solve the
assisted suicide
Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...
death of his brother Thomas. In a later investigation, he takes advantage of an opportunity to learn the names of the practicing
psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their ...
's patients by e-mailing himself the patient list on his
BlackBerry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...
.
The evidence obtained is later ruled inadmissible. Lieutenant
Anita Van Buren
Anita Van Buren was a fictional character on NBC's long-running police procedural and legal drama television series ''Law & Order'', portrayed by S. Epatha Merkerson. The character of Van Buren was an "authoritative lieutenant" in the New York ...
rebukes Lupo and Green for a "bad search".
When Green leaves the precinct, Lupo becomes the second detective to be promoted from Junior to Senior Partner. Both Green and his new junior partner
Kevin Bernard
Kevin Bernard is a fictional character on the NBC crime drama ''Law & Order'', portrayed by Anthony Anderson. Bernard appears in his position as a junior detective for part of the Law & Order (season 18), eighteenth season through what was at th ...
(
Anthony Anderson
Anthony Anderson (born August 15, 1970) is an American actor, comedian and game show host. He is best known for his leading roles in drama series such as Marlin Boulet on '' K-Ville'', and as NYPD Detective Kevin Bernard on the NBC crime drama ...
) call him "Lupes".
While Lupo was still a patrolman in the 27th Precinct, he witnessed a Christmas morning crime scene in which a man murdered his wife and two children. This bloody crime scene left him with
PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a ...
and he began drinking to deal with the trauma. While he was abusing alcohol, he appeared in court to testify against the man who committed the crime, and the defense lawyer discovered he was under the influence while testifying on the stand.
He continued drinking until he fell asleep in a patrol car while hung over on the job. Lupo's partner went to get him a cup of coffee, and was killed during the armed robbery of the bodega. After that, Lupo quit drinking and saw a therapist for nine months.
Lupo's duty weapon is a
Glock 19
Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was the ...
. In season 19, he and Bernard become the first characters in the series to kill a suspect in the line of duty when they shoot a murder suspect who pulls a gun on them. Only two prior characters had shot suspects before: Detective
Joe Fontana
Joseph Frank Fontana (born January 13, 1950) is an Italian-born Canadian politician. He was a Liberal member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1987 to 2006, and mayor of London, Ontario from 2010 until his 2014 convictions for fraud and ...
(
Dennis Farina
Donaldo Gugliermo "Dennis" Farina (February 29, 1944 – July 22, 2013) was an American actor. Often typecast as a mobster or police officer, he is known for roles such as FBI Agent Jack Crawford in '' Manhunter'', mobster Jimmy Serrano in th ...
), who had shot an armed suspected cop killer, and Van Buren, who had killed an armed mugger when she was off duty.
In
season 20, he gets romantically involved with a witness (
Camille Chen
Camille Chen (born September 1, 1979) is a Taiwanese-born American actress.
Early life, education, and career
Born in Taiwan but raised in the U.S., Chen attended the University of Texas at Austin and then began her career in show business, do ...
), who later turns out to be a con artist and a murderer; Lupo nearly ruins the case as a result.
Personality
Though his religious affiliation, if any, is unknown, Lupo appears to have some knowledge of the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...
, as he correctly identifies a quotation as being derived from the book of
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
.
He attended Catholic school as a child, and refers to the teaching nuns as "gangsters". Prior to her marrying his brother, Lupo had been involved with his sister-in-law Jenny. It has also been revealed that he speaks both
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...
and
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...
and is taking first year law courses at night at
Brooklyn College, part of the
City University of New York
The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the public university system of New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven senior colleges, seven community colleges and seven pr ...
, which does not have a law school. The CUNY law school is located in
Long Island City, Queens
Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...
. (There is a
Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and a number of adjunct faculty.
Brookly ...
located at 250 Joralemon Street in Brooklyn, but it is not affiliated with the CUNY System.) There is an inside joke throughout the series in which Lupo thinks about "getting a dog".
He later takes one home, named "Otto".
He can read
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
.
He is a big fan of
graphic novel
A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
s.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lupo, Cyrus
Fictional characters from New York City
Fictional New York City Police Department detectives
Law & Order characters
Television characters introduced in 2008
Fictional alcohol abusers
Brooklyn College alumni
Fictional characters with post-traumatic stress disorder
American male characters in television