Date: April 19, 2012
Source: CM_SetReport

AJ(P): Word up peeps! AJ’s in the hizzle.

JenniferMarsh_1(C):
Hi AJ can you give some advice on how to get started as an actress in Ontario. How did you do it?

AJ(P): I would say get involved in whatever is going on locally in theatre, TV, movies and start there. And then work on finding an agent and all that stuff. But get involved.

Katelynroxursox(C): Hi AJ! I’m a huge fan of you and the BAU girls. What’s one thing you can tell us about Paget, Kirsten and yourself that we wouldn’t expect?

AJ(P): That we can have a wicked sense of humor. A little irreverent.

born2bBAU(C): What do you think changed the most about JJ, this season?

AJ(P): Her physical abilities. Her ability to be the superhero. Her physicality.

TodaysMadness(C): Hey AJ, I have a question that isn’t Criminal Minds related…you did the movie, Bringing Ashley Home. Did you ever get involved with Outpost for Hope after you finished filming it?

AJ(P): I’m a big advocate for Outpost for Hope.

allyse(C): Do we get any Will/JJ lovin at all? They haven’t kissed since Lo-Fi!!!!

AJ(P): Be patient, friends.

FluffyJJ(C): What is it like for you when your son is on set?

AJ(P): It’s a lot of things. It’s very entertaining. The crew seems to thinks he has more swagger than most fully grown men.

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Date: September 3, 2009
Source: Shock til You Drop

Director Darren Lynn Bousman announced this afternoon that actress A.J. Cook is the newest addition to the Mother’s Day cast. Cook’s genre credits include Ripper, Final Destination 2 and Dead Like Me.

Others in the cast of Bousman’s remake include Rebecca DeMornay, Jaime King, Briana Evigan, Alexa Vega, Shawn Ashmore, Deborah Ann Woll, Lyriq Bent and Lisa Marcos.

DeMornay plays the head of a villainous family who returns to the house where they grew up to terrorize the new owners and their guests. Filming begins soon in Winnipeg, Canada.

Date: December 9, 2008
Source: TV Guide

Literally, it was just a pregnant pause.

CBS’ Criminal Minds recently wrote out expectant J.J. Jareau to accommodate the real-life childbirth and maternity leave of cast member A.J. Cook. All along, exec producer Ed Bernero told me that the plan was for Cook to return to work at her leisure, but ideally in time for midseason.

Well, surprise, surprise — A.J. will resurface no later than next week, TVGuide.com has learned exclusively, when J.J., pays the BAU a visit with her own newborn in tow.

The ever-plucky Cook taped the special scene not very long after giving birth to her son, Mekhai Allan Andersen, on Sept. 13, and looked “absolutely fabulous” as a new mom, sources tell me.

Following the Dec. 17 episode, Cook’s pregnant pause will resume as she (and A.J.) enjoy a proper maternity leave. They will return to the fold full-time starting with Episode 14, which should air sometime in February.

Source: INT
Published: April 21, 2002

I initially noticed A.J. Cook in the brilliant “The Virgin Suicides” and then, her genre films “Ripper” and “Wishmaster 3″. Although I wasn’t too fond of the two latter movies, A.J. still stood out as a very talented actress, so when I learned that she had been chosen as the lead for “Final Destination 2″, I felt a pretty strong glimmer of hope for the sequel. A.J. recently took some time off the set to talk shop with yours truly and this is what she had to say.

ARROW: What’s your favorite horror movie?

AJ: [laughs] My favorite horror movie….

ARROW: Well, you’ve been in enough horror movies I would assume that you appreciate the genre.

AJ: I don’t have a particular favorite, I can’t think of one right now off the top of my head.

ARROW: Fair enough…how did you get into acting? Was it always an ambition of yours?

AJ: I started dancing when I was 4 so I just kind made the transition over, I guess. Acting just kind of happened, it’s been going pretty well, so I keep doing it.

ARROW: What was it about the FD 2 script that grabbed ya?

AJ: I really liked the first one, I liked the concept because it was a horror film but it wasn’t your typical horror film of like a serial killer chasing you. I liked the idea that death is the main character in the movie and that death is chasing you, I just thought that it was cool and that’s why it did so well, because it could happen…I don’t know if you’re a big believer in fate or destiny…

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Source: AOLTV
Published: October 13, 2010

As if profiling and catching serial killers weren’t dramatic enough, the ‘Criminal Minds’ crew is dealing with some major shake-ups behind the scenes.

Actress A.J. Cook was cut from the show (her character Jennifer “JJ” Jareau was transferred to work at the Pentagon against her wishes), while actress Paget Brewster, who plays Emily Prentiss, will appear in fewer episodes this season, causing a great deal of fan backlash and even criticism from the cast. And last week it was announced that ‘Criminal Minds’ showrunner Ed Bernero will also take over as showrunner for the January spin-off ‘Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour,’ starring Forest Whitaker and Janeane Garofalo.

‘Criminal Minds’ continues to be the most watched show on Wednesdays, but ratings have been down by about one or two million per week compared to the same period last year. And of course questions about the show’s future linger.

Source: TV Done Wright
Published on: August 22, 2011

It was one year ago that Criminal Minds made headlines after it was announced that two of their stars were leaving the hit series in the upcoming season. A.J. Cook was one of the stars departing.

Fast-forward a year, everyone is back, and the team will be reunited when Criminal Minds returns for its 7^th season this Fall.

A.J. Cook made her return to the series during the last season finale, when her character J.J. announced that she would be returning to BAU. However this upcoming season, J.J. will now be a profiler.

Before the season begins, I had the chance to have talk to A.J. Cook. She opens up about her shocking departure one year ago, her eventual return, and what’s in store for Season 7. Here’s what she had to say:

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Source: TV Guide through SpoilerTV
Published on: April 25, 2011

TV Guide Magazine: When did you find out you were coming back?
Cook: We made the deal [April 15], but there have been whisperings for a while. The whole thing was so surreal, from being let go to getting asked to come back for two episodes, and then coming back again to do [co-star Paget Brewster's] last episode. I keep trying to have closure on this, but it keeps sneaking back in my life.

TV Guide Magazine: What was your first reaction when you learned you wouldn’t be a regular anymore?
Cook: I had no idea it was coming. None of us did. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt my feelings, but I chose to be me through the whole thing. And that’s lead me back to where I started, but in a completely different way.

TV Guide Magazine: How long did it take to get over the shock of being let go?
Cook: It felt like a breakup with a guy. It happened out of nowhere. And it was an “It’s not you, it’s me” sort of thing. You think, “What did I do?” It’s been a rollercoaster ride, but I just had to put one foot forward and keep moving.

TV Guide Magazine: Do you think your fans are at least partially responsible for getting you back?
Cook: Their outpouring of support really blew me away. That’s definitely the silver lining to being let go. The fans really let me know how they felt, and I guess they really let CBS know too.

TV Guide Magazine: What have you learned from this experience?
Cook: It’s opened my eyes to the industry, and that had to happen, really. I’m just this sweet little Canadian girl, and this was a nice wakeup call. In this business, you have to be on your toes, ready for anything. That’s a valuable lesson.

TV Guide Magazine: When do you get back to work?
Cook: I’m going back to do a little bit in the season finale. Then I’ll be back full-time for Season 7. The finale will set up the new JJ.

TV Guide Magazine: What’s the difference between the old JJ and the new one?
Cook: The new JJ is more serious and mature. She’ll come back learner and meaner and ready to hit it hard. But don’t worry….she still has heart.

TV Guide Magazine: How does it feel to be back?
Cook: I’ve been getting texts from the cast, and someone just sent me a picture of my name being painted back on my parking spot. It stirred up crazy emotion inside of me, and I thought, “Wow! It’s happening, this is a go!”

Source: TVaddict
Published on: January 25th, 2012

As CRIMINAL MINDS gears up for its 150th episode tonight on CBS (CTV 2 in Canada), we here at theTVaddict.com thought fans might appreciate getting to spend a little more one-on-one time with a key ingredient to the show’s astounding success. Which is why, when given the opportunity to chat with star AJ Cook yesterday — whose character of media liaison turned profiler JJ Jareau is responsible for having taken fans on quite an interesting journey over the course of the show’s 150 episodes — we jumped at the chance. The result, a handful of snappy answers to some silly questions that may-or-may-not reveal the CRIMINAL MINDS cast member guilty of spending far too much time scarfing down grilled cheese sandwiches at Craft Services. But hey, don’t take our word for it — find out for yourself which member of the BAU is most likely to ruin a take by making AJ Cook laugh — after the jump.

After 127 spend playing the same character, what keeps you excited about waking up and going to work every morning?
AJ Cook: Well this season in particular I feel like it’s a new show. We went through a bunch of changes and in a way it was a blessing in disguise because it gave us the creative license to change things and to try different things with these characters.

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Source: TVAddict
Published on: September 21st, 2011

If J.J. Jareau is caught smiling a little more than usual during tonight’s CRIMINAL MINDS, it’s for good reason. Her portrayer A. J. Cook — who fans need not be reminded was unceremoniously fired from the show a little over a year ago — is back. What’s more, she’s been promoted to profiler. So just how does it feel to return to the series that turned her into a trending topic on Twitter and what’s in store for fans of the actress as CRIMINAL MINDS kicks off its much-anticipated seventh season tonight? We recently had the pleasure of talking to the fellow Canadian to find out just that. See for yourself, after the jump.

Since we feel like the story of your initial exit has been already covered, we wanted to ask what your first reaction was to getting the phone call that CRIMINAL MINDS wanted you back. Is it safe to assume that you took some serious time to ponder your decision having already been so callously let go a little over a year ago?
A.J. Cook: It wasn’t an automatic yes. It was sort of this long process of a lot of thinking, a lot of talking about storylines and will this make sense, because of course my first response was “No thank you, I’m good, I’ve been through enough!” I had moved on, I got to work on some other cool projects and sort of remembered why I became an actor in the first place which was great. There’s nothing worse than getting comfortable and that was a lesson I had to learn. I sort of got back into this is why I’m an actor, putting on different hats, trying on different roles, it was exciting. But then when we started talking about what could we do with JJ to make this make sense for me, they really came up with some great ideas and it just sort of just became this organic process and the rest is history. In the end it was the best decision for both families, my CRIMINAL MINDS family and my real life family. I love everyone over there, Paget’s [Brewster] back, and it just seems to make sense. We’ve got two more years and I could do this for two more years. The whole show feels new, recharged and there’s just this really great energy there. I keep calling the premiere episode the pilot because that’s what it felt like, it felt like we were shooting a pilot and everyone was really excited about it.

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Source: IGN DVD
Published:  July 8, 2003

A.J. Cook top-lined one of the most over-looked movies of the year: Final Destination 2. While drawing in the horror hardcore with promises of blood-scrunching yumminess, the film also surprisingly connected on a series of disturbing psychological levels. Cook plays Kimberly Corman, a young woman who forsees a terrible and fatal pile-up. When she blocks her fellow motorists from joining the freeway, death (just like in the first) begins stalking and executing the potential victims that got a second chance.

Horror and Cook have a history. She starred in Ripper, Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell, and Wishmaster 4: The Propechy Fulfilled. You may have also seen Cook in Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides alongside Kirsten Dunst, James Woods, and Kathleen Turner. We were able to spend some time with Cook recently to talk about her work in Final Destination 2, the pros and cons of being an actor in horror films, and her new television series for Fox, Tru Calling. Cook was a friendly and relaxed person and we are now officially fans. We are also jealous. I mean, who wouldn’t want “Beyond the Gates of Hell” somewhere in your resume? Maybe we’re in the wrong profession after all…
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