Finding Providence

Tina Benko plays Kath Parry on Showtime's ''Brotherhood.'' (Claire Folger/Showtime)

If you've watched Showtime's "Brotherhood," set in the closely aligned political and criminal worlds of Providence, you've seen Tina Benko's tense face. And you won't soon forget it. As the girlfriend of Michael Caffee, the thug played by Jason Isaacs, she has brought the kind of raw local realism that Amy Ryan brought to the movie "Gone Baby Gone" - even though Benko is Pittsburgh-born and New York-based. Her "Brotherhood" character, Kath Parry, is currently flirting with Michael's cousin, which is the equivalent of flirting with disaster.

Q. On your IMDb page, you have many "waitress" and "blonde in bar" credits. Was "Brotherhood" your big break?

A. Oh, yes. I'm a theater chick. I do mostly theater in New York, never did the LA thing. So aside from the shows shooting in New York - you know, I did the requisite "Law & Orders" - this was it. When I came on for the first season of "Brotherhood," I didn't know they were going to bring me back. They could have tried to get a name.

Q. What do you think the producers were going for?

A. It could be a backhanded compliment, but they said, "You just look so real. You look like a real woman." I don't know if that's a good thing!

Q. Yes, it is! You're a Pittsburgh girl, but in the show, you've got the whole Providence thing going on.

A. The beauty of actually shooting in Providence is that you get to soak up all that local texture and color and flavor. I'd go to the mall in downtown Providence and sit myself down at the food court. Just soak it all in. And I see similarities between Pittsburgh and Providence. When I was growing up, people did not leave Pittsburgh. They'd move down the street from their parents. And everybody worked in the steel mills, and then the mills went under, and so people would turn to various and sundry and alternative ways of making income.

Q. How was it working with writer-director Michael Imperioli in his forthcoming feature, "The Hungry Ghosts"?

A. I have a small part. That was just a joy. He is the most generous and lovely man. And he just trusts his actors. I had worked with him at his theater that he runs with his wife, Victoria, and they're just good people. It's a really soulful film.