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All About Karen Robinson’s Career & Her Emotional Cameo on Brilliant Minds
Whether busting bad guys on Law & Order or running the town of Schitt’s Creek, this versatile actress always makes an impact.
The Season 1 finale of Brilliant Minds combined two back-to-back episodes into one heart-pounding ending. It held another surprise, too: a memorable guest appearance by beloved actress Karen Robinson.
Episode 12, "The Doctor Whose World Collapsed," kept viewers on edge, leaving the life of one of Dr. Oliver Wolf’s (Zachary Quinto) interns, Dr. Ericka Kinney (played by Ashleigh LaThrop), hanging in the balance. Ericka’s apartment building collapsed while she was trapped in the elevator, and the team from Bronx General scrambled to handle the influx of injured patients. By the episode’s end, we learn that Erika thankfully survived, but she was haunted by the death of a woman she was unable to save. Episode 13, “The Man Who Can’t See Faces,” focuses on the return of Dr. Wolf’s dad (played by Mandy Patinkin), and we delve into their father-son relationship, the subject of so many flashbacks throughout the season.
RELATED: Brilliant Minds Cast & Creator Talk Romantic "Obstacles," Iconic Friendships & What's Next
In such an impactful finale, it would be hard to stand out, but that’s never a problem for Karen Robinson. Robinson played Betsy Chase, an injured survivor of the collapse who had a heartbreaking backstory. A shut-in, her trip to the hospital forced her out of isolation for the first time in years.
Fans of Law & Order and Schitt’s Creek will get a kick out of seeing Robinson. While those may be her best-known roles, her career spans 30 years, encompassing theatre and the big screen.
Here’s everything to know about the versatile actress.
Who is Karen Robinson?
The 56-year-old was born in London, spent her youth in Kingston, Jamaica, and moved to Canada as a teenager — but there was always one through-line: She knew she wanted to be an actress.
“I was the youngest of four children. I think I came out and realized that I had to be louder than everybody else,” she said on Q with Tom Power. “I always found a stage, whether it was in primary school in Jamaica, in poetry contests, or in choirs.”
At the tender age of 16, Robinson had an epiphany at drama camp that acting would be her life’s calling. “I think it was destined. I think it was always meant to be,” she said.
After studying theatre at Mount Royal College, she made her movie debut in the 1994 horror film Stalked and followed that up with an appearance on Goosebumps, a TV adaption of the children’s horror book series. Notably, she played opposite a teenaged Ryan Gosling in the Season 1 episode “Say Cheese or Die.” The two were paired up again in the comedy-drama Lars and the Real Girl (2007).
Robinson has won several awards
Robinson can pull off a comedic role but also knows how to bring intense emotions, as evidenced by her heart-wrenching Brilliant Minds cameo. She’s just as riveting in crime dramas, like Peacock’s 2022 series The Calling, as she is on stage in comedic plays. In 2009, she took home the NAACP Theatre Award for Da Kink in My Hair. And her role as town councilor Ronnie Lee in Schitt’s Creek earned her a Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG) Award for Best Ensemble in 2021.
She’s no slouch with the guest roles either, winning a Canadian Screen Award for her 2018 cameo on the series Mary Kills People.
What is Robinson’s connection to Law & Order?
Following in the footsteps of S. Epatha Merkerson, Robinson plays the second female Black detective in the Emmy-winning franchise’s history. As inspector Vivienne Holness on the hit series Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, Robinson says she’s finally getting recognition she deserves — from her family.
“Even my family members who didn’t really understand what I did for a living… they are now fully invested in Law & Order,” she said on the Canadian talk show Breakfast Television. She noted that even her dad is a big fan of the show.
Just like so many of us, Robinson grew up with the Law & Order franchise but admits she didn’t watch any old episodes to prepare for her role.
“What I know is if I get a well-written script, I can inject it with enough of myself and my experiences… and the stuff that I’ve watched throughout the years to make it mine,” she told Tom Power. “I didn’t have to go back and watch the Law & Orders because they were already in me.”
Brilliant Minds is available to stream on Peacock
