He's played a bullied recruit in "Full Metal Jacket," Al Franken's brother in "Stuart Saves His Family" and an alien cockroach in "Men in Black." But Vincent D'Onofrio is most recognized for playing the intense Det. Robert Goren in "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," which debuted in 2001. D'Onofrio returns to the role Sunday night for the series' final eight episodes after an 18-month departure.

During a break in shooting we talked to D'Onofrio about working with Stanley Kubrick, why "Feeling Minnesota" remains one of his favorite movies and why Goren is a close talker.

Q What persuaded you to come back for one more season?

A When [series creator] Dick Wolf calls you, you've got to consider it. He's been in the business for a long time and has amazing intuition. I wanted to go back to the kinetic Goren, the guy from the first three or four seasons. The only time we get away from the crimes is when Goren is visiting his psychiatrist, who is being played by Julia Ormond.

Q The "Law & Order" franchise has a reputation for being more concerned with plot than character. Did that ever concern you?

A Dick once said that he got into crime shows because there are automatically high stakes and that creates drama. We're a little more character-driven than the other shows, but I'm very happy we don't have a lot of soap. If we did, I would have gotten bored a lot faster.

Q You once collapsed on set and were diagnosed with nervous exhaustion ...

A What? What's nervous exhaustion?

Q Not sure myself. I just read that somewhere. What was it?

A We were working too hard. I'm the one who forced a break. I needed to stop. Me and [co-star] Kathryn Erbe were working 17 or 18 hours a day. I'll never go back to that schedule. We do less episodes now and we get our rest.

Q One of Goren's traits is that he bends a lot in front of suspects and gets right up in their faces. Where did you come up with that?

A I paid a lot of attention to manipulation tools. I just came up with stuff that would stop conversations, throw wrenches into the dialogue, stop scenes in awkward ways, change the tone.

Q You filmed a movie in the Twin Cities in the mid-1990s called "Feeling Minnesota." Wasn't exactly a blockbuster.

A That's one of my favorite movies that I've done. I really liked the story and Keanu Reeves. Danny Aykroyd and I stayed at a really nice boutique hotel out of town. I loved it. I had never played anyone quite so pathetic or so weak.

Q More so than Private Pyle in "Full Metal Jacket"?

A Well, that was more of an iconic role. "Feeling Minnesota" was more a real role.

Q What did you learn from Stanley Kubrick?

A Looking back after all these years, I'm more convinced than ever that the best directors consider casting to be half their role. Stanley saw that I was right for the role, even though I wasn't well known at the time. That's what Stanley was really good at. Go back and look at "Barry Lyndon." Casting Ryan O'Neal was just genius. He's so honest, so raw and you feel the pain for this poor guy who's in over his head. I owe everything to Stanley. I wouldn't be talking to you right now if it weren't for him.