Jon Michael Hill, a native of Waukegan, Ill., comes from a theatrical background, but he wasn't a stranger to TV prior to joining "Elementary." More specifically, he wasn't a stranger to playing detectives.

Before the premiere of the Sherlock Holmes update series in 2012, Hill starred on the short-lived "Detroit 1-8-7." He played Det. Damon Washington on the ensemble cop drama, opposite former "Sopranos" star Michael Imperioli and current "Under the Dome" star Natalie Martinez.

Hill said in an interview with "Metro News" that part of the joy in playing cops is working with the real ex-cops who serve as technical advisers.

"They're always really cool, and they've got stories for days," he said. "They kind of take pride in having the stories that they think might make you squirm."

Hill's still young enough to be shocked by such things. The actor was just 27 when "Elementary" premiered, and before his shift to TV, he was the youngest member of Chicago's prestigious Steppenwolf Theatre Company, joining at age 21.

A play he did in Chicago in 2008, called "Superior Donuts," transferred to Broadway in 2009, garnering him a Tony Award nomination and drawing the attention of ABC's casting agents. They put him in "Detroit 1-8-7," his TV debut.

He's also done guest spots on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "Person of Interest" and took a rare break from cop shows to do a six-episode arc on the HBO sports comedy "Eastbound & Down."

It won't be surprising to fans familiar with Hill's very laid-back Det. Bell character on "Elementary" that Hill describes himself as "a pretty subdued guy."

He said that quiet nature made him worry (unnecessarily, as it turned out) that he wouldn't cut it in The Big Apple when his play shifted to Broadway. "New York isn't really a place for the subdued," he told Broadway.com.

"Elementary" is set and filmed in New York.

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