Viewers tuning into the ABC crime drama Will Trent immediately recognize Detective Angie Polaski. The face behind the troubled Atlanta cop belongs to Erika Christensen, an actress who has been appearing on screens for nearly three decades. From winning awards in Oscar-winning films to playing a beloved member of the Braverman family, Christensen brings a deep history of roles to the current hit series.
The season 4 premiere of Will Trent aired January 6, 2026 on ABC, with Christensen returning as Angie. This season finds her character expecting her first child while continuing to work as an Atlanta Police Department detective. But for many viewers, seeing Christensen in the role sparks a familiar feeling. Here is a detailed look at where audiences have seen the actress before and the career that led her to this point.
The Role That Changed Everything: Winning Awards for Traffic
Long before Erika Christensen stepped into Angie Polaski’s shoes, she delivered a performance that put her on Hollywood’s radar. In the year 2000, director Steven Soderbergh cast an 18-year-old Christensen in the ensemble crime drama Traffic.
She played Caroline Wakefield, the teenage daughter of Ohio Judge Robert Wakefield, played by Michael Douglas. Caroline was a straight-A student secretly living with a cocaine addiction. Christensen played the role with raw honesty, showing the confusion, shame, and physical toll of addiction. One particular scene where her character injects drugs and passes out on the floor remains one of the film’s most remembered moments.
The performance earned Christensen the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Female Performance. More importantly, she and her co-stars received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. This was not just a small independent film. Traffic won four Academy Awards including Best Director. For a young actress, this was a launchpad that most performers only dream about .
The Swimfan Era: Playing the Stalker Everyone Remembers
Two years after Traffic, Christensen took a sharp turn into teen thriller territory. In 2002, she starred in Swimfan opposite Jesse Bradford.
She played Madison Bell, a new girl in school who becomes obsessed with a high school swimmer. The film was marketed as a Fatal Attraction for teenagers. Christensen played the role with a calm, friendly exterior that slowly cracked to reveal dangerous obsession. She destroyed cars, broke into homes, and framed her love interest for a crime. The role showed her range. She could play the vulnerable addict and the calculating antagonist equally well .
Swimfan was a commercial success and became a cable television staple in the 2000s. For an entire generation, Christensen was not the girl from Traffic. She was the scary girlfriend everyone warned you about .
Parenthood: Five Seasons as Julia Braverman-Graham
For five years, Erika Christensen was a weekly guest in millions of homes. From 2010 to 2015, she played Julia Braverman-Graham on the NBC family drama Parenthood.
The series, produced by Ron Howard, followed the large Braverman family as they navigated careers, marriages, children, and aging parents. Christensen played the youngest daughter. Julia was a high-powered corporate lawyer who struggled to balance her demanding career with motherhood. Her character arc included fertility issues, adopting a son from foster care, and learning to be a stay-at-home mother.
Parenthood gave Christensen something her film career had not provided: time. Over 103 episodes, audiences watched her character grow, struggle, and change. This was not a two-hour movie. This was television that allowed viewers to build a relationship with the actress.
In 2014, Christensen won the Gracie Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama Series for her work on the show. Even today, fans of Parenthood recognize her immediately and often mention Julia before mentioning her film roles .
Early Career: From Michael Jackson to Leave It to Beaver
Erika Christensen did not appear out of nowhere in 2000. She began working as a child actress in the 1990s.
At age 12, she appeared in a McDonald‘s national commercial. More notably, she was featured in Michael Jackson‘s music video for the song “Childhood” from the Free Willy 2 soundtrack. This was a high-profile opportunity for a young performer .
Her first feature film role came in 1997. She played Karen, Wally Cleaver’s girlfriend, in the big-screen adaptation of the classic television series Leave It to Beaver. She was just 13 years old .
Throughout the late 1990s, Christensen was a familiar face on television. She made guest appearances on hit shows including:
- Frasier
- The Practice
- 3rd Rock from the Sun
- Touched by an Angel
- The Pretender
In 1999, she starred in the Disney Channel original movie Can of Worms and was a series regular on the short-lived CBS sitcom Thanks .
Notable Film Roles in the 2000s
Between Traffic and Parenthood, Christensen built an impressive film resume. She played the daughter of Susan Sarandon’s character in the 2002 comedy The Banger Sisters. That same year, she starred in Home Room, a drama about a school shooting .
In 2004, Christensen appeared alongside Scarlett Johansson in The Perfect Score, a comedy about teenagers stealing SAT answers. She also starred in Riding the Bullet, a horror film based on Stephen King’s story .
The year 2005 was particularly busy. Christensen appeared in three major films:
- The Upside of Anger with Kevin Costner and Joan Allen
- Flightplan with Jodie Foster
- The Sisters with Maria Bello
Recent Work: Kimi, Clover and Faith-Based Drama
After Parenthood ended, Christensen continued working steadily. In 2017, she starred as Leslie Strobel in the faith-based drama The Case for Christ. The film told the true story of an atheist journalist who investigates the historical evidence for Jesus .
That same year, she co-starred with Kyra Sedgwick in the ABC drama Ten Days in the Valley, playing Sedgwick’s sister .
In 2022, Christensen appeared in two high-profile projects. She played Samantha Gerrity in Steven Soderbergh’s HBO Max thriller KIMI. This marked a reunion with the director who launched her career over twenty years earlier. She also appeared in the Disney+ remake of Cheaper by the Dozen with Gabrielle Union and Zach Braff .
Her film Clover, a mob comedy, was released in 2020 .
Directing Debut and Personal Life
Erika Christensen is not just acting on Will Trent. During season 3, she made her television directorial debut.
She directed the penultimate episode of the season, titled “Why Hello, Sheriff.” The episode featured major revelations including Will Trent discovering the identity of his biological father. Christensen told The Hollywood Reporter that she had been asking for the opportunity to direct. The schedule was tight, with only about eight days of preparation, but she described the experience as a “whirlwind of fun” .
Christensen resides in Los Angeles with her husband, cyclist Cole Maness. The couple married in September 2015 and have two daughters .
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Why the Familiar Feeling is Correct
Viewers who recognize Erika Christensen on Will Trent are not imagining things. She has been a working actress since the Clinton administration. She has won a SAG Award. She starred in one of the most beloved family dramas of the 2010s. She played a villain in a hit teen thriller and a vulnerable addict in an Oscar-winning picture.
Now, as Angie Polaski, she is showing audiences yet another side of her talent. Angie is tough and damaged. She makes poor decisions. She fights her own history while trying to help others. It is a complicated role that requires the experience Christensen has accumulated over 25 years in the business .
Season 4 of Will Trent is currently airing Tuesday nights on ABC and streaming the following day on Hulu. Christensen returns as a series regular, and her character is navigating pregnancy while continuing to face her traumatic past. The role marks her longest-running television commitment since Parenthood ended in 2015 .
That is why she looks so familiar. Audiences have been watching Erika Christensen grow up on screen for nearly thirty years. She is not a new face. She is an old friend.
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