While “Training Day,” CBS' updated take on the popular 2001 crime thriller, takes place in Los Angeles, series co-star Julie Benz's own basic training in the ways of the world unfolded in Pittsburgh and Murrysville.

“One thing Pittsburgh has given me,” says the 44-year-old actress, “is a good sense of character. People from Pittsburgh are down-to-earth; they're good people with a strong work ethic and sense of self.”

That goes for the actress herself as she instills the many characters she has played over the years — from Darla in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and ”Angel” to the mayor of “Defiance” to Rita Bennett (Morgan) in “Dexter” — with a dexterous touch of justice and generosity.

That extends to “Training Day,” which premieres at 10 p.m. Feb. 2.

Benz plays a madam, Holly, who is on intimate terms with Frank (Bill Paxton), a rogue cop partnered with a young morally clean newcomer (Justin Cornwell). The two policemen were played by Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke in the movie.

The madam she plays is on call professionally and privately. “She started out as Frank's informant,'” says Benz of Holly, “but then got into a relationship with him. They are both damaged people.”

Growing up in Murrysville, where she moved at age 2 from Pittsburgh, there was no way Benz could envision becoming a television star.

“It was a childhood dream to be a doctor, but there was one problem — I couldn't stand the sight of blood,” says Benz, who discovered this stumbling block after her father, George, a surgeon long associated with UPMC, showed her a video of hemorrhoid operations.

“I think my father showed me that surgery film as a form of fun punishment,” she says with a chuckle.

It scared her straight — into skating. Her mother, Joanne, was a gifted figure ice skater, and Benz's older siblings, Jeffrey and Jennifer, were champion ice dancers.

Benz was following in their laced skates but a leg fracture at age 14 ended those ambitions.

“The injury came at a good time, really, because that's when I met my manager, Vincent Cirrincione, who is still my manager today,” going on 30 years, she says proudly.

“It seemed (the leg fracture) happened for a reason; the universe was setting a path for me.”

There were few if any stop signs along the way: Since graduating as an acting major from New York University in 1994, Benz has been working nearly constantly. “You can never have enough work,” she says.

She was ready for challenges early on.

When Eric Blaugher, her drama teacher at Franklin Regional High School, asked her to direct one of the school's shows, she accepted and learned from the experience.

“That was my first job as a director; it was my last job as a director,” she laughs. “Directing is not in my bones.”

But she does have the funny bones. “I came out here to Los Angeles to do comedy,” she says. “Really, I'm funny, believe it or not.”

And serious as well. In “Rambo” (2008), the fourth and final installment of the adventure series crafted by Sylvester Stallone, her role as a missionary in the war-torn Burmese (Myanmar) jungle turned into a real mission.

“Seeing all these refugees — kids who lost their limbs — was frightening. What a horror for them to be exposed to.”

As Americans, “we take so much for granted when it comes to human rights,” she says. Seeing what she saw during filming left its impact. “That was a real turning point in my life.”

Benz has turned that experience into action, with her ongoing commitment to and fundraising for the U.S. Campaign for Burma.

Now, as she trains her sights on her latest project for CBS, the actress admits that the series has somewhat of a homey feel to it. Maybe it's because Antoine Fuqua, one of its executive producers and director of the film that netted Washington an Oscar and Hawke an Oscar nomination, is also a Pittsburgh native. “There really is a ‘Pittsburgh Mafia,' ” she says. “You're on set and you meet someone from Pittsburgh, it really brings you back home.”

Benz's heart remains firmly attached to Steel City, where her cousin, Tim Benz, has worked in local radio for many years.

“The city is known as a blue-collar town, but there is such a huge artistic side to it as well,” says the actress, citing world-class arts programs offered at Carnegie Mellon University and Point Park University and the collection on display at the Andy Warhol Museum.

While she thinks affectionately on her days as a youngster in Pittsburgh, it's understandable if she doesn't have the best recollection of one acting coach from her teen years, who told her she'd be better off in the audience at the movies instead of on the screen.

“I thought, ‘I'll show you!' ”

And Julie Benz certainly has.

Michael Elkin is a Tribune-Review contributing writer and an award-winning arts writer, playwright and author of the novel “I, 95.”

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