TVSquad Talks To Enrico Colantoni on What's Ahead on "Flashpoint"

[JamesG]

Enrico Colantoni Talks About New "Flashpoint"
by Chris Harnick
posted Jun 4th 2010


Enrico Colantoni is no stranger to having legions of fans.

He's known to many for his role in the comedic sci-fi flick Galaxy Quest, even more for his seven years on "Just Shoot Me" and his turn as Keith Mars on the cult-hit "Veronica Mars".

Viewers can find him on CBS Friday nights this summer when the hit cop drama "Flashpoint" (Fri., 10PM ET on CBS) returns to the line-up.




New episodes of the drama about an elite Strategic Response Unit kick off with a bang -- literally. In the premiere episode, the team races around the city to stop explosions set by an eco-terrorist and a member puts his life on the line.

Colantoni spoke with TV Squad about what's in store for his character Sgt. Gregory Parker.






Let's catch viewers up, what happened when we last saw the "Flashpoint" team?

Let me think, the last time we were on in the U.S. -- oh my God, so much has happened.

As far as the last episode, the U.S. saw, it was 'Exit Wounds,' where we were in a hospital with two brothers, one brother fighting for the life of the other brother. That was pretty exciting. We're going to come into the premiere episode with the family unit dealing with a tragedy within the team.



So, I guess what's been happening since then is the camaraderie is building, we're getting more comfortable with each other as actors and with the crew. I think they're going to see a really big jump between that last episode and the episode on Friday just because the stories are much more intense and we get to know these characters a lot more.

Now, it's emotionally volatile because we're within the team, there's an investment within each other. Stories are going off into a much more emotional and personal place.









What's in store for your character, Sgt. Gregory Parker, this season?

A lot happens to Parker.

There's going to be an episode where he gets in trouble on a personal level and it'll be interesting to see him outside of his uniform just dealing with that life stuff. All and all, you're just going to see a lot more intense and critical situations, how we resolve them, how we get out of them.



More and more we just get better at making them. The stories are getting better and this usually happens in any show after the second and third season -- all the rehearsal is done, we know each other, we know how to do it.

It's just an easier show to watch because we've figured it out I think.









Do you think filming up in Canada helps since you're away from the constant attention some shows get?
It just seems creatively that helps some shows.

Well, it helps a lot because come winter, come January, we're the only show in Canada that's filming. We get the best directors, the best photographers, we get the best cameramen. We get all of the best that they do at that time of the year.

You're right, there's nobody else around. We get to play, we get to play in an environment that isn't supposed to be a familiar city, but it's familiar to us because it's Toronto, but we don't really mention it by name.



From a Canadian perspective, we paint the landscape of the city so that Canadians recognize it. American viewers see this clean city, this futuristic city. They don't care where it is, it's just this cool place to look at. We get to do all that. We don't have to double it for New York or for Chicago, it's Toronto.

Whether people know it is or not, they're seeing it for the first time and I think that's one the biggest reasons why people are watching it down there.









Why do you think it does so well for CBS in the summer?
It's one of the highest-rated summer series.

I think, one, because it does have a unique look. It follows the same sort of procedural dramatic genre, but at the same time, we represent the good in seldom seen television -- at least in recent history.

It's the hero-vision of the police force. Because we can't be easily identified as a SWAT team in the United States, we do have this futuristic look. The city is different, the uniforms are and the attitudes and our egos are intact. The integrity of these people is pure, it's an honest representation of good versus misunderstood.

The people, the victims are generally normal people having bad days, but we don't really judge them as bad. We restrict it to the dialog that we have, we want to talk to them first. There's a communication that they wear on their sleeves, they don't want to shoot first and ask questions later, they really, really want to understand and get to the underbelly of what's going on.



I think that's unique for American television, but then of course we add the element of the gun-fire and all that stuff so it's still an action drama with a lot of heart and soul.

And of course, it's one of four or five new shows during the summer, so what's not to watch?








Your character is sort of the father figure to the team, does that extend to off-set stuff too?

We've become such good friends that it does extend itself into real life.

Hugh Dillon and I have a wonderful relationship -- he's done very little as far as professional acting is concerned and he'll usually come to me and we'll talk about scenes and we'll talk how to break it down. We'll talk about moments and how to get an overview of a scene and stuff like that.


So, yeah playing a sergeant to these guy, it's an easy part because they -- how do I say it -- they have a degree of respect for me. And of course I get to play their sergeant so I'm lucky that way.









Have you heard from any police officers since you've done the show?

Whether they're saying, "Oh, you're doing great," or "Man, that's not how it happens at all."

Every police officer -- whether in Canada or the United States -- who have seen this show, appreciates us showing what every one of them feel, but aren't allowed to show.

We've all come to recognize policemen as stoic and rigid and their black and white perspective of life and the world. Every one of them that's come up to me have always said, "Thank you for portraying them as human," because that's what they all feel. They all feel the emotional commitment to their jobs, they all feel an attachment to helping and to preserving peace and I guess over the years they've just gotten a bad rap.



When we're portraying policemen that well up and really care about the kids and really care about the people involve and regret having to kill somebody, they recognize that because they all go through it, they're just not allowed to show it.

http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/06/04/en...ronica-mars-f/