Crossing The Bridge from sci-fi to cop drama
By: Ian Johnston
Date: March 8th, 2010
Interviewees: Aaron Douglas and Craig Bromell
Source: Metro Canada
Aaron Douglas’ face may be splashed all over subway stations and bus stops these days, but it hasn’t changed who he is in the minds of fans.
Douglas – who is currently starring in the new CTV cop series The Bridge – says he still gets recognized for that other role – as Galen Tyrol on Battlestar Galactica.
“It’s funny because I’ll be in the street and here’s my face everywhere (for The Bridge) but people still come up and want to talk about Battlestar Galactica.”
That wasn’t always so. When Battlestar premiered in 2003, it didn’t exactly earn immediate respect.
“It was scoffed at by critics when it came out. But viewers loved it. Now I feel it’s transformed a little how people look at science fiction,” says Douglas.
The Bridge is sure to help change people’s image of the actor. In the series he plays Frank Leo, a tough-as-nails beat cop who is driven by his own anger at the system to become the head of the police union.
That act puts him right between the police brass and the cops he works with. It’s a balancing act that Leo must negotiate on a daily basis.
“It’s not a pro-cop show, which I think maybe people might expect. But it’s a pretty factual, truthful one,” says The Bridge creator Craig Bromell, a former Toronto police union head, who serves as executive producer on the series.
“I think he (Douglas) really nailed the part. He got it.”
Still, being realistic can get pretty dark at times. Bad cops, drug deals, corruption, blackmail, suicide — it’s all in The Bridge and more.
“I showed it to a couple of cop friends and they liked it, though they wished there were less bad cops,” says Douglas.
“So I asked them if they knew any bad cops. And they said of course. I think what it (The Bridge) plays on is that cops are just human beings.”
