‘Bridge’ star Ona Grauer would hang with Abby
Interviewee: Ona Grauer
By: Tyrone Warner
Date: June 11, 2010
Source: CTV
Note: This is an interview with ONA GRAUER who plays Abby St. James on THE BRIDGE.
For this Canadian actress, she has a good way to define her favourite characters.
Ona Grauer plays lawyer Abby St. James on the CTV original production, “The Bridge.”
During an interview with CTV.ca, Grauer says that if she could, she would hang out with her on-screen persona.
“I always say my favourite characters are the one’s I’d like to be friends with, and I would totally hang with her! She’s strong, she’s determined, she’s successful, she’ savvy, she’s smart,” says Grauer, who admits she always secretly wanted to go into the practice.
“If I wasn’t in acting, I’d love to be in law. Just the thought of eight years of schooling was not for me.”
“The Bridge” stars “Battlestar Galactica” alumni Aaron Douglas, who plays the street cop turned police union boss Frank Leo. Grauer’s character Abby is the lead council for the police union, while also having a secret relationship with Frank on the side.
Grauer, who was born in Mexico City, Mexico, and moved to British Columbia as a child, has appeared in a number of films, including “House of the Dead” and “Deep Evil,” while also appearing on the series “Stargate,” “Sliders” and “Smallville.”
Because of the tight-knit community of actors in Vancouver, Grauer figured it was only time before she would work with sci-fi vet Douglas.
“We have lots of mutual friends in Vancouver, but we had never met, and we had never worked together. So I think when I was testing for the show, afterwards I think we were both calling all our friends and asking ‘What’s he like? What’s she like?'” says Gauer, who adds they have a mutual friend in “Battlestar Galactica” actor Tahmoh Penikett.
“Flashpoint” fans may also remember Grauer from the episode, “The Fortress,” where she played a Russian nanny named Irina Kazkov. The actress remembers filming the episode during a particularly cold spell in January — and as a Vancouverite, wasn’t prepared for the chill.
“It was minus thirty, and I went for a wardrobe fitting, and they gave me a goose-down parka and told me whatever I brought from Vancouver was not enough! They said, take this coat, you’re going to need it!”
Grauer says she still keeps in touch with her “Flashpoint” co-stars, and says she goes out to dinner occasionally with David Paetkau and Michael Cram.