Theresa Joy becomes ‘everything she wants to be’ on ‘The Bridge’
Interviewee: Theresa Joy
By: Tyrone Warner
Date: March 31, 2010
Source: CTV

Note: This is an interview with THERESA JOY who plays Billy on THE BRIDGE.

This classically trained actor finds strength portraying a detective on the new CTV series.

Theresa joy plays Billy, a feisty and tough street cop, who draws more danger and trouble than she deserves.

“I think she’s just totally driven and has a lot of energy, and she just wants to do the job right. Being a girl, you meet a lot of bad guys in your life and you don’t want to be a victim. So I think for her, she’s in a position where she can take them down and she can help other people,” Joy tells CTV.ca.

“Billy has the power to go out there and stop bad things from happening instead of waiting for them to happen to her. When she reads the newspaper, it doesn’t have to brew inside of her; she goes to work the next day and tries to stop it from happening.”

Billy is just one of the many characters that inhabit the world of “The Bridge,” which chronicles the actions of controversial union boss Frank Leo, played by “Battlestar Galactica” alum Aaron Douglas.

Joy has a number of television and film credits, including appearances on “Nip/Tuck,” “Entourage,” “Reno 911!: Miami,” and “Puck Hogs.” At one point, Joy was also a former NFL cheerleader. The actress currently splits her time between Toronto, New York City, Los Angeles and Europe.

When comparing herself with her character, Joy says playing Billy gives her a certain feeling of empowerment.

“Billy’s intimidating and I am not. I’m passive and I don’t like fights… I’ll let people be jerks and shrug it off because I don’t need to confront them. It’s weird, because if there’s a character that is not like me, then I really feel like I’m faking it,” says Joy.

“I never felt that way with Billy, so there must be something inside of me. It feels so comfortable to be her. She’s everything I would want to be. My characters in the past, they’d be someone Billy would have in handcuffs!”

When Joy found out she landed her role in “The Bride,” she discovered what life for police offers is really like.

“I went on a ride along in Buffalo, with the Buffalo Police Department in one of the most dangerous parts of Buffalo, and it was scary,” remembers Joy.

“I thought I was brave, but when I got there, I got a bullet proof vest, and I laughed and thought I was going to stay in the car the whole time. The first time I stepped into a house, it was a domestic call, but it’s the east side of Buffalo and it’s pretty scary, I don’t think I’ve even driven through the east side. So it was intimidating just to be there. The house was dark, the two officers I was with went in front of me, and all of a sudden I was like — ‘I don’t know who is around the next corner, I don’t know who is in the next room, I don’t know who might have a gun’ — I felt so helpless. Of course, they had guns and I didn’t. It was really scary. We did a high-speed chase, talked to some gang members, there was a robbery. I think we basically went through a lot of the crimes I find in my scripts, and that was all on one shift.”

The biggest lesson that Joy took from her ride along experience, was just how similar the lives of the officers on “The Bridge” reflect those of real-life cops.

“As an actor, you’ll read the scripts and hear about marriages going bad with alcoholism and suicide and somebody might think, ‘Oh, its TV, they want to keep the show interesting.’ From what I heard from the police officers, is that it’s all real. It’s hard on them. It’s not like other 9 to 5 jobs.”

During her ride along, Joy also remembers some of the more unusual reactions she received while accompanying the police officers.

“I was in character, in a sense, so I was wearing what Billy wears for the first few episodes. I just pulled something out of my own wardrobe which resembles that… these straight leg jeans and this black leather coat,” says Joy.

“During this one stop, this girl came out and said, ‘That’s what the cops are wearing now? That’s too cool for cops!'”

“The Bridge” airs Friday nights on CTV, with full episodes available online at Watch.CTV.ca.

Cop Out
Interviewee: Craig Bromell
By:
Date: March 19, 2010
Source: Calgary Herald

Note: This is an interview with CRAIG BROMELL, the Executive Producer on THE BRIDGE.

The controversial former head of Toronto’s police union makes the move to show biz.

So you’re a cop, have been your whole adult life. Then, in two scant years, you slice through the politics to become the head of the police union in the country’s largest city. After six headline-grabbing years in the position, you retire from the force in 2003, but keep up the public profile by hosting a show in the bare-knuckles arena of talk radio. So what’s next? Putting up your feet and having a pina colada or two at the condo in Boca? Not if you’re Craig Bromell, a 26-year veteran of the Toronto Police Service.

Instead, Bromell is the executive producer of The Bridge, a drama series airing on CTV that focuses on the trials and tribulations of Frank Leo (as played by Aaron Douglas, above), a beat cop who rockets through the ranks to become the head of the police union, a la Bromell. Given the show’s dark subject matter–including corruption, coverups, suicide, sex scandals–wasn’t Bromell concerned that he was letting down his former brothers in arms? “I did think about that a lot. I wondered what my colleagues would think. Some will not be happy with me, I know that. I’m saying to everybody… ‘This is what happens. This is really what goes on behind the scenes.’ There’s a lot of wrongs, a lot of coverups. I wanted to jump into that.”

Equally important was bringing something fresh to the genre, he says. Audiences have responded to the show’s mix of grit and drama, with one million Canadians tuning in to the The Bridge’s recent premiere. “Cop shows have been done to death over the past 50 years. I wanted, and Alan (writer Alan Di Fiore, of Da Vinci’s Inquest) wanted, to create something different, that hadn’t been told before. People thought it was going to be a pro-cop show, but to give it authenticity, we have to give both sides of law enforcement. There’s good and evil on any major police service.”

Like Flashpoint, the series is a slickly produced package with no budget shortfalls or Canadiana evident on screen. And like its cop-centred counterpart, The Bridge has been sold south of the border and should be airing for Americans in the near future. “With CBS, we talked to them last week. We’re still looking at the summer. They just didn’t have the real estate for us. They didn’t have any shows to cancel.” And Bromell says the show didn’t pull any punches in delivering his somewhat autobiographical yarns: “Some of the stories are quite disturbing… From a dramatic point of view, we did some stories that both networks were concerned about… Frank Leo’s job is to deal with the negativity.”

Paul Popowich hopes ‘The Bridge’ provides a challenge
Interviewee: Paul Popowich
By: Tyrone Warner
Date: March 18, 2010
Source: CTV

Note: This is an interview with PAUL POPOWICH who plays Tommy Dunn on THE BRIDGE.

This seasoned screen actor says his new series provides a fresh new spin on a well-worn genre.

Police procedures have had a long run of popularity on television, including the “CSI” craze and modern reinventions on the theme, from “Flashpoint” to “The Wire.”

During an interview with CTV.ca, Popowich, who plays Tommy Dunn on “The Bridge,” says cop dramas in general have evolved because audiences have become more sophisticated.

“I think that forces people to tell their stories in different ways and take less traditional ways in approaching our show,” says Popowich.

“I think that’s exciting — you don’t know what to expect. It takes you in a different direction, and I hope that’s exciting for viewers.”

“The Bridge” is a new Canadian-made series on CTV. It follows the trials and tribulations of police union boss Frank Leo (Aaron Douglas), loosely based on the one-time controversial Toronto police officer and union head Craig Bromell, who serves as executive producer.

Popowich describes the show as being about “police, politics, power… the uneasy tension we have between law enforcement and society.”

“These are the people we want to protect us, and we give a lot of power to these individuals, and we expect it to be used judiciously responsibly. In our show, we look at that relationship and how it’s influenced by the brass at the top and how it affects our day to day lives as police officers.”

Popowich himself is no stranger to Canadian television, with memorable stints as Mr. Smith on “Twice in a Lifetime” and alongside Neve Campbell on “Catwalk.” The actor has also appeared as a Starfleet cadet on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”

Born in Hamilton, Ont., and raised in Stoney Creek, Popowich holds a degree in English, Theatre and Film from McMaster University.

The actor also has a musical side as a piano and guitar player, and at one point was the lead singer for a rock band in Los Angeles. He began his acting career at the age of 15 with a role in “Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveler.”

Now on “The Bridge,” Popowich plays Tommy, the sidekick to Frank Leo, played by “Battlestar Galactica” heavyweight Aaron Douglas.

“Aaron is such a talented actor, and he’s really a very giving actor,” says Popowich.

“It’s easy to be in a scene with Aaron. We’ve developed a friendship on the show, and we can play on that with the banter…. They’ve been friends a long time — kind of like an old married couple in some ways — and they know what each other are thinking.”

“The Bridge” also stars Michael Murphy, Ona Grauer, Theresa Joy, Frank Cassini, Inga Cadranel and Stuart Margolin.

‘The Bridge’ is all about walls and snake pits
Interviewee: Craig Bromell and Alan Di Fiore
By: Brian Gorman
Date: March 16, 2010
Source: The Lindsay Post

Note: This is an interview with CRAIG BROMELL, the Executive Producer and ALAN DI FIORE, one of the writers on THE BRIDGE.

“The Bridge” is one cop show that’s as much about bad management as bad guys.

The series, airing Fridays on CTV, blends the procedural drama of police work with some brand-new material: the behind-the-scenes politics of a big-city police force.

The character at the center, Frank Leo (Aaron Douglas, “Battlestar Galactica”), is a blue-collar street cop and the head of the police union in a large North American city.

And Craig Bromell, the co-creator and executive producer of the show, knows a little bit about both. He’s a former cop and one-time head of the Toronto police union.

“The head of the police union is up against the politics and the politicians, and the brass, and the media,” he says. “You’re never dealing with that cop saving people.”

“Bridge” co-creator and writer Alan Di Fiore interrupts: “In a big city, you’re dealing with 3,000 calls every day, and 10 percent of those calls are going to result in an officer in trouble for some reason or other. And that can be as simple as failing to follow procedure.”

“Part of the series is about the idea of how far Frank Leo will go to protect a cop, and how far will he cross the line to get the job done, to fulfill the police contract with society.”

The series co-stars Paul Popowich, Inga Cadranel, Frank Cassini, Theresa Joy and Ona Grauer.

It also features Michael Murphy (“This Is Wonderland”) as police chief Ed Wycoff, a coldblooded operator who would just as happily destroy Leo as use him for political gain.

“When Alan created this character, and I looked at it for the first time, I could easily picture five or six different police chiefs,” Bromell says. “It’s a fascinating character, and I think a lot of chiefs are going to look at him and go, ‘That’s so-and-so.’ “

There’s a fair amount of moral ambiguity in the series, and the cops certainly aren’t portrayed as white knights. One female officer tends to lean a little toward the use of unnecessary force — especially if she wants to get off shift in time.

Another is living in his car because his wife threw him out.

And at the center of the two-hour pilot episode was a cop who led a band of freelance thugs dressed as cops on missions to rip off drug dealers.

One constant is the band of “white shirts,” the top brass, who usually seem to be more interested in doing what will advance their careers than in backing their officers or fighting crime.

“Most cops just want to do their job,” Bromell says. “Just let us go and catch the bad guys. But there’s a lot of interference, just for political gain, usually from the brass down, and from the civilian oversight.”

“Once you have politicians involved, or once someone becomes a politician, like a chief or a deputy, it’s all personal: ‘How do I look?’ ‘How am I going to survive this?’

“It’s not ‘we’ anymore. It’s ‘I.’ And it causes a lot of problems in the major cities.”

From 1997 to 2003, Bromell was head of the Toronto Police Association, which put him in conflict with the chiefs of police.

Like Frank Leo, he came to prominence by leading a wildcat strike in his division,

And like Leo, Bromell worked in a division that spanned a rich and privileged neighborhood and a poor, crime-ridden one, connected by a bridge.

“The inner workings of a police union only deal with negativity,” Bromell says. “We never dealt with the hero cop. When I ran the union here — or the guys who are running it in any major city in the world — it’s all negativity.”

“It’s when the cop is in trouble, whether it’s justified or not. We were always trying to improve a situation that was really bad.”

Bromell says he didn’t want the show to be autobiographical. So when they started work on it, he asked Di Fiore to “go off and create the characters and create the incidents.”

“And he was able to get pretty well what I wanted, but he made it all up.”

Di Fiore has done a lot of TV about cops. In addition to doing scripts for “Da Vinci’s Inquest” and “The Handler,” he wrote the TV movie “The Life,” about Vancouver drug cops.

“I’ve ridden with a lot of cops, and I know a lot about cops,” he says. “So stuff that Craig talked about resonated immediately with me, because I had heard this from other police officers over the years.”

“Police officers are faced with two battles. Not only do they have to battle the guys on the street, but they have to battle their own brass to do what they need to do.”

“So we have this unwritten law in society: Do whatever you can to protect us, but if you have to break the law to do it, don’t let us catch you at it.”

‘Bridge’ star Inga Cadranel goes from troubled teen to wearing a badge
Interviewee: Inga Cadranel
By: Tyrone Warner
Date: March 10, 2010
Source: CTV

Note: This is an interview with INGA CADRANEL who plays Jill on THE BRIDGE.

Crediting her own past experiences, Cadranel says she’s more informed about the role of police officers than most actresses.

The actress, who plays the detective Jill on “The Bridge,” tells CTV.ca that “as a teenager I spent a bit of time in cop shops, so I wasn’t a stranger to the goings-on of how it all works!”

Cadranel says by looking back on her youth, she can now appreciate the role law enforcement played in her life.

“It’s always one of those things where you say you never regret anything and everything is a learning experience — I never thought my checkered past would come into play someday, but now I go, ‘Wow.’ As an actress, I know the processes and the routines… I guess I had a rough teenage life, and it came in handy! It’s the first time I’ve ever looked at these things from the other side, from the cops’ point of view,” says Cadranel.

“It never would have crossed my mind as a young person that these people (the police) are actually human, with families and problems of their own. I’ve learned so much, and I’ve learned to be more open minded. We’re all humans, and everyone’s got their jobs, and this is a job, and they are doing their best. The public’s point of view is that the cops are the enemy, unfeeling emotional guys who want to make your life hell, and this show has taught me about the reality of these people, their humanity, and what it really means to be a police officer.”

“The Bridge” centers on the world of law enforcement and Frank Leo (Aaron Douglas), the hardened street cop tasked with leading the police union.

On the series premiere of “The Bridge,” Cadranel’s Jill shares a steamy make out session with Frank Leo (Douglas) down on Toronto’s waterfront, before cutting things short with consideration for her own girlfriend’s feelings.

“Jill is quite the cool character to play. She’s a bisexual character which is really fun, and she’s a pretty serious cookie. For a female character, she’s like one of the guys, but she’s kind of a hard-ass,” says Cadranel.

“She’s dealing with some horrific stuff on a day-to-day basis, and being a female cop in that world and getting respect, and being at one of the top levels you can be at as a police officer — she’s not easily ruffled. She’s edge and serious. She’s having an affair with the lead guy, which is another fun element.”

Jill isn’t a typical female police office that viewers usually see portrayed on TV — and the actress who plays her couldn’t be happier! Because Cadranel is constantly reading auditions with her husband, and seeing the kinds of parts he auditions for, she says she’s often jealous of the kinds of roles he reads.

“I’m constantly going; ‘I wish there were female parts like this!’ The cool cops are always written for men… just the style is very specific for men,” says the actress, who remembers seeing something different the first time she read the part of Jill.

“She’s written like a guy! She has the same strengths, the same conviction, and the same manner of speaking as a man would, and female actresses don’t get to do that a lot. This is one of those things where I go, ‘Whoa, this is a gift.’ She doesn’t have elements of weakness, or a style I’m used to auditioning for — she’s just got this strength to her, and that’s what attracted me to the character.”

Raised in a show business family in Toronto, Cadranel began her career with a leading performance in the Young People’s Theatre production of The Cabbagetown Caped Crusaders, directed by her mother Maja Ardal.

Cadranel has also won a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Actress for “Rent-a-Goalie,” where she starred alongside her husband, Gabriel Hogan. The actress has also appeared on the big screen in “Killshot,” which stars Diane Lane and Mickey Rourke.

When talking about transitioning from doing a sitcom like “Goalie,” to serious dramatic fare like “The Bridge,” Cadranel says the change has been difficult.

“It’s hard, I won’t lie. Shooting ‘Rent-a-Goalie,’ you just feel like you are goofing off with a bunch of friends in their basement with a camera, like you feel like you are fooling around and having fun. That’s the way to work when you’re doing comedy — to have as much fun in between scenes as possible,” says the actress.

“Going to something that’s really serious, dealing with murders and children’s abductions, has been difficult. I’m not a method actor, and I think I’m just an actor playing a role, but it’s not until I get home and I realize how much baggage I bring with me. My personality gets heavier and darker. I’ve got a toddler at home, and I have to switch gears very quickly!”

“The Bridge” airs Friday nights on CTV, with full episodes available online at CTV.ca.

Vancouverite Frank Cassini in ‘The Bridge’
Interviewee: Frank Cassini and Craig Bromell
By:
Date: March 5, 2010
Source: Urban Trendz

Note: This is an interview with FRANK CASSINI who plays Bernie “Rabbi” Kantor and CRAIG BROMELL, the Executive Producer on THE BRIDGE.

In the two-hour series premiere, Friday, March 5 at 9pm on CTV, Frank Cassini portrays the on going role of Sgt. Bernie Kantor, affectionately referred to as “Rabbi.”

“I had a great time shooting The Bridge,” say’s Cassini, “the cast was fun to work, the writing is excellent, and the energy of us exploring new characters on-set was palpable.”

“My character is a go to guy. He’s a veteran who offers a good word here and there to his officers. He’s loved and respected, and stands by his officers no matter what”.

In order to prepare for his role, Cassini participated with the Metro police to ensure accuracy. Written by five-time Gemini Award-winner Alan Di Fiore (“Da Vinci’s Inquest,” “The Handler”), and inspired by insights of former Toronto police union head Craig Bromell, the series debuts with a two-hour premiere, before moving to its regular slot Fridays at 10pm March 12.

“Once I jumped in, I thought the only way we were going to be successful at this was if I take in my knowledge of the street.” say’s executive prodcer Bromell, “Plus shooting in an old police station made it authentic,” said Bromell. Bromell’s time with the Toronto force was spent as an officer at 51 Division. The unit patrolled a district that ranged from wealthy Rosedale to low-income Regents Park.

Dividing these two opposing vicinities was a bridge.

“I started thinking about the bridge that separated these neighbourhoods and social classesn and applied it to law enforcement in general,” explains Bromell. “I found there was also a bridge between the rich and the poor, the good guy and the bad guy, the rank-and-file and the brass. So we use the title as a metaphor for many opposing elements.”

In Friday’s special two-hour series premiere beat cop Frank Leo (Aaron Douglas, ‘Battlestar Galactica’) is fed up. Bridge Division is understaffed, and good cops are being blamed for a spate of mysterious drug rip-offs. Then Frank’s mentor, framed by the corrupt police brass, commits suicide. When Frank realizes the brass won’t give his mentor a police funeral, it’s the last straw. He leads a walkout strike, putting his career and the careers of his entire division on the line. Then, when Frank and his fellow officers are blamed for an act of “Contagious Fire”, the brass sees the perfect opportunity to get rid of Frank once and for all. Frank realizes that in order to save himself and change things, he must take over the reigns of the Police Union. He soon finds himself thrust into a treacherous world of politics, intrigue and violence. And just as he’s become head of the Police Union, Frank is forced to make a critical decision that could ultimately bring him down.

‘The Bridge’ also stars Paul Popowich (‘Angela’s Eyes’) as Frank’s partner and confidante Tommy Dunn; Inga Cadranel (‘Rent-A-Goalie’, ‘MVP’) as Jill, the free-spirited cop on the force; Theresa Joy (‘All the Good Ones Are Married’) as feisty tomboy Police Constable Billy; Ona Grauer (‘Stargate’) as beautiful, passionate prosecutor Abby St. James; Michael Murphy (‘Away from Her,’ ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’) as Chief of Police, and political animal, Ed Wycoff; and Emmy Award winner Stuart Margolin (‘The Rockford Files) as Frank’s father, Vic Leo.

John Moore with Craig Bromell on Moore in the Morning (Newstalk 1010)
Interviewee: Craig Bromell
By: John Moore
Date: March 4, 2010
Source: NEWSTALK 1010 (YouTube)

Note: This is an interview with CRAIG BROMELL, the Executive Producer on THE BRIDGE.

Craig Bromell, executive producer of THE BRIDGE sits down with NEWSTALK 1010.

John Moore with Craig Bromell on Moore in the Morning (Newstalk 1010)
Craig Bromell is the former head of Toronto’s Police Union. He is now the creator and an executive producer of the new show “The Bridge” airing on CTV in Canada and CBS in the US. Check out John’s on-air interview and what they talk about when the microphone has been turned off.