From street cop to TV producer
Interviewee: Craig Bromell
By: Joe Warmington
Date: March 3, 2010
Source: Toronto Sun

 

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

 

Craig Bromell always wore with honour his “made up” image of being a union thug with a badge.

However, a decade after “scaring” the hell out of some “targeted” Toronto politicians, the former Toronto Police Association boss-turned TV producer now says they were not being bugged back in the Year 2000 as many of them feared. It was, he said, nothing but theatrics.

“I was urged at the time to reveal we actually didn’t do that but we were having too much fun watching them jump around,” Bromell said Wednesday. “We were conning the cons.”

However he doesn’t deny having the “1-800 snitch line” for people to offer dirt on politicians. “You wouldn’t believe the stuff we had but we didn’t use it because it was all a bluff as part of our negotiations.”

It worked. They got their pay increase.

“Bully Bromell’s” scripted antics and continuous blurred blue line was the stuff of movies and those same politicians, who spent thousands of dollars looking for bugs in their offices, will be in front of their TVs on CTV Friday at 9 pm to watch this two-hour premier movie because “The Craig Bromell Show” continues in the form of a hot-looking new cop drama called The Bridge.

Back in the day, the show was reality as Bromell had gone from a tough street cop from 51 Division, where he led a wildcat strike, to an almost Jimmy Hoffa-style head the 7,000-member association as president. Later his reality show took to the air waves as firebrand talkshow host on AM 640.

Now 50, the cigar-smoking and scotch-drinking/devoted husband and father, not only called it as he saw it but always seemed to add a little extra vinegar to enhance the sting.

In both roles, you always knew what you would get. However as the curtain gets ready to be raised on his third act as a TV producer, a lot of people are curious ( nervous?) at just what and who they will see in The Bridge. There have been 13 episodes filmed — in Toronto — starring Aaron Douglas as union boss Frank Leo and Michael Murphy as Chief Wycoff who will duke it Fridays on CTV at 10 p.m.

“It’s a fictional series,” assured executive producer Bromell with a chuckle. “It’s not based on any specific person but on characters created by Gemini-winning writer Alan DeFiore.”

I guess we take him at his word as Bromell insisted the show, which will debut on CBS in the summer, is more of a compilation of characters and story lines based on his time at the head of the police union, of conflicts between the men and women in uniform in the street on any big city force and those wearing the white shirts and suits.

“It’s not always flattering,” Craig said from the very table at Bistro 990 on Bay St. where he both “ran the union” and created this new show on a napkin with co-producer Adam Shully. “In fact, it’s very disturbing. There is stuff you have never seen before. We couldn’t get permits for our car chases because they are actually at 100 miles an hour and there are beatings and arrests depicted the way these things really happen.”

“We broke every rule to get this done and took a lot of chances,” he added.

As former mayor Mel Lastman, former Police Services Board member Jeff Lyons or former police chiefs David Boothby or Julian Fantino will confirm, they’ve seen that kind of independence before.

“Enough is enough,” Lyons told the board Jan. 26, 2000. “I was also was intimidated . . . I also had my office swept to make sure there were no bugs there.”

There were no bugs! And, just like the Bromell-led bugging drama at City Hall 10 years ago, The Bridge, too, is nothing but fiction!

Don’t you just love show business!

‘The Bridge’ puts new spin on police force politics
Interviewee: Inga Cadranel
By: Constance Droganes (entertainment writer, CTV.ca)
Date: March 2, 2010
Source: CTV News

 

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

 

There are cop dramas that go by the book. Then there is “The Bridge,” a new CTV police-force series that jacks up the TV-viewing intensity.

Debuting on Friday, March 5 at 9 p.m. on CTV, the two-hour series premiere begins as a frustrated beat cop (Frank Leo) sees his mentor framed by corrupt police brass.

His mentor’s subsequent suicide forces this officer into the treacherous world of police-force politics, intrigue and violence.

“This is a very gritty show that doesn’t pussyfoot around,” says Canadian costar Inga Cadranel, 31.

The series is based on the personal accounts of former Toronto police union head Craig Bromell. That authentic, insider’s point of view helps “The Bridge” reach beyond traditional cop-show formulas, says Cadranel.

“This is no ordinary procedural shows about cops solving a case,” says the Gemini-nominated Toronto actress.

“The storylines centre around unions and politics, all the inner workings of the police force itself,” says Cadranel.

Best-known for her work in the TV comedies “Rent-a-Goalie” and “Jeff Ltd.,” Cadranel portrays a strong-willed detective moving up the ranks of a fictitious Canadian police department in “The Bridge.”

Cadranel’s attitude and believability as a female officer instantly impressed Bromell and his real-life police friends.

“It’s hard to find that realistic mix in an actress. I was lucky to pull it off. But, it wasn’t always easy,” says Cadranel.

The mother of a four-year-old son, Cadranel’s greatest challenge on “The Bridge” came whenever the show spotlighted crimes against children.

In one episode a six-year-old is killed in a Regent Park apartment complex in Toronto.

“I had to watch my partner pretend to pick this kid’s hair fibres out of a wall. It was terrible because I knew the moment was based on real events,” says Cadranel.

Throughout the shoot Cadranel could hear babies crying outside the apartment buildings.

“The whole moment hit me hard,” says Cadranel. “Separating myself from these murdered children took a great deal out of me.”

 

Cadranel is memorably defiant in “The Bridge”

Born into a showbiz family, Cadranel’s parents, Maja Ardal and Jeff Braunstein, are stage actors, directors and writers.

Her brother, Paul Braunstein, is also an actor.

“When we were growing up we had all these crazy, in-your-face guys around the house. For us it was like, ‘Ugh! Actors again,'” she laughs.

As an act of rebellion, Cadranel stayed clear of the family business until high school.

“In was in my blood. I knew this was my calling,” says Cadranel.

Now married to “Heartland” star Gabriel Hogan, who also grew up in an acting family, the model-pretty actress launched her career in Toronto theatre in the mid-1990s.

She has since appeared in television series such as “The Eleventh Hour,” “Relic Hunter” and “ReGenesis.”

Cadranel also appeared in Mickey Rourke’s 2008 crime drama, “Killshot.”

CBS has also picked up “The Bridge” as part of their lineup. Cadranel’ and cast could see their careers explode in the U.S. market should the show do well.

“It’s so hard to predict these things,” says Cadranel.

“This show is super intense and takes many chances. That is a risky thing to do with audiences,” she says. “We’ll just have to wait and see how the public responds.”

Shoe fits as acting duo collaborates
Interviewee: Inga Cadranel
By: Rita Zekas
Date: January 16, 2010
Source: Toronto Star

 

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

 

Mother and daughter share a certain talent but Ardal defers to Cadranel when it’s time to shop.

Actors Maja Ardal and Inga Cadranel don’t have a mother-and-daughter act, but it is inevitable. They share a profession, a shoe size (7), a love of footwear and a wicked sense of humour.

Ardal is back from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where she staged her Dora-Award winning one-woman play You Fancy Yourself, now playing in Toronto at Theatre Passe Muraille through Jan. 23. Cadranel has a series The Bridge, set to debut on CTV and CBS, and is off to Los Angeles for pilot season.

They converge at Walking on a Cloud at 2010A Queen St. E. in the Beach because Ardal has been drooling over a pair of Hunter rubber boots for weeks. She is going for the Hunters and a pair of MBTs, shoes with a “rocker” sole that are supposed to be a workout for the feet.

“I have an addiction for winter boots,” Cadranel confesses, trying on a tall MBT boot. “Gabriel (Hogan, her guy) makes me do ‘one pair in, one pair out’ if I bring another pair home.”

Ardal puts on a bootie MBT and struts her stuff around the shop.

“Mom upstages me,” Cadranel gripes good-naturedly. “It has been my whole life. I grew up with two actor parents (her father is actor Jeff Braunstein), and an older brother who acted (Paul Braunstein, Train 48). From an early age, I studied acting and learned to be the audience.”

Recalls Ardal: “I was at TWP (Toronto Workshop Productions) playing Medea, a woman killing her children, and Inga was only 4, I played for an audience of 10 people and my 4-year-old daughter. The next night, Inga comes with a huge bag of toys. She said, ‘Look Mom, I brought you an audience.'”

Ardal, who was born in Iceland, played Mrs. Potts on Road to Avonlea. She is a playwright, performer, theatre instructor and director. In You Fancy Yourself, Ardal plays 12 characters using two costumes and a box.

“The characters are not there (in the flesh) but you ‘see’ them,” she explains. “I do crowd scenes where the mob chases a girl and beats her up. It’s a workout and I love it. There is comedy, drama, a little bit of tears and a sense of understanding. It’s a treatment of bullying, cruelty, love and loyalty.”

Cadranel doesn’t get much in the wardrobe department on The Bridge, either.

“I can wear boots – I am a tough detective, a bisexual cop. I’m the first bisexual on Canadian TV,” she says proudly.

“I have to pull it off and be believable and not be a gimmick. In the beginning, I have a girlfriend but she was scared of my aggression. I have an affair with the lead guy on the show (Aaron Douglas from Battlestar Galactica).

“I wear a fitted man’s suit and a trench coat. You are so butch but it is a nice change from babe roles where I dress up in heels and makeup. In Bridge, there is no makeup. You look like crap and it’s perfect.”

Is Ardal a shopper?

“Inga shops for me,” she insists. “When she buys me clothes, I look better. She tells me what’s hot.”

“My mom had bells all over her dress,” Cadranel recalls. “She was a hippie; I was mortified. Every other mom was in a suit and I longed for a ‘suit parent’ as a kid.”

Cadranel shops everywhere. “I really dress for the way I feel that day. I’ll shop Kensington, American Apparel and H&M for basics. I can do rocker chic and I love vintage. I get weird things like aprons and make them into dresses. I don’t need a label; I can get something at Zellers.”

“She takes after my 84-year-old mother,” says Ardal.

“She would take a blanket, leave the fringe off and make it into a coat.”

Ardal is finishing writing the sequel to You Fancy Yourself, called The Cure for Everything.

“It’s about Beatles, bombs and getting groovy,” she says.

“My mother is sexually coming of age,” jokes Cadranel.

Adral replies: “I’m 60 and doing a teenage sex play. I better pull out that bells dress.”

Meet Inga Cadranel
Interviewee: Inga Cadranel
By: Flannery Dean
Date: December 21, 2009
Source: Rogers Spotlight

 

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

 

Inga Cadranel played Francesca in the Showcase comedy Rent-A-Goalie, a role that won her two Canadian Comedy Awards. Now, the Toronto-born and bred actress is getting serious, playing a tough detective on the new CBS/CTV co-production The Bridge. (The series will debut in early 2010.) Here, the down-to-earth actress talks about comedy, female cops on TV, her and favourite cop drama of all time.

 

The Bridge is a cop drama in a sea of cop dramas on TV — what sets this one apart for you?

[The Bridge] deals with the union, the internal affairs of the police force itself, so that’s what makes it different and interesting… In that regard, it’s an interesting sell to people on the police force, because it’s talking about police in a very real way. It’s saying that not everybody is out there to protect and serve; there are a couple of guys out there who are pretty scary and shifty.

 

The Bridge is a co-production between CBS and CTV, what does that mean to you as an actor, if anything?

It just gets me excited in a new way. The big car chases and the explosions, they get more of a budget for that, so the show is going to look fantastic. I’m really excited to be on a show that’s going to be shown in the States. Obviously that’s the brass ring as a Canadian actor, to have notoriety in the States. This is kind of what we’re aiming for as actors and to be able to do it from home is a gift. That’s always been my dream: to be in an American show that shoots from home so my child can stay in his school and I can stay around my parents and my brother who just had a baby.

 

You play Jill, a major crimes detective. How does she fit in the world of the show?

Jill is definitely the female with the attitude. She’s a bisexual cop and she’s also having an affair with Frank (Aaron Douglas), the show lead. He constantly comes to my partner and I for information even though we’re not supposed to give it to him. But he’s trying to solve the internal side of things. That’s kind of where I fit into the show. He literally pumps me for information!

 

Are you a fan of the genre? What are your favourite cop shows?

The original Law & Order was what got me back into cop dramas. After Hill Street Blues faded away I think the cop drama did too, a bit. I don’t really consider Miami Vice a cop drama, and that’s what we were offered for a while. Then all of a sudden Law & Order came out and it smacked everyone in the face with its realism. No one had ever seen a show like that. The acting was so real. The lighting was raw. It was one of the first shows to use the handheld moving camera. It’s been on for so long that now it’s been branching off. But I couldn’t really get into the other ones. I’m still such a fan of the original.

 

Do you have any favourite female cop characters?

No, I think my favourite female cop character was the girl from Third Watch [actress Tia Texada]. The lead female – I can’t remember her name – my husband/boyfriend/whatever you want to call him, and I used to watch her and say, ‘Wow, she’s awesome.’ She is just real and raw and has one of these faces that is amazing. I love to watch a real human face. Other than that there aren’t that many female cops I can think of that I admire. I was a bit young for Cagney & Lacey! Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU) has some moments. Her acting is good.

 

You won a Canadian Comedy Award for your role as Francesca on Rent-A-Goalie…

Yes, I did, which is so funny because when I tell people on The Bridge they are like ‘No way.’ On The Bridge there’s no room for any humour-the show is so serious and dark. I actually got nominated for another comedy award this year and I was in the hair and makeup room and told the other actors and everyone was like, ‘No you’re not.’ And I said, ‘Yes, I am; I’m funny.’ Im trying to prove to them that I’m funny.

 

The Bridge will premiere in 2010. Check CTV and CBS for future airdate.

The Geminis: buddy, can you spare a tux?
Interviewee: Theresa Joy
By: Gayle MacDonald
Date: November 13, 2009
Source: The Globe and Mail

 

Note: This is an interview with THERESA JOY who plays Billy on THE BRIDGE. Theresa’s part of the article is in blue font if you want to just skip to that part.

 

Everyone looks like a million bucks at the Geminis. But most Canadian actors can’t afford too much champagne, Gayle MacDonald reports

At Saturday night’s 24th annual Gemini Awards ceremony in Calgary, the cameras will capture Canada’s top TV talent, gussied up, glam and giving the impression that an actor’s life is impossibly charmed – even grand.

But scratch beneath the high-gloss surface – and chat with a few journeyman actors – and you’ll get an entirely different story.

Talk to anyone who’s helmed a top show, and you hear countless tales of the pay-your-dues-reality of most working actors’ day-to-day existence – like the bloke with a guest role on a hit TV series who couldn’t afford a tux for the Geminis, so had to rent one. Or the gal on a prime-time comedy who blew her monthly budget on acting classes and had to borrow a little black dress. And another actor, with a recurring role on yet another weekly cop show, who almost missed his plane because he was doing voiceover work as a crusty, old panda in a kid’s cartoon. In today’s less-than-booming entertainment economy, they are being squeezed even more, not less.

Indeed, when the show’s over at Calgary’s BMO Centre, most actors will throw off their fancy garb and return home to juggle multiple jobs (bussing tables, driving cabs, working retail) or multiple careers (commercials, voiceovers, radio promos, script writing, stage managing) – the multitasking survival game necessary to pay the bills while they wait weeks, often months, for agents to call with the next gig.

“It’s a very small percentage – perhaps 5 per cent of Canadian actors – who actually make a living strictly acting,” says veteran Toronto casting agent Lisa Parasyn, adding almost every actor she knows has a second, sometimes a third, job.

“The everyday working actor makes $10,000 to $20,000 a year,” estimates Parasyn’s business partner Jon Comerford, who is casting Showcase’s new show Crash & Burn , which debuts Nov. 18. “If you’re a regular on a series, you can make $80,000 to $100,000, but those people are the minority. In the mid-eighties to late-nineties, Lisa and I would have been casting several movies of the week, which shot in 24 days and paid actors $1,500 to $2,000 a day. Those same movies are now shot in 14 days and the average actor makes $600 a day. Practically every show we work on these days is paying [union] scale. American budgets traditionally used to be much higher, but they simply aren’t any more.

“But actors are a rare breed. They do it because they love it. … A certain temperament becomes an actor, but it’s not for everybody.” Further proof that the starting-out actor’s life can be hand-to-mouth was handed down in the most recent Hill Strategies research report that found actors experienced the sharpest decline in average earnings among artists from 1990 to 2005, dropping 34 per cent to about $18,000.

Of course, there are always the lucky few who catch that proverbial “big break.” They’re the same gang (think Paul Gross or Flashpoint ‘s Hugh Dillon) who may lend their voice to plug a car or life-insurance company, but they dabble on the lucrative sidelines because they can – not because they have to. For instance, Dillon, who also stars in the critically acclaimed series Durham County , can be heard in national advertising campaigns for Chrysler and Manulife, and in the video game Left 4 Dead 2 as well.

But for the vast majority of actors, the side jobs are needed to pay the rent, keep the heat on, and buy the groceries.

Everyone in the acting trenches has stories to tell. Single mom Theresa Joy, who recently scored a role as a rough-and-tumble street cop on the upcoming CBS/CTV police series The Bridge , made ends meet for years in a multitude of jobs – bartender (hated it), Buffalo Bills cheerleader (she viewed the stadium crowd of 80,000 as her audience and the skimpy uniform as “my costume”), co-host of Super Bowl half-time shows, beer babe on Budweiser and Labatt’s commercials, and selling clothes over eBay.

The 31-year-old actress also did several independent features, films she describes as “pretty far out there, but I got the lead role, so I took them. Most of them no one’s ever seen. Or likely will.”

Joy, who lives in Stoney Creek, Ont., with her 12-year-old, says her daughter has seen her do some pretty crazy things over the years. “She’s seen me get down, and have to pull myself back up, just about every other week. But acting is what I always wanted to do, and I couldn’t ever give up. It’s just really expensive when you’re getting started. In fact, you’re usually not making money; it’s costing you money.

“When I got The Bridge I was so grateful,” adds Joy. “To have a craft truck and people coming to make sure I’m comfy, is a blessing. Sheer bliss. If I work 13- to 14-hour days, it doesn’t matter to me. Struggling for a long time makes you appreciate where you are – and where you’re trying to get.”

For more than 10 years, St. Catharines, Ont., native Jeffrey R. Smith has paid his acting dues. Now – just off a role in AMC’s six-part miniseries, The Prisoner , with a role in ABC’s upcoming show Happy Town and a part in the feature film Casino Jack (opposite Kevin Spacey) – the actor hopes he’s finally rounded the corner and landed the parts to ensure a steady stream of work.

Roughly speaking, a series lead in this country, on a show with major U.S. distribution, could make between $10,000 and $40,000 per episode. However, Canadian regulars appearing in a low-budget series, possibly without major American distribution, make in the area of $1,000 a day. Most of these shows shoot between four to seven days an episode, (with the actors not necessarily on set every day) and are usually picked up for between six and 22 episodes.

“I’m on a roll, I think,” says Smith, reached on his cellphone in New York City. “A small price to pay for free accommodation,” he quips.

But while things have definitely been looking up for the 39-year-old, Smith still figures his acting income only brings in $20,000 to $25,000 a year – which explains his sideline occupation as a personal assistant to American film and TV producer Michael Maschio, and many voiceover gigs. This past week, for example, he auditioned in Toronto for the part of “some scary squirrel” for a Nelvana kids’ show.

“I also do a lot of radio-announcer stuff, but animation is fun because it’s decent, fast money and it flexes a whole different creative muscle,” adds the actor.

“Last year, when I came back from The Prisoner [which premieres tomorrow night] I didn’t work for almost four months,” recounts the George Brown College grad. “In those times, I have to dip into my lines of credit – and then when I get another job, it’s catch-up. I see some of my peers who have left the business and now own their homes, and that’s the thing I haven’t done yet. But I’ve fulfilled my dream. So I have no regrets.”

Toronto’s Rich Caplan, of the Noble Caplan Agency, says he knows actors who have become so successful doing voiceover work — that they can’t afford to be “actors” any more. Others just turn to a commercial or two a year to get them through particularly slow times. Then, Caplan adds, “there are some actors who find a balance, seeming to be able to do it all, do it well and make a good living.”

In that category fits Caplan’s client, Martin Roach, a 40-year-old, married father of three who lives in Ajax, Ont., and commutes to Toronto daily. Acting for 14 years, Roach dabbles in it all, routinely making six figures a year, juggling TV series such as Slings & Arrows , cartoons, commercials and radio promos.

His trick? Roach credits a strong work ethic, and his great, baritone voice. “Right now, I’m a steak in a television commercial,” he chuckles.

“I guess the amount of work I get is a little above the norm. My voice helps me get into the voice department. … I have zero desire to ever work 9 to 5. If I didn’t act, you’d probably read about me in the newspapers. And not in a good way.”

Aspiring actor Douglas Nyback, 24, also boosts his acting income by moonlighting. The Camrose, Alta., native, who recently nabbed a part in the feature film Kit Kittredge: An American Girl as well as a guest starring role in CBC’s Being Erica , also works 40 hours a week coaching fellow actors at Toronto’s Dean Armstrong Studio.

“My immediate family have always been extremely supportive but I can’t tell you how many people have come up to me over the years and said, ‘When are you going to get a real job?,'” Nyback says.

“It irritates me, but acting is all I ever wanted to do. … But I must say this profession takes tremendous endurance.”

Not to mention, a willingness to do menial labour and be a jack-of-all-trades. Even Brad Pitt wore a chicken costume for the El Pollo Loco restaurant chain before landing a role on the eighties soap Dallas .

And Saturday night, Gemini presenter Cory Monteith, the Calgary-born star of Fox’s hit show Glee , could charm the crowd by sharing the fact that he drove cabs as well as worked as a people-greeter for Wal-Mart before hitting it big as the singing jock Finn Hudson.

Talk Is Chic
Interviewee: Inga Cadranel
By: Sara Graham
Date: October 29, 2009
Source: Woman.ca

 

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

 

Toronto Fashion Week was a whirl of activity and we couldn’t go without crowning a Woman of Style at the end of it all!

Award-winning actress Inga Cadranel was asked by designer Lucian Matis to model one of his pieces in the Dare to Wear Love show that closed Fashion Week. A special honour since Matis is the inaugural winner of the Fashion Design Council of Canada Designer Development Fund Award!

We caught up with Inga relaxing at home the Sunday after …

How did you meet Lucian Matis?

Through my friend Amanda at the Style Box. She can take credit for introducing me to the Canadian design scene, and invited me to Lucian’s runway show in 2008. I fell in love with one of his dresses and from that collection and wore it to the Geminis…and I have no qualms about saying I was the best dressed that night! Everyone said so, and lots of pictures were taken.

 

How did the runway experience go for you?

First off, I was shocked as Lucian knows many actresses so I was flattered he asked me.

[On the night] I was terrified backstage! The celebrity models were mixed with real models so I felt tiny. The [real] models gave great advice, and once I was out I could have stayed there all night! See how it’s an adrenaline rush that could become addictive…And not in a narcissistic way. All that was going through my head was to make the dress look its best. I was surprised how quickly my confidence developed and I hope I did [Lucian’s design] justice!

 

As your acting career has been evolving, how has that affected your personal style sensibility?

It’s affected my style to the point where I want to look more mature and sophisticated when I go to industry events. I used to play in a punk rock band so my personal style was very “street” and perhaps that intimidated people. I realized I could not dye my hair pink and try to book a [TV] show. Unfortunately people judge and I started to feel that some assumed I was tough and mean.

I’ve found, within high fashion, I can still keep an edge to my style and stay true to myself without freaking people people out!

However, when I go out with my non-industry friends I still go a bit wilder.

 

Do you employ a personal stylist?

No, I love fashion and don’t like to follow trends. I like to look and know what is current, but I prefer to take elements from that and make them my own.

In LA, everyone is a carbon copy and dressed head-to-toe in the latest trend.

I love being from Canada… We have a unique sense of style. Toronto is amazing in that way, and I am so inspired by what people come up with here.

 

Where do you like to shop?

My all-time favourite places are the Kensington thrift shops. I like American Apparel’s no-logo neutrals…so hot on their shiny disco pants right now! Once in a while I will find a good piece at H&M. I appreciate Urban Outfitters for the individuality.

I am not a high end shopper. I’d rather hunt for something than pay way too much money for something I’ll only wear once.

That’s why it makes so much sense to have a relationship with a great designer…I can wear a gorgeous dress once and give it back. I mean, it’s just not possible to wear something you’ve been photographed in again. So the designer gets the publicity and we look fab… really works for everybody.

 

Other Canadian designers you admire/wear?

I really love the colours and cuts of Jason Meyers. Carlie Wong will be designing my Gemini dress. This year in particular she’s got a Madame Butterfly twist to her classic gowns that is stunning. Jaw-dropping.

I have to say Lucian (pictured at left with Inga at the Holt Renfrew Media Cocktail) is such an architect. His clothes always make me think, “Wow, how did you come up with that?” He’s inventive, raw, real and romantic…I appreciate what he does. Overall, this was for sure one of my favourite fashion weeks! Happy to see such a strong Canadian contingent…I was proud.

 

What’s your projected Spring 2010 favourite accessory?

I’m already into these great clutches by eenamaria. [Designer] Sarah Morgan is a friend of mine from Toronto, but now she’s based in NYC. Her bags are very 60s with a spin…I freaked out when she sent me some of her clutches to use during fashion week, and I’ll definitely be pairing them with outfits well into the spring!

 

Of all the celebs that the media turn into fashion “It” girls, who do you think has a the best grasp on style?

For me, it’s a toss up between Kate Moss and Sienna Miller. The 60s mod look appeals to me, and those girls keep it fresh and current. They both really have a hold on fashion and their own personal style.

Those best and worst lists bother me as often the people who are the “worst” are just trying something unique and it’s way more interesting to me.

 

No doubt we’ll see this rising star on many a red carpet in the future!

Cadranel is also starting to gear up for the debut of her new show The Bridge in which she plays Jill, a detective with attitude who’s moving up the ranks of a fictitious Canadian police department. Originally shot by CTV, the series was recently picked up by CBS as part of their must-see TV lineup and will premiere on both networks in January/February 2010.

With dozens of big and small screen rolls – including the upcoming thriller Killshot and hit series like The Eleventh Hour, Leap Years, Relic Hunter and ReGenesis – Inga has also worked with some of Hollywood’s leading actors and actresses. To date, she counts Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke, Donald Sutherland and John Heard as some of her co-stars. Definitely one to watch!

My Car: Sports cars aren’t sexy
Interviewee: Inga Cadranel
By: Petrina Gentile
Date: October 14, 2009
Source: The Globe and Mail

 

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

 

A Jeep SUV gets this TV star’s family off-roading, or cruising while blasting Iron Maiden

Inga Cadranel is no stranger to TV; for the past three years, she has starred as the sultry Francesca in the Canadian hit show Rent-A-Goalie.

But the award-winning actress will soon hit the American airwaves, starring in the series The Bridge. Originally shot by CTV, the series was scooped up by CBS and premieres on both networks in January. It’s a big boost for Cadranel. But the spotlight hasn’t changed her.

She doesn’t drive a fancy sports car; she prefers a rugged ride. That’s why she drives a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo SUV.

“You would never see me driving around in a sports car. I feel like you’re so low and squish-able by transport trucks.”

“It’s not that I don’t want a fast car. I like the speed. I’m just not the type of person who finds a sports car a sexy car. I like guys who drive trucks. I’ve always been [partial] to having a beat-up pickup truck – not a typical actress glamour car” confesses Cadranel, whose partner is actor Gabriel Hogan from CBC’s Heartland and Rent-A-Goalie. Together, they have a four-year-old son.

“People who drive Jeeps are people who like to do outdoor activities. When we drove it to L.A., we had the big Thule racks for when we wakeboard, surf or snowboard. We ski – we do the whole bit. We’re outdoorsy. That’s the kind of car that suits our lifestyle.”

They’re not afraid to get it dirty, either. Hogan and her son go off-roading often. “Those guys love it.

“I haven’t been in the car because I’d probably have a heart attack watching my son go off-roading. I have to turn away when Gab does those kind of things,” says Cadranel, who won a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Actress in her role in Rent-A-Goalie. She also had roles in several TV shows – Jeff Ltd., The Eleventh Hour, Leap Years and Relic Hunter – as well as the flick Killshot with Mickey Rourke.

Inside the SUV, the couple’s taste in music is a little odd, considering they have a toddler. “We tried my four-year-old son on the Raffi and he just wasn’t interested.

“Once we started playing some Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, my son had found his calling. He knows every lyric to Black Sabbath’s Iron Man.

“We listen to loud music in the car. If we want to chill out we’ll listen to Radiohead. We’re a funny little family. People see us pull up with a little guy in his car seat and we’re blasting Iron Maiden and he says, ‘Mommy, louder. Louder!'”

Her son has a Mohawk hairdo, which she styles every morning.

Cadranel admits she loves speed. “I actually drive faster than my husband, although he says he does. My son always goes, ‘Mommy, you drive faster than Daddy!’

“When I was a little girl I wanted to be a race-car driver. I love driving – I truly love it. Just being able to control a machine.”

Cadranel bought the Jeep used last year. “We find the Jeep to be a solid vehicle that doesn’t have a lot of problems. It’s great for kids. We like the look of it – it’s rugged – that’s the type of people we are.”

But it could use more space. “The back seat needs a bit more room. Even though it’s a Jeep and it’s spacious it’s not as spacious as you think inside.

“It’s great when we have the back seat down and flat and we’re moving or going camping, then we have lots of room.”

Her first car, a Mercury Topaz, was a hand-me-down from her grandfather. “He said, ‘If you come to Florida and visit me, I’ll let you have my car. You just have to drive it home to Canada.’ I was like, ‘Of course! Of course!’

“I was 17. So me and some girlfriends flew down there and we did a big road trip back in this Mercury Topaz. It was one of the best trips I’ve ever had.

“It never broke down the entire time I had it. It was really funny. It was such a grandpa car. I kept that car for a while – I ran it to the ground. One day I went to start it and it just died.”

Cadranel has also owned a 1971 VW Super Beetle, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, a Nissan Pathfinder and a 1971 Ford Bronco.

“Our Bronco sounded like those really obnoxious Harley-Davidsons,” she laughs. “It was enormous. My husband brought it home one day because his friend owed him money and they decided to give him the car instead.”

“I was like, ‘How am I supposed to drive it – it’s standard?’ So he taught me and I fell in love with driving a standard cause then you’re really in control and I’m a control freak,” confesses Cadranel, who comes from a show-business family. Her parents, Maja Ardal and Jeff Braunstein, are stage actors, directors and writers; her brother Paul Braunstein is an actor.

But she skipped a standard transmission in the Jeep. “I am constantly reaching back and giving snacks to the little one – giving him water or picking up lost toys while I’m driving.”

“You got to have one hand free to stop the tears and catch the toys that fall,” says Cadranel.

As her career soars, she has been contemplating upgrading her wheels. “Our careers are going well.

“Should we trade it in and get a brand-new car? But we don’t really need it. We don’t need to be gluttonous. We’re not flashy car people.”

“The only time we’d get a new car is if there was an affordable hybrid. Unfortunately, hybrids are still quite expensive. But when Jeep comes out with a hybrid, we’ll be the first to buy one.”