[identity profile] c-regalis.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] the_ckr_files


by Jen Johnston

My editors are fantastic. They encourage me, they give me helpful suggestions, AND they do not hesitate to stand up for me when an angry Richard Gere fan e-mails to make critical comments on something I have written. “We don’t know her,” they say. They do however, enjoy it when I tell stories about terribly embarrassing moments. Here goes....

We were at the theatre. Two scary movie veterans (Sean and John) and myself. It was their turn to pick the film. They, having absolutely no respect for my wussiness factor decided to pick the most frightening looking thing available; a new David Cronenberg film called Existenz. As I sat in the darkening theatre, Sean (horror vet #1) turned and asked “Scared Jen?” “SCARED? ME?” I replied in a voice you might expect to emanate from an aerobics instructor on 26 cups of coffee. “Of course not. It’s only a movie.” As I had a carefully planned out technique for surviving scary movies, ( a. closing my eyes when the ominous music starts; and b. leaving the theatre for 15 or 20 Mountain Dew refills) I was not too concerned. Until the movie started that is, and I found that I didn’t want to shut my eyes as there was this incredible actor on screen named Callum Keith Rennie who was so handsome he was obviously some sort of special effect, and that I couldn’t leave the theatre without leaving my shoes behind as they had become permanently bonded to the floor in one of the most permanent adhesives known to man: Movie Floor Crud. These factors led to 90 of the most terrifying minutes of my life. (Not to mention leading me to one of the most irritating cinema-goers habits: attempting to LOUDLY assist the characters on screen. I think at one point I yelled out “DON’T TRUST HIM!!” at the top of my lungs managing to embarrass the two uber-cool people I was with. This was quite a feat considering that these two people think nothing of performing Klingon mating rituals in public places.) After the movie was over John (horror vet #2) leaned over and said “How’d you like the movie Jen?” “Whurg,” I replied as my brain was not concerned with pesky tasks like forming complete sentences at that time. It seemed to be busy with trying to get my heart beating again. “You weren’t SCARED were you?” asked John. “NO,” I answered demonstrating the brain’s amazing ability to tap dance around the truth of a situation in order to preserve one’s dignity.

I jittered my way home, and once inside, while maintaining a 50 foot distance from my computer games, (Existenz joke) began to look up the lovely Callum and his career.

This man, despite being a fairly independent actor has an absolutely HUGE fan base, headed up by a devoted webmaster named Sarah. (Her wealth of information on Callum can be found at http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/gilliams/559/ ) “What attracts me to Callum’s acting?” she said. “Well, that’s a hard one to answer. I think it’s because he’s played roles all over the spectrum and has been convincing in every single one. He’s just a damn fine actor.” Rennie has built his own personal legion of admirers with his slow, smouldering roles. Every single time the scrapper has appeared, (with the possible exception of roles where he has obviously been attempting to frighten me to death) he has a rather unique capability of causing women to stop breathing, forming coherent sentences etc.....The best example of this would be his role in Last Night. Rennie plays Craig in this tale of apocalypse nearing. Craig’s particular method of preparing for the end of the earth is to ensure that he leaves with no fantasy unfulfilled. When I found that I was going to be able to speak with Callum, this was the first movie I rented for *ahem* research purposes. I watched it with a roomful of (excepting myself) very married women. All of whom were gossiping non stop until Callum appeared. Then, all of a sudden, the chatting stopped, and the estrogen level in the room mounted to suffocating proportions.

You know how they say it takes twice as much energy to swing and miss as it does to swing and hit? The same can be said for the amount of nerve necessary to phone someone and have them answer, and phone someone and getting their machine.( “This is Callum. I’m not....ummm...Call me Back”) I did finally get him on the phone, only to discover that he is just as magnetic as he appears to be on film. It comes naturally to this deadpan actor.

We talked about Due South, and I asked how he landed the role of Ray Kowalski. “I didn’t actually have to audition,” Callum said. “I just had to meet with Paul Haggis* (series creator). I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to do the show, so we did a coin toss to see if I’d join the cast. I lost, so I asked if we could do it again ‘cause I realized just how badly I wanted to do it.” Callum says on the onset environment that “it was great fun. It’s one of the best television environments I’ve ever worked on. It was a real hands on type of atmosphere. There was total hilarity and retardedness every day.” He then explained the effect that the role had taken on his career. “It affected it positively. My profile suddenly became much higher. I went from no one knowing me, to walking through a Belgian airport, or playing tennis in South Africa, and having people know my name.” Unlike his Due South counterparts, Callum doesn’t have a particular favourite episode. “I watch any of them, and critique my performance. Like the first one I did, I think ‘ooo, I’m a little bit tight there.’ Then I watch a later one and think ‘I’m starting to find my legs.’ Each one brings back memories of the day for me, what we had for lunch, what the weather was like...”

When I put the word out in my little village that I would be speaking with Callum, mounds of videotapes showed up on my doorstep. In amongst the hours and hours of DaVinci’s Inquest, Twitch City, and movies that arrived I found an early interview where he stated that Due South was a good experience for his personal growth. I asked him to clarify. “I never had to be a team player before,” he said. “I was used to showing up, doing my thing, and leaving. I couldn’t do that here. The atmosphere, and the bond I formed with everyone was intense.”

I asked him what sort of roles he’d like to be playing. “I’d like smaller roles where I get paid more.” (He was kidding. I think. Sometimes he is so buried in his sarcasm it’s hard to tell.) He went on to tell me about his newest project Flower and Garnet. “I’m very proud of it,” said Callum. “ I play a dad who is really detached from his kids. I love roles like that, I can do them simply and honestly.”

If he wasn’t acting, Callum says he would be “A cat burglar. A good one. A sneaky one. Hmmmm....Maybe a golfer? I think I would just have to be doing whatever I developed a passion for.”

When I asked him about his biggest influences, it seemed to throw him. He paused, then answered “My brothers. My brothers are my family. My manager is a great friend. Professionally, Marlon Brando is fantastic. Billy Crudup is great. There was a certain sweetness to “Jesus’ Son” that I loved.”

When I wondered about what kept him in Canada he said that “it’s a self limitation. I really like the idea of supporting my roots.” Fans are eagerly awaiting Rennie’s next collaboration with Canadian director/actor/writer Don McKellar. “We’re hitting around ideas,” said Callum “but nothing’s set yet.”

I asked him what his fans generally say when they first meet him. “Asshole,” Callum replied. (Again, only kidding.) “Generally they just seem to be able to place my face but not my name. Sort of the ‘haven’t I seen you someplace before?’ thing. Although, I did go in to pick up my golf clubs the other day and the guy behind the counter said ‘I saw you having sex on TV last night. I can’t remember what I was watching though.’ I asked him if there were a lot of sex scenes, and he said ‘I don’t know. I fell asleep after half an hour.’”

What makes Callum so intriguing though is his contradictory public and private persona. In all of his roles, he is a ball of soft light, not overt, but fiery enough that you can’t take your eyes off him. As Ray (Due South), or Craig (Last Night), or even his beaten-down Jerry (For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down) there is an all encompassing bravery that leads his audience to believe that he fears absolutely nothing. Yet, in person he seems almost shy. And, much to my surprise, this fiercely gentle actor gets star struck. “I’ve only been star struck twice,” said Callum. “Once on a plane, I asked Bobby Hull for his autograph. And the other on one of Christopher Walken’s film sets. The director brought me over to meet him, and I mumbled something, and it all ended very quickly.”

My time speaking with Callum left me with an inescapable conclusion. This gentleman is much more 3-D than your average performer. He adores golfing. (For some incomprehensible reason. My particular style of golfing is to grab a club of some sort, stride directly to the ball, take a hearty swing, and then check to see if the ball has moved from it’s original location. If no, I take another swing. If yes, I go find another ball because there is absolutely no way that I will ever find the first one. This would be an ideal spectator version of golf, save for the fact that everyone watching would be killed within minutes.) He loves Basquiat’s paintings, calling them “both beautiful and political.” He was so open with every topic we touched on that I hung up the phone feeling as though I’d known him for years.

The Atlantic Film Festival is coming up fast down here in my neck of the woods. I am hoping that we will manage to get a chance to screen Callum’s Flower and Garnet, so that I will be able to cement my status as an admirer of this man by being first in line. I am volunteering at the fest though, so I’m hoping that if any fellow theatre goers out there make it to the show before me they will do me two favours:

1) Save me a seat for the next screening. I missed Last Night on the big screen, I’m NOT missing this.

2) Please keep your eyes open for a pair of black Converse sneakers. They are probably still welded to the floor.

Questions from the Fans

How do you approach your roles?
“I dig in the corners, I go shift to shift. No, really I just do my best.”

What was the first album you ever owned?
“The Beatles. Revolver.”

What are you reading?
“In the bathtub....”David Peltz’ Putting Bible, for fiction Night Train by Martin Amis.

Who are you listening to?
“I listen to all kinds of different stuff. Elvis Costello, Eminem, The Replacements, The Headstones....”

What’s been your favourite movie role?
“Billy Tallent. (Hard Core Logo) That movie was so close to me. I grew up in it.”

How’s Alberta? (His dog)
“She’s good. She’s lying here on the bed next to me with her head on her paws. Are you good Alberta? Yeah, she’s good.”

What did you think when you read the script for “Memento?”
“Wow.....What?.....I don’t get this.....I think I need to read it again.” (Again, joking.)

What’s been your toughest role so far?
“The role of me. No....probably Flower and Garnet.

Were you nervous about appearing on The X-Files?
“No, not at all. It was a local thing when I was on. There were a lot of friends there.”

* Is this correct? I know that fanon (and I seem to remember a PG interview as well) says that this happened with Paul Gross, not Paul Haggis, who - as far as I know - wasn't even around at that time anymore.**

**ETA: Okay, according to several Paul Gross interviews (like this one [livejournal.com profile] scriggle posted in the comments) it was Paul Gross with the coin flip, not Paul Haggis.

Found here.

(Since Flower and Garnet (released 2002) is mentioned I am assuming this interview took place in 2002 and will tag it accordingly.)

Date: 2008-02-13 08:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] malnpudl.livejournal.com
Oooh! Very cool! I hadn't seen this one before. Fun to see an article from a fangirl perspective. *bonds*

And the coin flip story made me do a double take. That can't be right, can it? It was our Paul, wasn't it? *frets*

*rethinks*

Date: 2008-02-13 09:41 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] malnpudl.livejournal.com
It had to be our Paul! Haggis was no longer involved by the time Callum was cast, and Paul Gross was the executive producer. No way it could have been Haggis.

Re: *rethinks*

Date: 2008-02-13 09:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] malnpudl.livejournal.com
Ah, yeah. Now I remember reading that before. It was a long time ago. I think I blocked that bit. *feels vaguely queasy*

I remain convinced that it was PG who cast Callum, and was the other party in the coin flip.

Re: *rethinks*

Date: 2008-02-14 12:42 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] scriggle.livejournal.com
Do you have the file of articles that Hel put together? I can upload if you need it.

Re: *rethinks*

Date: 2008-02-14 03:49 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] scriggle.livejournal.com
I'll u/l tonight.

Re: *rethinks*

Date: 2008-02-15 12:27 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] scriggle.livejournal.com
Here you go: www.mediafire.com/?6dsnjzbh1oj

Re: *rethinks*

Date: 2008-02-14 12:33 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] scriggle.livejournal.com
I found this in Hel's wonderful article book she put together for MJ so I don't have a link to the article itself.


Paul Gross takes over Due South by Anika Van Wyk September 11, 1997

Canada's RCMP are famous for the musical ride, but Canada's most beloved Mountie, Due South's Constable Benton Fraser, is going to take fans on one heck of an action ride.

Despite disinterest from U.S. networks, Alliance and CTV decided to go ahead with a third season. And judging from the first action-packed episode, which airs Sunday, the series is going to be better than ever.

"The season opener is like a bullet, isn't it? We've patterned the 13 shows so there are three big ones and some others that are more typically Due South and lower-keyed," says Paul Gross, who not only returns as the charmingly polite Fraser but has also taken on writing and executive producing duties.

The Calgary native admits wearing multiple hats has dramatically cut into his sleep time, but says it's more fun than tiring, thanks in part to a well-organized crew. Besides, he's mastered the art of power naps.

"It's been an extraordinarily educational thing. I'd never looked at a budget before, never mind being involved with the signing off on one," he says.

"Planning the overall direction of the season has been fun. The only disadvantage to the job is that everything lands on your desk. I can see how it could be a relentless nightmare, but we haven't encountered that."

An added bonus of not having American partners is having more control.

"Because we're not on a U.S. network, we have little interference and we don't have to worry about always getting approval from Los Angeles -- it's been freewheeling that way," says Gross.

Getting back into the role of Fraser was as comfortable as putting on a favorite pair old slippers; however, with the departure of David Marciano as Ray Vecchio and the addition of Callum Keith Rennie as the Mountie's new American partner, a new twist has been added.

"It's such a different energy," explains Gross. "The basic dynamic of the show and relationship remains the same ... but it is a different kind of thing and the humor is a little different.

"You can't replace David but Callum is completely insane -- he's fantastic.

"Suffice it to say that somebody went into his brain at an early age and rewired everything and, as a consequence, he brings unpredictability to the show that has provided us an enormous amount of excitement."

Despite the fact that Rennie is also an Albertan -- he's from Edmonton -- he and Gross had never worked together before.

After looking at many actors for the new character, they chose Rennie, whose previous acting credits include the Bruce McDonald movie Hard Core Logo.

Gross asked him if he thought he could do it.

"We were in a restaurant and we flipped a coin. He called it but we had to do the best two out of three," laughs Gross, who hopes to return to Alberta to direct a western feature film he has written.

Re: *rethinks*

Date: 2008-02-14 12:36 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] scriggle.livejournal.com
And here's another one.


From Hellion to Hot Property: Callum Keith Rennie makes up for lost time
Maclean's Magazine 13 October 1997

Outside the industrial ruins that house the Due South studios in mid-town Toronto, Callum Keith Rennie can be found in his trailer, assiduously stuffing carrots into an electronic juicer. He used to prefer a stronger kind of juice, and spent so much time under its influence that there are several years of his life that he cannot quite account for. But Rennie has not had a drink since catching a shard of glass in his eye during a barroom fight four years ago back home in Vancouver. The eye survived, and the story has become a signature scar in the career of an actor who likes to deal in sharp edges.

On CTV's Due South , Rennie is the new guy. Replacing David Marciano as the sidekick, he plays Chicago detective Stanley Raymond Kowalski, the street-smart foil to Paul Gross' Mountie-with-a-heart-of-gold. "The basic dynamic remains intact," says Gross. "I'm naive and from the wilderness, and he's cynical and from the street. But I think our relationship is more combustible. David had an easier charm. Callum is spikier."

As he sips his carrot juice, a picture of studied casualness in a V-neck pullover, navy sweat pants and tan biker boots, the 37-year-old Rennie does have a rugged intensity about him. And he seems as cagey as Gross is forthright. Bit by bit, he offers up threads of his past. Born in England, raised in Alberta. Did not start acting until he was 25. His parents are middle-class, separated. Wanted to be a mountaineer and supported his climbing habit with "crummy jobs--cooking, laying railroad track, digging ditches"--before discovering theatre in Edmonton.

Relocating to Vancouver, Rennie burned through a variety of TV roles, criminals mostly, in The X-Files, The Commish, Highlander: The Series , and Lonesome Dove . But he began to attract serious notice with a volley of small Canadian features--as a nerdy boyfriend in Double Happiness (1994), as a recovering junkie in Curtis's Charm (1995) and, most notably, as a charismatic punk guitarist in Bruce McDonald's mock rockumentary, Hard Core Logo (1996). He also starts in McDonald's offbeat CBC series Twitch City , set to debut next January. And as a cocaine-addled nut in Kari Skogland's recent Men With Guns , he steals the movie. "Everything has happened pretty quickly," says the soft-spoken actor. "I've had a great run in the last little while."

With his film career heating up, Rennie had qualms about locking into the weekly grind of Due South . "I'm by nature better suited to flashing quickly on roles and getting out of them without having to expose myself too much," he says. Gross, meanwhile, had reservations about hiring him. "Paul was worried I wouldn't have the endurance or the ability to take direction," says Rennie. "He thought I was really raw and didn't have any technique--it actually just looked like I had none, which is maybe a good thing." Finally, the two actors went to a bar (beer for Gross, soda water for Rennie) and ended up flipping a coin. When it turned up tails, they made it the best out of three.

(cont.)

Re: *rethinks*

Date: 2008-02-14 12:36 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] scriggle.livejournal.com
(cont.)


"It was the most potentially disastrous decision I had to make," says Gross, who doubles as the show's executive producer. "It's like a marriage. I spend more time with Callum than I do with my wife." But the partnership has clicked. "It has, on balance, been a riot," says Gross. "Callum's also very daring physically, and that really benefits the style of the show. David didn't like to do stunts, which becomes very limiting. Whereas if you chucked Callum out of a plane, it would be fine."

Replacing a character on "an established show that has a huge fan base," says Rennie, "means you're gonna be judged as, 'Well-you're-not-the-other-guy.' " And it took him a few episodes to feel secure in the role. But there was instant

chemistry with Gross. "I understand him as a good ol' Alberta boy," Rennie explains.

"I know how whacked he is. People go, 'Jeez, you guys are so different.' But we're so much the same. We both have that outside-looking-in-at-the-ridiculousness-of-things. We keep a cool exterior, and underneath it's sort of a lot of other stuff."

Still, Rennie does not expect to stick around. he insisted on a rare one-year contract--and it is doubtful Gross would risk type-casting myself as a Mountie for another season. When this one ends, Rennie plans to head straight for Los Angeles. "I just want to up the ante," he says. "In this country, I seem to work with a lot of first-time directors. And at this point, I can't risk being f---d with by people who are too neurotic with their material to allow me to do what I want." And, like Gross, Rennie is unhappy with the kinds of roles available in Canada. "Things have to change in the way we make movies," he says. "We don't write for heroic characters." Rennie seems to have his mind set on leaving Canadian the archetype in the dust. In Vancouver, he owns what he calls "a racing truck--a 1964 Mercury shortbox with a 390 El Camino engine." And he is looking forward to a long drive--due south.

Re: *rethinks*

Date: 2008-02-14 01:36 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] green-grrl.livejournal.com
Thank you so much for this! I was pretty damn sure it was PG for the coin toss.

"It's like a marriage. I spend more time with Callum than I do with my wife."

*koff*

But there was instant chemistry with Gross.

*koffkoff*

:-D

Re: *rethinks*

Date: 2008-02-14 04:14 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] scriggle.livejournal.com
I want to. I didn't realize you were going to open posting to others so soon. *g*

I've sorta been putting together a DH post in my head.

Are you going to have a template for the movie posts?

Re: *rethinks*

Date: 2008-02-14 12:40 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] scriggle.livejournal.com
And it's also in the TV Zone The Buddy System article.

Scans are HERE (http://scriggle.livejournal.com/226451.html).

Re: *rethinks*

Date: 2008-05-25 12:11 am (UTC)
ext_2451: (Default)
From: [identity profile] aukestrel.livejournal.com
It had to be our Paul! Haggis was no longer involved by the time Callum was cast, and Paul Gross was the executive producer. No way it could have been Haggis.

THANK you. I knew I liked you. (Hi. I just discovered this community. I am reading, crying, laughing, and, um, other things not suitable for mentioning in a PG-13 environment. *koff*)

Date: 2008-02-13 09:25 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] scriggle.livejournal.com
I seem to remember it being our Paul too. It's in one of the Due South articles. I know it is. I'll see if I can find it when I get home.

Date: 2008-02-13 08:55 pm (UTC)
china_shop: Close-up of Zhao Yunlan grinning (Default)
From: [personal profile] china_shop
Who are you listening to?
“I listen to all kinds of different stuff. Elvis Costello, Eminem, The Replacements, The Headstones....”


Glee, glee, glee, glee, glee!

Date: 2008-02-13 09:28 pm (UTC)
china_shop: Close-up of Zhao Yunlan grinning (CKR/HD otp)
From: [personal profile] china_shop
I CAN'T IMAGINE WHY!

Date: 2008-02-13 09:29 pm (UTC)
ext_38060: (CKR: HCL-Billy hee)
From: [identity profile] bluebelle789.livejournal.com
Smouldering indeed. ;) I love the Questions from fans, which makes me want a more recent version of those kinds of things. They are fascinating to me.

Um... he read a Putting Bible in the bath?? *g*

Date: 2008-02-13 11:12 pm (UTC)
ext_14817: (Default)
From: [identity profile] meresy.livejournal.com
I love these, especially the questions. <3

Date: 2008-02-13 11:16 pm (UTC)
ext_14817: (Callum: Smile More)
From: [identity profile] meresy.livejournal.com
And OMG, hee! "Loves Basquiat." [livejournal.com profile] secretlybronte so called it. *g*
Edited Date: 2008-02-13 11:16 pm (UTC)

Date: 2008-02-14 01:54 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laylee.livejournal.com
I have seen that one before, but it's always worth a re-read, especially for quotes like this:

I found that I didn’t want to shut my eyes as there was this incredible actor on screen named Callum Keith Rennie who was so handsome he was obviously some sort of special effect

Well, of course he is!

Date: 2008-02-14 04:50 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cysefin.livejournal.com
Seen this one many times and alway have to read it again. TY

Date: 2008-02-15 12:36 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] buzzylittleb.livejournal.com
This is just a most adorable interview. Why do I think Hugh has a similar philosophy of golf as the interviewer? Can we get a cat-burgular Callum AU? (Will settle for Ray Kowalski, or Billy Tallent trying to get into his house) Callum is incredibly forthcoming for a shy guy (and now I am trying for fourth-coming smut, given where I last saw that pun, it is a small miracle)

Date: 2008-02-15 10:58 pm (UTC)
ext_33206: (Due South - Fraser/Ray)
From: [identity profile] roadrunner1896.livejournal.com
I actually knew this one before, but I didn't know that she mixed up Haggis/Gross there.

So thanks again for adding to my fangirl knowledge pool.

And thanks to [livejournal.com profile] scriggle for finding proof for your suspicions.

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