After years of supporting roles, Callum Keith Rennie takes centre stage
TORONTO - Canadian actor Callum Keith Rennie has played a drinking buddy to David Duchovny's Hank Moody on "Californication," a foil to Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer on "24," and chased confused amnesiac Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) during a memorable scene in the movie "Memento."
But in "Shattered," premiering Wednesday night on Global, the actor mostly known for his supporting roles plays the lead, Det. Ben Sullivan, a troubled homicide investigator with multiple personality disorder.
"What attracted me (to the show) was it was a procedural that would never follow a straight line," Rennie said during a recent interview in Toronto.
"I'd never played a leading man cop before and I thought that would be interesting. I thought the dimensions of trying to figure out how to play somebody suffering from multiple personality disorder in an authentic way would be a challenge, and it was."
Rennie, a longtime veteran of the big and small screen, is more in demand than ever coming off his slew of high-profile roles, also including parts in "Battlestar Galactica," "FlashForward" and "Gunless."
He won a lot of fans playing a carousing, out-of-control record producer on "Californication," a role he got while hanging out with Duchovny on the set of "The X Files: I Want to Believe" in Vancouver.
"There was an announcement about a Golden Globe nomination for 'Californication' and I congratulated him but said I hadn't seen the show," Rennie recalled. Duchovny sent him some DVDs, which Rennie flew through in one night.
"I thought it was one of the best things I'd ever seen and told him so. To which he said, 'Do you want to do it? Like maybe do a three-episode thing?'
"'Uh, yeah, OK!,'" Rennie responded.
"That turned into five (episodes), which turned into eight, which turned into the whole season. It was phenomenal, the writers on that show are phenomenal. The way it's set up, David's spirit on the show and how it works, it was an unbelievable experience."
With "Shattered," Rennie sought out a producer credit, which gave him a greater degree of control over how the show was developed.
"It was just nice to have a say," he said. "Hopefully at least you get to put in your two cents worth, maybe they listen to one cent of it, who knows, but you do get a voice and get to guide it along a path you see fit."
One of the key decisions for Rennie was how he would portray his character's struggle with multiple personality disorder. He spoke to experts, read books, watched videos and worked with an acting coach to find the right nuanced approach.
"It was trying to find a responsible way to play it and have it portrayed so it wasn't like a hook," he said.
Over the course of the first season, Rennie's character experiences four different "alters." The audience may have trouble recognizing the slip into another personality, but Rennie says that reflects the real-life experience of those who suffer from the disorder.
"If you were working with Ben you may or may not get it, so as the audience you may or may not get what's going on with him. Is that just him acting up? That's what he does, that's his thing?
"There's a subtlety to it in that a lot of cases are undiagnosed and people go through their lives going, 'That's just the way he is sometimes,' to the other extreme of completely different voices, multiple personalities and blackouts."
"Shattered" airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
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But in "Shattered," premiering Wednesday night on Global, the actor mostly known for his supporting roles plays the lead, Det. Ben Sullivan, a troubled homicide investigator with multiple personality disorder.
"What attracted me (to the show) was it was a procedural that would never follow a straight line," Rennie said during a recent interview in Toronto.
"I'd never played a leading man cop before and I thought that would be interesting. I thought the dimensions of trying to figure out how to play somebody suffering from multiple personality disorder in an authentic way would be a challenge, and it was."
Rennie, a longtime veteran of the big and small screen, is more in demand than ever coming off his slew of high-profile roles, also including parts in "Battlestar Galactica," "FlashForward" and "Gunless."
He won a lot of fans playing a carousing, out-of-control record producer on "Californication," a role he got while hanging out with Duchovny on the set of "The X Files: I Want to Believe" in Vancouver.
"There was an announcement about a Golden Globe nomination for 'Californication' and I congratulated him but said I hadn't seen the show," Rennie recalled. Duchovny sent him some DVDs, which Rennie flew through in one night.
"I thought it was one of the best things I'd ever seen and told him so. To which he said, 'Do you want to do it? Like maybe do a three-episode thing?'
"'Uh, yeah, OK!,'" Rennie responded.
"That turned into five (episodes), which turned into eight, which turned into the whole season. It was phenomenal, the writers on that show are phenomenal. The way it's set up, David's spirit on the show and how it works, it was an unbelievable experience."
With "Shattered," Rennie sought out a producer credit, which gave him a greater degree of control over how the show was developed.
"It was just nice to have a say," he said. "Hopefully at least you get to put in your two cents worth, maybe they listen to one cent of it, who knows, but you do get a voice and get to guide it along a path you see fit."
One of the key decisions for Rennie was how he would portray his character's struggle with multiple personality disorder. He spoke to experts, read books, watched videos and worked with an acting coach to find the right nuanced approach.
"It was trying to find a responsible way to play it and have it portrayed so it wasn't like a hook," he said.
Over the course of the first season, Rennie's character experiences four different "alters." The audience may have trouble recognizing the slip into another personality, but Rennie says that reflects the real-life experience of those who suffer from the disorder.
"If you were working with Ben you may or may not get it, so as the audience you may or may not get what's going on with him. Is that just him acting up? That's what he does, that's his thing?
"There's a subtlety to it in that a lot of cases are undiagnosed and people go through their lives going, 'That's just the way he is sometimes,' to the other extreme of completely different voices, multiple personalities and blackouts."
"Shattered" airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
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