Veteran actor, Enrico Colantoni gives us cause to consider optimistic possibilities, even when it comes to police stories.
Starring in the new CBC TV drama series, Allegiance, that premiered on February 7th on CBC Gem and CBC TV, Enrico’s character, Vince Brambilla, a veteran police training officer, provides an opportunity for viewers to look at how police services can adjust to current community needs.
This includes the generational and cultural divides that intersect police interactions, among its members and with the public.
Enrico’s character is teamed with an idealistic rookie officer, Sabrina Sohal, played by Supinder Wraich, as she enters the reality of community policing. She is a stellar police academy graduate with an exceptionally challenging and unique family background.
The series, set and filmed in Surrey BC, tracks the often-dubious traditions of the fictional Canadian federal police corps.
There is possibly no better actor than Enrico to assume the role of veteran officer Vince Brambilla. Social policing responsibility is very much an underlying theme of Allegiance, and Enrico is very much an actor with a social conscience.
Enrico is a native of Toronto, the son of Italian immigrants. His brother, Hector, is a retired detective sergeant with the Toronto police. No stranger to police culture in real life, Enrico jokes that he’s always been the recipient of unsolicited advice in his preparation for police character roles.
TV cop stories are always “science fiction” to him – never describing real world policing but still valuable in raising questions and awareness of how the interactions of police and community can be improved.
Enrico describes his character as a little jaded and a little tired but who still believes a broken police system can evolve, move forward, grow, and learn with society.
He says Allegiance is “a beautiful show that tackles crime events, social events, racism and indigenous issues where lines are often blurred.”
He believes TV has the opportunity to “imagine a world better than the world we live in.”
A long list of career credits demonstrates the depth of Enricos acting career and shines a light on the value of extensive experience in any career.
He marks his 61st birthday soon and is conscious he’s entering the ‘senior’ stage of an acting career that spans 40 years.
Enrico is a man looking to improve future possibilities rather than bask in past successes.
He would like to see a movement away from entertainment and media narratives that reinforce negative realities, toward more optimistic and solution-oriented thinking.
Enrico believes the storyline of a police series, such as Allegiance, can serve as an opportunity to show that, while we must acknowledge the significant distrust in broken social and police systems, there can be a more optimistic narrative.
“Allegiance does a great job of building a generational bridge,” he says, combining the benefits of senior and learned experience with the optimism of youthful idealism.
His hope is that a time will return where young people will “aspire to careers in policing and where police morale can be lifted and police culture can be more engaged with local communities, with mutual trust, properly paid, and given better equipment.”
He believes dramatic productions, like Allegiance, can be a bridge, using informed and exciting drama to explain how policing and law enforcement can be a positive service for society.
As for the experiences of the ‘aging actor’ – not a welcome term for Enrico – it was an opportunity to emphasize that he loves his work and continues to feel “young at heart.”
He mentions the energy, skill and experience that older actors such as Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen and many more, continue to bring to stage, film and the performing arts.
Still, role opportunities are competitive for older actors.
“Younger audiences watch younger characters,” he says.
Supinder Wraich from their new
CBC show called Allegiance .
Photo courtesy of CBC Lark Productions Darko Sikman
Whether on stage or filming, many acting roles require extraordinary stamina. The physicality of “chasing the bad guys” was easier 13 years ago, he jokes.
Looking ahead, Enrico is enthusiastic to talk about his part in The English Teacher, a new FX comedy series set in a Texas high school. Enrico plays the school principal, with Brian Jordan Alvarez playing a gay English teacher. Set in Austin, Texas, the series explores the changing rules and expectations of parents, students and school administration in today’s confusing social environment.
Returning to Canada, Enrico happily mentions the current light-hearted Crave comedy series, The Trades, in which Enrico plays a crew member working at a refinery in Nova Scotia – demonstrating how broad his acting range is, from Macbeth to a comedic refinery worker, from a veteran police officer to a Texas high school principal.
Enrico’s path inspires the idea that the ‘senior’ years can be the most productive and original.
He remains very much an ‘in demand’ working actor and sees no reason why age should reduce his contribution to the world of performance arts.
Enrico’s ongoing success also enables his charitable priorities.
He’s a long-time supporter of Boots on the Ground, arising from his fraternal and acting connections with law enforcement.
Boots on the Ground is a helpline providing confidential and anonymous peer support 24/7 to First Responders across provinces. It is a charitable organization completely run and staffed by volunteers.
Enrico is also a committed supporter of animal welfare, including where companion animals can provide comfort and trauma recovery possibilities.
Becoming a ‘senior’ in his profession will be a new tool in his resource kit. Through his future performances he’ll be a positive and inspirational energy for audiences for many years to come.
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