Actor Tony Amendola.
"Twenty years ago when the corporations bailed out our failed governments, they sold it to us as salvation. Now we see that we have paid for that rescue with our freedoms. We have awakened to the truth. We have become slaves to the corporate congress. Today all that changes. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that we have passed the torch to a new generation unwilling to permit the undoing of human rights and dignities. And let every corporation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price in order to assure the survival and success of liberty."
These are the words spoken by Edouard Kagame in the opening teaser of A Stitch in Time, the first episode of the hit Canadian Sci-Fi/Police Drama Continuum. No sooner does he finish making this announcement to the outside world, when a CPS (City Protective Services) team, led by Officer Kiera Cameron, bursts into his office to arrest him. They may have their man, but are still too late in one regard. Kagame’s words have lit the proverbial blue touch paper and sparked off a revolt against corporate control in 2077. For veteran stage and screen actor Tony Amendola, taking on the Kagame role was a true gift in more ways than one.
“When the script for this project first came across my desk I thought, ‘How wonderful,’” recalls Amendola. “It was a sort of an interesting road back to Vancouver, a place I love, and the opportunity to work with Jon Cassar, who directed the first two episodes of Continuum. So I had the initial audition, and then a couple of weeks later I had a second one. The [casting] process extended into the holiday season and, in fact, I heard that I got the job two days before Christmas [2011]. My agent called and said, ‘Merry Christmas.’ I said to him, ‘Merry Christmas to you too, Greg,’ and he said again, ‘No, no, no, Merry Christmas.’ It then dawned on me what he was talking about.
“You know, you go to these auditions, do them and then just have to put them out of your mind. Every so often, though, you feel like there’s a finger pointing at you as if to say, ‘This is yours.’ In this case, after my third audition, I felt that finger and thought, ‘Hey, you know what, this might actually work.’ There are so many reasons why you do or don’t get a part, but that’s a whole other conversation and how random casting can be sometimes. However, in this case the process was relatively painless and I was very excited to get this role.”
Edouard Kagame (Tony Amendola). Photo copyright of Showcase/Shaw Media.
In the aforementioned A Stitch in Time, Edouard Kagame is convicted of terrorism along with his accomplices and sentenced to death. In the final seconds before their execution, something happens that transports the inmates along with Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols) back in time to Vancouver, British Columbia in 2012. For Amendola, shooting this episode was not unlike the first day of school or a first date.
“In this type of situation you’re trying to get to know people as well as putting your best foot and face forward,” he explains. “One of the things that first comes to mind about starting work on Continuum is meeting the show’s costume designer, Maya Mani, who is just sensational. We were trying to figure out who this guy Kagame is. She clearly had a point of view and an aesthetic of style, but as an actor you could also say to her, ‘There’s this aspect of my character that I feel would be very interesting,’ and then watch where she took that.
“Afterwards I was driven to the set and met with [series creator and executive producer] Simon Barry, who gave me a more detailed look inside Kagame’s head and the world he was trying to create. I also had a chance to read the series bible, which is essentially the concept of the show as well as its characters. Then I met [executive producer] Jeff King, who wrote the first episode of Continuum and, in fact, the script for the first episode of Stargate SG-1 [Bloodlines] that I was in way back in the first season of the show.
“I have to tell you that Simon has created a truly mind-bending TV series. There are a lot of surprises, and just when you think you know who the bad guys are or who’s manipulating who, you find out that there’s this whole other level. Simon is very careful, too, about what information he gives you so that you aren’t ahead of your character. That makes for a very tricky deal and a strange kind of trust as well. It’s sort of a wonderful opportunity not to know too much so you don’t end up even unconsciously playing something out that you shouldn’t, if you know what I mean.
Amendola and fellow castmates being directed by Jon Cassar in "A Stitch in Time." Photo copyright of Showcase/Shaw Media.
“As the day went on I got into my wardrobe and they did this long shot of me as Kagame that you see in episode four. I also got to meet the rest of the cast, including Lexa Doig [Sonya Valentine] who I already knew from Stargate, Roger Cross [Travis Verta] and Stephen Lobo [Matthew Kellog], who oddly enough I had worked with six months ago in an episode of a TV series called Chaos. So all that sticks out for me about my first day on the Continuum set, along with remembering to breath and, most importantly, that you don’t have to do it all in one day. I had to tell myself, ‘This is just a piece of it, so be patient because there’s more to come.’”
Like many of the charismatic history makers before him, Kagame uses his mind as well as soul to inspire his devoted followers. “My character is the intellectual and spiritual leader of this movement called Liberate, which is a rebellion of a corporate takeover of the government,” says Amendola. “As always, the dilemma is when is killing justified or is there ever any justification to killing. Without getting into spoiler territory, some of the things Kagame does are quite extreme, and yet there is a sort of logic to it and a sense of trying to create, because I also see him as an architect or visionary for a better society.
“It’s like having friends who never change their home or anything like that, and other people who come in, look at a home, see something and just rip it apart,” continues the actor. “It doesn’t make any difference how recently any changes or renovations were made. They feel like they have to release what’s in that house and rebuild it. Again, without getting into spoiler territory, that’s how Kagame feels, and it comes from personal pain. He more or less believes that peoples’ minds need to be changed and converted in order for them to truly see what’s going on around them. I think he sees the general population as being sheepish and naïve, and gradually with the help of his followers, he attempts to change conditions in 2077.
“Now, of course, Kagame is back in 2012 and what a wonderful opportunity it is for him. We’re straying into interesting territory and a big question mark, especially with Sci-Fi, insofar as if we go back into the past, can we change the future, and what are the implications of doing so. In many ways my character is all about social change, and the thing is that I, Tony, can’t picture Kagame as an evil man, nor do I think he’s an evil man. However, given some of the things he does, he’s quite violent and operates from his own world or morality, not unlike, frankly, many 20th or 21st century politicians. Just take a look at any of the wars. Sometimes we think we’re becoming more civilized, but meanwhile the body count just continues to go up.”
Kagame (Tony Amendola). Photo copyright of Showcase/Shaw Media.
Almost immediately after arriving in 2012, Kiera manages to corner one of the escaped terrorists and, without yet revealing herself, hands him over to the authorities. Another of the terrorists ends up dead after he and some of the others create a diversion in order to draw attention away from an attack on the local police precinct. Although their numbers might be slightly diminished, the remaining terrorists are still committed to the cause as well as Kagame.
“Kagame is not only the leader but certainly also the father figure in the group, by age and by the fact that he assembled the group, so his vision is practical as well as theoretical and spiritual,” notes Amendola.
“This group is not the most harmonious of 'families,' and over the course of the season, my character is sort of drawn to Sonya, while there’s some familial-type tension that develops between him and Travis – the super soldier of the group – when it comes to what’s the best way to get things done. Then there is Stephen Lobo’s character of Kellog, who I feel Kagame converted or enlisted because he’s the social lubricant if you will. He’s a person that you put in a bad situation and can charm anyone. Kellog is a bit of a hedonist and someone who was once very important to Kagame. Their relationship is almost like father/son, and he’s the favorite son who gets away with more. For some reason my character is hardest on Travis and easiest on Kellog. Travis is always there, so Kagame is toughest on him. Meanwhile, Kellog returns and for some reason Kagame finds it much easier to forgive him for any transgressions or violations he’s committed.”
Unlike his fellow Liberate revolutionaries and even Kiera Cameron, Kagame is very much at home in the present. Born in 2012, he grew up in a time before corporations took over. As such, he knows the changes that need to be implemented in order to stop the future from unfolding as they all know it. Continuum’s fourth episode is Kagame’s reintroduction to the past and was a special one for Amendola to work on.
Behind-the-scenes on Continuum with Tony Amendola. Photo copyright of Showcase/Shaw Media.
“What’s interesting is that we go from 2077 to 2012 and it’s like me revisiting my youth,” says the actor. “These other people are coming back to a time that’s a little strange, but to me, it would be like going back to the 50s. I still have memories of the types of cars back then, how people dressed, the smells, barely having a television at that time, let alone all the technology we have today, etc. So for Kagame it’s a reintroduction to the environment of his youth and how much it has changed in 2077.
“We filmed some scenes at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Gardens here in Vancouver where Kagame’s wife and child are present. It’s before things went bad and when he really was like Gandhi. He was politicized but it wasn’t about violence. At the time Kagame was a bit off-balance and somewhat lost, and then you have my character’s arrival in 2012 and reintroduction to the present day world, which was quite powerful to me and I enjoyed shooting those scenes.”
Having performed comedy, drama and even the classics onstage as well as on TV and in feature films, Amendola is well-versed in the art of creating three-dimensional and believable characters. With his Sci-Fi and Fantasy roles, however, the actor relishes the chance to break out of the more traditional storytelling mold.
“I find Sci-Fi and Fantasy rather intriguing because you’re not relegated to being a talking head,” he muses. “Generally there is an expansiveness in imagination as well as language with that genre, so I enjoy the variety of going from a gritty, realistic sort of show to all of a sudden going over to Sci-Fi and Fantasy where you typically get to do more insofar as visually and, again, with language.
Kagame (Tony Amendola). Photo copyright of Showcase/Shaw Media.
“A good example of this would be to play a lawyer or a judge where it’s nothing but the facts - which is great and which I’ve done on many TV series – but it’s nice to get away from that three-piece-suit and engage more of who you are as an actor. That’s what I really love about doing shows like Stargate, Angel, The X-Files, The Sarah Connor Chronicles and now Continuum, which is quite clever because while it operates in contemporary society, my character’s experiences are not so much from 2012, but 2065-2077. So I truly have the best of both worlds,” enthuses the actor.
Steve Eramo
As noted above, all Continuum photos copyright of the Showcase network and Shaw Media, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
Marvelous interview (as always). Thank you Steve, and Mr. Amendola, for a delightful read. Best wishes. :)
Posted by: Kelly Szentgyorgyi | 06/09/2012 at 04:38 PM
Thanks so much, Kelly! Glad you enjoyed the interview, and I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment :)
Posted by: SciFiAndTvTalk | 06/09/2012 at 04:53 PM