THE LAST time William Fichtner wielded influence on the small screen, it was in the sci-fi series, Invasion. Viewers will also remember him from the most talked about series of its time, Prison Break – and, more recently, he featured in Entourage.
When it comes to the big screen, he can be proud of bagging roles in some of the biggest releases: Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down, Equilibrium, Crash, The Dark Night, Date Night and a plethora of other films.
A few nominations here and there – sadly, none for any of the prominent film awards – Fichtner has gone largely unrecognised for his work. That said, his talent has earned him a loyal fan base.
Suffice to say, the roles he has been known to excel in are those where he is cast in a law enforcement environment. And that is probably why fans will want to watch Crossing Lines on Sony Entertainment Television.
He plays Carl Hickman, a one-time NYPD officer who is a shadow of his former self when viewers are introduced to him working as a garbage collector at a carnival in the Netherlands. His backstory: he was injured on duty and became addicted to morphine, which spiralled out of control.
On what really twisted his arm about this role, Fichtner says: “It’s hard to put my finger on one thing that brought me to Crossing Lines. It was a combination of things and I had never quite had an experience like the decision-making process for Crossing Lines, which is very reflective of what the show is. I mean, it’s just a mix, it’s a melting pot of a lot of different minds and people from all over the place who come together and truly that is what we are. But for me, first and fore-most, maybe I’m old-school but if it ain’t on the page, it ain’t on the stage.
“The first two episodes I read and thought, ‘that’s really good’, and, of course, Ed Bernero (the creator) is the heartbeat behind this whole thing, and he probably has more experience in television than anyone. And it shows! And I also think that what Ed brings to it, is because Ed is a former Chicago cop and that’s his sensibilities and he writes with this street sense and for the character in particular, for Carl as the American guy living over here, you know, he captured him, he captured him so right on the nose in the first two episodes that I thought, ‘wow!’
“When you read something for the first time and you think by the time you finish it, I could actually start to catch the rhythm of scenes, and some scenes were so good that you think, ‘I know exactly how that scene is going to play’. It’s not like we’re going to take it and work on it and rehearse it. I know that scene just the way it is right there.
“And then it comes to the character, which is probably the most important thing. I love fractured people, and I don’t think I have ever played anyone that’s more fractured than this guy.”
Crippling emotional state aside, Hickman’s prowess as a detective gets him recruited to the International Criminal Court’s special crime unit. He is partnered with an Italian anti-mafia covert specialist, a German tech genius, a French criminal analyst and a northern Irish weapons specialist and tactical expert.
Commenting on the diversity within the team, he says: “They all happen to be from different places and because of that, there is a base of knowledge from Germany, from Ireland, from France, from Italy.
And then, Louis, the leader of our group, who is from France, brings this American guy, Carl Hickman, a former NYPD detective, in because of their past relationship and knows that he brings a street sensibility and wisdom that the team also needs. So everybody has their element – I haven’t seen that before.”
One of the big drawcards in the series is Donald Sutherland’s presence.
Fichtner shares one of his fond scenes with the stalwart.
“Ed wrote what I think is probably my favourite scene of this season, and it’s with Donald. It’s the two of us. It starts off with Gabriella Pession (as Sergeant Eva Vittoria) and Donald asks her to leave. And then we have a big, long scene together where we really just throw our cards on the table, what he really thinks of me and what my response is to that. And that is priceless to me. That was my moment of the year,” he reveals.
While the seasoned actor sings the praises of his fallible character, the calibre of talent surrounding him and the dexterity of co-creator Bernero and Rola Bauer, there must certainly be something to it because NBC has renewed Crossing Lines for a second season.
• Crossing Lines airs on Sony Entertainment Television (DStv channel 127), October 22, 8.55pm.