Interview with
Due South'sTony Craig - Easter '98
(JJ's note: This interview is the initial transcript - this doesn't resemble the final article for publication is in the works, and will be placed on this website in the coming weeks. I only wish you could hear the tape: Tony's warm personality shines throughout the conversation, along with many laughs and interesting comments!).
Julie Jansen spoke
with TC on Easter Sunday and discovered the astute businessman is in urgent need of some
loud ties, has a love of shrimp, blue-eyed women and much more; all amid the sound of
screaming sirens in central Toronto…
It’s not easy playing third banana to a Mountie who’s perfect in every way, but Tony Craig has done it with panache and dignity. As Detective Jack Huey in Due South, the no-nonsense Chicago cop with an impeccable sense of suit style and a baritone voice that sounds strangely hypnotic, Craig has discovered that developing a much-loved background character in a hit TV series requires patience and time.
Due South is a comedy-drama which details the adventures of a Canadian Mountie who for some reason always ends up solving cases at the Chicago Police Department’s District 27. Presently screening on Seven, the show has won several awards and has been widely hailed for its interesting combination of quirky humour and ruthless action. The show has now survived and thrived well above the initial turmoils of an uneasy first three years, having been cancelled after the first season but quickly resurrected due to intense international pressure by addicted viewers. Season Four has just now finished filming, and the signs are strong that it will be shown in late ’98 or early ’99 around the world.
Speaking from his high-rise apartment in central Toronto, Tony Craig chuckles as sirens wail constantly in the background from the ground, 20 floors below. He’s an interviewer’s dream: candid, blessed with an engaging personality, and throughout this conversation on Easter Sunday, his thoughts are peppered with infectious laughter.
Although his role isn’t the lead, fans watch out for Detective Huey to appear in most episodes; most of his lines are dryly delivered; the ‘still waters run deep’ detective has taken his time at revealing the hidden depths of his personality. Although Due South focuses mainly on the Mountie and his sidekick, the world-weary Chicago cop (Paul Gross and Callum Keith Rennie respectively), Craig believes the show has given his role considerably more scope in the last 18 months.
Tony Craig has built up a following on Due South to the point where a ‘shrine’ of sorts has been developed to his talent: the TCEB (Tony Craig Estogen Brigade - at http://tceb.simplenet.com). Since Due South’s early days, fans have appreciated the broad smile, sophisticated sense of humour and strong-and-silent mystery Craig has brought to his character Huey.
Some fans on the Internet have expressed their impression that Det. Huey’s the kind of man that might secretly arrange his cd's and cutlery in alphabetical order. Chuckling, Tony agrees that the ‘neat and tidy’ Chicago detective might be fastidious, but nowhere near so as his real-life alter ego.
"Oh, I’m very much a perfectionist, to the point where it hurts me. Sometimes it's better to let things happen at a certain speed (rather than) try to change things because you can't accept them for what they are... and I don't think like that. "Whaddya mean? Why not? Why can't we change them?" That's more my attitude", says Craig pragmatically.
Most of Craig’s roles have been policemen; he’s held roles in "That Old Feeling", "The Ref" and numerous television shows and miniseries, such as "Forever Knight", "Hoover vs The Kennedys", "Return of Eliot Ness" and "Spencer". Obviously directors are seeing something powerful and authoritative in the way Craig presents himself.
"And not just in the movie sets either", Craig reflects: "I get that all the time - people tell me that I look like a cop, in real life. I guess I have that certain authoritative type of attitude about things."
Where acting is concerned, Craig views the profession laterally, and links it to his other great love, music.
He says being an actor is about using words to make a powerful statement; given the right words, an actor can make the smallest or largest of roles immensely powerful to the audience.
Tony’s a man of many talents: he was originally and remains a professional musician, playing drums, percussion and piano for leading artists such as Carol Pope and Rough Trade, to Dan Hill, Etta James and the Trinidad Troubadours.
Shooting Due South most of the year doesn’t allow for much spare time, but Craig uses what is left to pursue his other love, music. He originally started writing it the modern way - to PC - and specialises in the Caribbean-style on which he was raised, and these days applies his musical training to his acting.
"I always think of acting in (the same terms) as a musician or songwriter," Craig says, carefully considering the profession. "The author writes the words, and the musician takes the words composes the melody around it. Particularly in the last year or so (on Due South) I've been able to try and take the pieces and compose something - with a different beat, melody or colour. I’m trying to do that and hit a certain note of perfection - although going to the Due South School of Music for the last four years has been quite a challenge!"
"The show is designed with two leads and certain other people. It can be very frustrating at times, having to take whatever it is, and try and turn it into something - 'compose' it into something. That's been the biggest challenge for me, particularly when there really wasn't a whole lot in certain episodes."
As a musician, Craig’s discovered his
struggle for perfection causes problems, as anyone who’s worked in the industry would
know. These days he writes much of his music solo, and is even aiming to set up his own
independent record company someday. In fact his singing features in the fourth season,
which will be shown in the United States probably later this year and on Australian
screens (where DS is presently halfway through the third season) in early ’99.
In an episode just shown recently in Brisbane, Detective Huey was a major focus in Due
South; fans saw a detective grappling with ethical issues, being assaulted by an
interviewee, and showing a slightly darker edge to his usual reserved charm.
When Craig decided to settle in Toronto just over 20 years ago, the big city lifestyle
came as a huge culture-shock to the young man from Trinidad.
"Yeah - ice falling from the sky, that was kind of neat!," Craig laughs
heartily. "Where I grew up it was 30 degree weather constantly, and here was ice
falling from the sky - took me a while to get used to that concept. But I didn't come all
at once - I came with a number of bands playing - after the music festivals in Trinidad,
it would be off-season for the musicians so we would come to Toronto, go to NY, LA,
Montreal - do all the different Caribbean-type festivals, and then we would go back home.
I actually did that for a number of years - so it was a gradual thing instead of y'know,
'boom - drop me in the middle of North America!’", Craig explains.
Tony’s biggest fan of course, is his dear old Mum. Still residing in Trinidad, her
home has become a shrine to Due South, replete with autographed Paul Gross/Mountie
pictures all over the walls.
As for other actors, Craig cites Sidney Poitier as a leading influence, and greatly
admires most of Samuel L. Jackson’s recent work. Ideally, he’d like to play
someone pretty similar to himself, in "some dramatic role that has me using my
musical abilities to some degree - a serious storyline where the guy also happens to be a
serious, dedicated musician," Craig chuckles.
Philosophically speaking, Tony’s figured out what works for him personally: mutual
respect for other human beings. Some people call it karma, and Craig agrees.
"'Do good and good will always come to you' - good will always fall on you," he
asserts enthusiastically. "And it works - if you run around doing bad stuff,
deliberately hurting people - it's going to come back to you. But if you do good things,
then good things will always come to you. And when something bad does happen to you - and
this sounds very simplified mind you - when you're faced with things you have to deal with
- you should never despair. It always means there's something good around the corner. It's
been working for me for the last 15 years, I swear to God. It works. It's called faith,
really."
Whatever one’s faith, Craig continues, one should only ask for things in the belief
that they’ve already received them; otherwise the request is moot. "If you've
just prayed for something and you find yourself a week or two days later praying for the
same things, it means you didn't believe you received it in the first place," Craig
explains. "Which says to me, you don't have faith."
Although on the surface Tony Craig the actor appears to have it all - actor, musician,
astute businessman - it didn’t arrive on a plate. Nothing ever comes easy, Tony says;
where any request to upstairs is concerned. Getting what you want in life is about paying
your dues.
"You've got to do the right things to get it; you do have to work for it!" he
laughs. "You know, you do have to earn it. But in the process you need a little help:
you're prepared, you've made up your mind, 'okay, I’m praying for it', and that's it
- done deal. I really believe that stuff, it works."
The red-coated Canuck Mountie star of Due South never seems to run out of quaint stories
of Arctic survival, but it may be some time before the not-so-common common sense of
Fraser rubs off on Tony Craig. Quizzed on how he’d survive being stranded in the
Yukon, he responds with roars of laughter. In fact, for about a minute he can’t stop
laughing - come on, seriously, Tony... Isn’t there any three items you’d take to
survive the ordeal?
"Oh, god! My computer!!" Craig finally manages to reply. "Oh, I couldn't
live without my computer, for one! (laughs) No, that's being silly, but literally
everything I do (laughs) is on my computer... some food, and I could sleep with my
computer! How's that?" he grins. "
" (and) I couldn’t live without my wits, I guess! (laughs) My head, my common
sense, which is what would get me out of there, when you come down to it. "
Musically, Tony’s taste hails from the late seventies, when soul reigned supreme.
It’s a style which he feels is every bit as relevant today. His first record bought
was "Earth Wind and Fire's "Faces" from 1978. The music is timeless though.
You listen to that stuff now and to me, it 's like it was just recorded yesterday and the
message is still very much ahead of its time."
He did once have their entire record collection, along with several others. But several
years ago, while absent on tour, he was robbed and lost most of his prized possession -
not just records, but musical instruments and recording equipment. Toronto is home now,
but it does have its downside: Tony Craig believes that like many big cities, Toronto has
forgotten a little of its humanity. Go to any major city of the world - London, New York,
Sydney or Berlin - and after a while it can become painfully obvious, the reality of
big-city living: every man for himself, and to hell with the niceties.
Of course, Craig considers Toronto home but can’t help noticing the difference
between the big freezing Canadian capital and the warm sunny climes of Trinidad. And not
just in weather, either. From time to time he’ll say hello to someone in the street,
and remember things are different to back home.
"Half the time, the truth is - they look at you strangely. Like, "what's wrong
with you? What is your problem? But in the States, if they don't like you there, they'll
tell you!"
Which is pretty much how Craig would prefer it actually. "Absolutely! At least I know
what I’m dealing with. That's the way I am - chances are, I will respect you more,
for being honest and speaking your mind - than someone who pretend to like you, act like
they like you, and stab you in the back. It sounds weird, but I've experienced that a lot.
People act like they like you, you're acceptable to them - when really the truth is, and
you always find out somehow - that's not how they feel. They feel quite differently. That
bothers me," says Craig, with a hint of frustration.
Personality wise, Tony Craig considers himself an iron fist in a velvet glove. Given the
choice of identifying with a budgie, rottweiler or goldfish, he cleverly decides he’s
unique. "Well, I guess I'm more free as a bird than I am a rottweiler. I think
I’m a cross between - a 'budgieweiler'?!!", he laughs.
The lifestyle in Toronto differs greatly to Trinidad too, obviously. For one thing,
Canada’s summer probably resembles the winter Tony Craig grew up with. And the
beaches are very different.
"The ones that we do have (in Toronto) are contaminated, you can't swim in them, you
have to go to the lake beaches. So I go to the Caribbean, tough job but somebody's gotta
do it!" he jokes.
Tough life indeed. But Trinidad is rapidly changing; with over a million people on 4000
square miles, it’s far from the inspiration that used to enter most people’s
minds - a backward island country. Tony Craig’s birthplace is quickly becoming a
mecca for new business investors. A new class of sophisticated, monied Trinis is fast
emerging., he says.
"Technology and computers and banking and institutions are very much commonplace now.
The British were kicked out 10 years ago and the American influence is very much in
dominance, in terms of commercial business and so forth. A KFC on every corner and a Pizza
Hut… it does create a lot of low-paying jobs, but on the other hand there's a
sophisticated, well-educated, 'rich' class of people as well," Tony explains.
"It's quite different to over 10 years ago, when you weren't able to take any money
out of the country. Now the government has opened up the free market for investment so
you're able to jump in there and take advantage of whatever opportunities - it's quite
dynamic."
Despite living and working a million miles away, Tony has a tenuous link to us
Antipodeans. In fact, he once loved and lost a girl from Manly. Ask him what the word
‘Australia’ evokes in him, and the answer is a very long pause, followed by wild
enthusiasm.
"Wow! Sun, beach, really beautiful blue-eyed women - and a lot of shrimp. Yeah. Big
ones! Big shrimps! Y'know, 'another shrimp on the barbie!" he laughs and laughs.
"I would lurrrrve to come to Australia. I used to go out with a girl, an Aussie - she
used to live in Manly."
Ahh... the one that got away?
"Yeah. Her father owned some bar or something… close to the water, anyway."
That must have been a while ago.
"Yeah, it was. Over ten years ago," he says casually.
Hmm. What happened?
"I don't know. Didn't work?!", Craig laughs heartily.
You can catch Tony in Due South Wednesday evenings on Seven.
JULIE JANSEN
*Julie Jansen is a freelance and final-year student journalist in Brisbane, Australia. You can reach her by email at: [email protected].
You can send those loud ties (!) to Tony at:
The Edward G. Agency
19 Isabella Street
Toronto, Ontario,
Canada M4Y 1M7