Taking a therapeutic approach to his role
Detective Aidan Black struggles with post-traumatic stress and is perpetually on the edge.
Actor David Sutcliffe, who plays him on the CBC show Cracked, brings something a little unusual to the tormented cop who investigates cases on the psych crimes unit: his own experience with therapy. And not just being in therapy like most of Hollywood, but on the other side.
Sutcliffe is a trained therapist — called a facilitator — of a mind-body psychotherapy known as core energetics. Not only has he plumbed his own darkest fears and feelings, he also has experience helping others do the same.
“Because I’ve done all this exploration, there are things I know about myself and my demons that I can bring to this role,” says Sutcliffe, 44, during a break between shooting an interrogation scene in the show’s west-end studio.
“If we’re willing to get out of control emotionally and go into those areas, that’s where the juice of life really is,” says the Saskatoon-born actor, known for his lighter roles as a regular on hit shows Gilmore Girls and Private Practice.
The process is scary, intense and confrontational, he says, but in the end cathartic. And by tapping the good, the bad and the ugly within as an actor, “I think a compelling character will emerge.” One he hopes is real rather than overwrought or sensationalized.
So far, Black and the rest of the psych crimes unit the one-hour drama revolves around have been compelling enough to earn Cracked a second season. It premieres Sept. 30 at 9 p.m.
Sutcliffe had dabbled in different approaches to therapy before stumbling into core energetics 10 years ago. At the time, he was reeling from a bad breakup and felt lost. He signed up for a group therapy retreat in California and has been committed to it ever since.
Last year, he finished four years of training with the same California institute. While he doesn’t take on clients because of his commitment to
Cracked, he has facilitated two men’s groups in Los Angeles and one in Toronto. Groups are typically12 to 24 participants.
“It’s, for me, the most creative thing that I do,” he says.
Before Cracked came along, Sutcliffe considered making that work his full-time gig. But the role of Aidan Black gave him a chance to delve into a deeper and richer character than his previous roles and pushed him to a different level.
It was freeing to break the mould of “this kind of nice, cute guy in these romantic comedy roles,” he says.
“When you’re the lead, there really is a place where it’s incumbent on you to take the reins of the character.”
He says the group dynamic of core energetics is something he draws on while on set, where the best work often comes out of an intimacy between cast members and a willingness to challenge one another.
It would also be an invaluable skill to have as a producer, which he hopes will be his next role in the TV industry.
But for now, he’s still immersed in Aidan, whom he says is “in a good place” as season 2 begins, having come to terms with his post-traumatic stress disorder and his role in the police department.
He also has a new partner, psychiatrist Dr. Clara Malone, played by To- ronto’s Brooke Nevin. “The chemistry is great” between them, Sutcliffe adds. And the buzz about the new season is the show will be lighter in tone, despite its challenging subject matter involving crime, cops and the mentally ill.
Cracked premiered last year at a time of increasing real-life incidents involving police unequipped to deal with criminals with psychiatric disorders.
The show draws on the experience of co-creator and police officer Calum de Hartog, who works on Toronto’s Emergency Task Force, and the expertise of consultants ranging from psychiatrists to advocates such as retired general Romeo Dallaire.
This summer, the question of how police deal with those in mental distress was tragically highlighted following the death of Toronto teenager Sammy Yatim. The distressed 18year-old died after being shot eight times and then Tasered on a streetcar. Sutcliffe was at home when he heard about it, glued to the YouTube replays of the shooting taken by witnesses and following news reports.
An officer has been charged with second-degree murder and two separate internal probes are under way.
Tackling these kinds of complex topics can be fraught, especially when they are making headlines. The line between entertainment and serious issues is tricky to straddle. But Sutcliffe says it’s something that everyone involved in Cracked is trying to get right.
“If nothing else, I think the show is a conversation starter that’s necessary.”