Going to the Edge

by Ross McCall (Kenny Battaglia)

I’ve been on location in New Mexico for months now shooting “Crash.” Location is a strange one.  On one hand, it’s extremely exciting: A new part of the world to see, a new hotel, places to eat, everyone on the same adventure.  But then home calls: You miss your fiancée, your dogs, your house, your couch. Luckily we don’t get many down days, but on those I find adventures.  We have mountains and desert around us, so there is always something to do.  And having Starbucks next door is a plus.

The early call times are just part of the job.  I find myself going to bed earlier and earlier these days.  Room service, a beer, then lights out.  When the alarm rings at 5 am, you don’t want to be fighting your wake up.

After grabbing a coffee, it’s off to set.  Studio or location, it doesn’t matter, the first thing I do is drop the bags into my trailer. I grab some breakfast, say hi to anyone who’s awake enough to reply, get dressed into costume (usually my uniform), jump into the make-up trailer and in about two and a half minutes, I’m ready to roll.  Once I’m on set and wired up for sound, I’ll re-run my lines, then rehearse with whoever else is in the scene. If I get a break in between scenes, I tend to go to the trailer, sleep (always sleep when you have time), and/or watch one of my favorite movies.  (So far this week it’s been Cool Hand Luke, Papillion and Seven.)

The chase scenes, the ones on foot, are my favorite.  Our DP shoots them in such a stylish manner.  It also shows a very street cop view of Kenny, out of the station and out of the car.

Kenny was a stranger to me, but someone I really wanted to have fun with. I always felt it would be too easy a route to take to be the cop who yells and screams at all times and shouts, “Get your hands on the hood.” So I decided early on to make him almost laid back.  Being a married father of two, I presumed that he’d have a tolerance level high enough to smile through most situations.  Luckily, because of the situations he finds himself in, I chose right.

In preparing to play this character, I never got the chance for a real cop ride-along.  Between you and me, I know it’s because the producers knew I’d show up in my white T-shirt and leather jacket with a fake badge around my neck, pretend to be under-cover, and embarrass all involved.  They did, however, let me shoot real ammo from a Glock and a Beretta.  And just so you know, I’m a pretty good shot. 

Joking aside, the importance to look like you know what you’re doing is huge, and we’ve been so lucky to have a technical advisor with us offering advice. What’s more, my brother is a cop, as are some very good friends of mine, so I have always had respect for what they do.

Kenny has his problems, but the truth is, we all do.  That is what has been most appealing to me.  Every week our writers come up with new, strange, fun, and sometimes frightening scenarios for me, and that’s what keeps Kenny real.  I don’t agree with much that he does, but I understand his struggles.  Also, he has an element of charm, which allows him to be forgivable even when he bends the rules. Kenny likes to go just to the edge when it comes to his job and personal life, that’s why I love him. 

He truly does love the badge, the uniform, and the thrill of being one of LAPD’s finest. So to him, giving the rules a little bend is fair game. He’ll let someone go on a warning and get the guys on the street on his side, but he’ll also flip on the lights of the squad car to get home in time for dinner. He sort of does that with his civilian life too.  He knows what he’s doing is wrong, but he always seems to find a way to justify it to himself. And for Kenny Battaglia, that’s good enough.