When film and television producer Sheri Elwood was casting her latest project, she says she knew right away who she wanted to play the show's main character, Richard "Fitz" Fitzpatrick.

 During a recent interview on the New Minas set where the half-hour comedy series "Call Me Fitz" is currently filming until mid-January, Ms Elwood said she automatically thought Canadian actor Jason Priestley would be perfect for the part.

 "Fitz is somebody who loves life and meets it head on and, in many ways, he's the most honest character in the entire show," she said. "He lives life the way he wants to live life and that does not always conform to acceptable behaviour. In many ways he has few morals."

 In casting Fitz, said the filmmaker who has a summer home in LaHave, "We needed someone who would be able to capture that spirit of being really naughty and yet really likable at the same time. Jason came in and auditioned just like everyone else and he was awesome."

 She said when she saw Mr. Priestley take on the persona during his audition she knew immediately she had found Fitz.

 "I was personally interested in seeing him subvert that good-boy image that he's kept because he's played pretty straight-up guys in the past. In this character, Jason can go in different directions. I'm really excited by what he's been doing on set."

 Born in Vancouver, Mr. Priestley has an extensive resum&È; of television and movie credits, but he shot to stardom when he played Brandon Walsh in the nighttime TV soap Beverly Hills 90210 from 1990 to 2000.

 For him, he said, taking on the role of Fitz provided the opportunity to break out of the good-guy image that he agrees has followed him through most of his career.

 During an interview on set, Mr. Priestley acknowledged that this role in the 13-episode edgy comedy destined for cable is considerably different from most others he has played.

 "That's one of the main reasons I wanted to do it," he said. "The story is set in the world of a used car lot, but really it's the tale of a highly dysfunctional family. Fitz works in the car lot which is owned by his father, Ken.

 "Their relationship is probably the most dysfunctional father and son relationship I've ever seen on television or read on paper. It's fantastic stuff."

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 The script, he said, is smart and funny and the writing is sharp, which are all important qualities to him.

 "When I read the pilot script that Sheri Elwood sent, I was immediately taken by it because it is so funny and quick. It's very offbeat. At the core of the story is this dysfunctional guy and, while he's an alcoholic, a drug addict and sex addict, he's also very charming and likable and affable. Besides all that, he's a great guy to be around."

 As an actor, Mr. Priestley said, it is important to always challenge himself and, in this new role, he is able to do just that.

 "There's no question this guy is very different from other roles I have had in the past. It's important to always challenge yourself as an actor and to have the opportunity to do this kind of single-camera comedy is always fun. In this case, the situation is always hysterical and totally unpredictable."

 In describing "Call Me Fitz," Mr. Priestley paused, laughed and said, "It's certainly not an Anne Murray Christmas Special. I love Anne Murray, but this story is far from wholesome, let's just say that. We push the envelope and I love that. That's the joy of being on cable."

 "Call Me Fitz" is produced by E1 Entertainment, Amaze Film + Television and the Chester-based Big Motion Pictures for broadcast on Astral Media's The Movie Network (Eastern Canada) and Corus Entertainment's Movie Central (Western Canada) in 2010.

 The series is created and written by Ms Elwood (Defying Gravity), who has family in the Hubbards area and who spent many of her childhood years on the South Shore.

 "Call Me Fitz" is filming in New Minas, Wolfville and Kentville. The main sets are located in what were formerly a Kia dealership, Wacky Wheatley's Audiotronic, and Speedy Auto Glass in New Minas, with additional locations throughout the Wolfville and Kentville area.

 When he learned that the series would be filmed in Nova Scotia, Mr. Priestley said he was pretty excited to work here again.

 "I love it here," he said, pointing out that he had previously filmed two movies in Nova Scotia - Love and Death on Long Island in 1997 and Sleep Murder in 2004.

 "I was very excited to come here to work. It's a great place."

 Another thing about the series that he said he finds especially exciting is the fact that it is almost entirely a Canadian production, from the producers and writer to the cast and crew.

 "It's great for me as a Canadian to come back to work in Canada on such a great project with a such a great group of talented Canadians," he said. "That's really as good as it gets.

 In "Call Me Fitz," Mr. Priestley is a used-car dealer who pushes the boundaries of acceptable behaviour just a few steps too far.

 After Fitz botches a test drive and puts his latest customer in a coma, he finds himself face to face with a new salesman on the lot - Larry, a do-gooder with a heart of gold. If Fitz is a man who lives for the moment, Larry is his foil, ready to pick up (and refurbish) the wreckage Fitz leaves behind.

 Larry is played by Ernie Grunwald (King of the Hill, My Name is Earl) from Toronto who becomes the moral anchor of the Fitzpatrick family.

 Mr. Grunwald describes Larry as "a really interesting character. He just shows up one day and stays with Fitz. We don't really know who Larry is or where he came from. He's a bit of a mystery. He's really complex."

 Another series regular, Josh the mechanic, is played by Donavon Stinson (Reaper) from Vancouver. "He's also the town's drug dealer, the local pothead who deals out of the back of the garage. When I read the first two scripts, I was totally sold on it and I love working in Nova Scotia. It has been great."

 Brooke Nevin (I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer), also from Toronto, agreed that it was the edginess and quirkiness of the script that attracted her to the role of Sonya, Fitz's secretary.

 "I took the role because it's funny," she said. "It's really funny. There was something edgy about the character that drew me to it and the writing was really smart, edgier than a lot of what Canadian viewers have been used to seeing on mainstream television in the past. It's fun to push the boundaries. I hope they have fun with it."

posted on 12/08/09