John Cassini is strolling down Smith Street with me. Really strolling, like we're having a nice, casual walk. We are, but it surprises me that Cassini isn't all hepped-up and bustling along.
After all, he's got two major roles on the go, here in Vancouver. On the CBC drama Intelligence, he plays Ronnie, the guy who runs the Chickadee strip club for Jimmy Reardon (Ian Tracey), the central criminal character. He's Jimmy's right hand man, offering advice and watching his back. It's a full-throttle role, rich in tough guy theatrics but also in the little nuances that come with being the trusted adviser and friend to the boss.
On CTV's Robson Arms, he's Yuri, the superintendent of the Robson Arms building. Over the two seasons, he's been in every episode. He's the guy who watches over the building and the tenants. Sometimes watching too closely and invading their living spaces when they're out. A ladies man of sorts, Yuri is a complicated dude.
He gives off hostility, particularly toward actually fixing anything in the building, but he's endearing in his singular foibles.
That's two major roles on two series that shoot almost simultaneously here. The day after we meet, he's on-set at Robson Arms and days later, Intelligence starts production again.
The fascinating thing about meeting Cassini in person is that there is no trace of Ronnie or Yuri in him. He's an actor, with two distinct roles, but he's his own man – a very good actor.
At the end of our leisurely stroll, we end up at Tim Hortons for a chat. The fortysomething Cassini is Toronto-born. He's so Toronto that he says, “Everything good or bad that happened to me happened in Christie Pits,” referring to a park in central Toronto. An Italian-Canadian, he says his mother learned English from watching The Young and The Restless and General Hospital. “I always tell people that's why she's melodramatic,” he says.
He spent twelve years in L.A., getting steady gigs in movies, miniseries and network series. He had guest-star roles on NYPD Blue, ER and Profiler. He wrote and co-produced the movie Break a Leg (2006), which was directed by his wife Monika Mitchell. But, in Los Angeles, he kept getting hired for roles that took him to Vancouver, so he eventually moved here. He says it was just an accident that ended up on both CBC and CTV's most critically acclaimed series. “I was hired for Robson Arms but it took so long to get on the air that I was already doing Intelligence by the time it aired. Believe me, there was no master plan to have two great jobs in Vancouver. It gets very busy but I'm not complaining, I'd be an asshole if I complained about this situation.”
The role of Yuri on Robson Arms truly intrigued Cassini. The fact that the building super was developed into a complex character thrilled him. “I couldn't do it as a shtick. Yuri's a funny guy but he doesn't just come in, make a joke and leave. Watch Yuri and you see that he's lonely, he's a bit damaged. Who the hell goes into other people's apartments and pokes around? Yuri is watching all these lives go on around him and you're forced to wonder about his life. There's poignancy there. That's the strength of Robson Arms. In a 22- or 24-minute story, you get comedy and something that's heartfelt. And it flows naturally, the writing is wonderful.”
