As any one of its millions of fans can attest, ROOKIE BLUE’s fantastic third season has been nothing short of an emotional roller coaster. Thus, it’s only fitting that tonight’s penultimate episode of the season springs yet another surprise on the boys and girls in blue when a prisoner in custody pulls a gun on Chris at the station. More exciting still, we recently had the pleasure of catching up with Chris’ portrayer, Travis Milne, to preview the episode and his character’s remarkable journey thus far.
Your character Chris is at the focal point of tonight’s episode “Every Man.” What can you share about Chris’ mindset during hour?
TRAVIS: It’s definitely tense. The whole episode is a bit of a thrill-ride. The way the episode is written is very interesting because we play with time and perspectives in a different manner than we have in all of ROOKIE BLUE. It kind of breaks the mould episodically of how we made this episode. So it was really cool to be a part of. It’s kind of shot like the film “Jackie Brown.” It starts the day through different perspectives and it all leads to a boiling point at the end that is just huge for Chris and it’s going to effect him for the rest of his life.
From what we have seen in the previews and know about the episode, Chris wants to take the blame for the situation that arises, but then something else comes up in his life as well. What can you share about all that?
TRAVIS: I don’t want to say too much, as I don’t want to spoil it, but I will say that something happens. Something happened in the past with someone that was very special to Chris and it’s come back into his life in an unexpected manner, and it will really effect Chris in a lot of ways. It will be something that he has no choice but to deal with. Basically, that’s just the tip of the iceberg on the start to a very bad day. It then kind of proceeds onwards. Something very, very intense happens to the Division. Everyone’s involved. SWAT team gets called in to 15 Division and the power gets cut. There’s a complete blackout in the division and its pandemonium. Utter pandemonium. It was a thrill-ride to shoot. There was one day in particular and we were shooting the climax of the episode and I could swear I was not on the set of ROOKIE BLUE and that I was on the set of “Bourne Identity,” or something. It was huge. It looked like an action film at some points during the shoot. I’m just really excited for people to see it and I’m really excited for the fans to see it.
This season feels like it has been quite an emotional roller-coaster for all the characters, especially for Chris and what he is about to go through. What has been the most fun aspect working on this season for you?
TRAVIS: Being able to make the transition. Sometimes showrunners and writers are kind of hesitant to take risks, but Tassie [Cameron] has been just onboard from the beginning. We brainstormed what we wanted to do with Chris right from the get-go in Season 1. So the transitions that Chris made were premeditated from the beginning from the pilot and what Chris is currently going through is something I always wanted. I wanted to start him like an “every man.” Like every kind of good, nice guy you’ve ever met. The guy that everyone says, “Man, that guy’s awesome” or “that guy’s a great guy.” And then showing what happens when you go through the trials and tribulations, and you see the things you see being a police officer. Because a lot of my family members are police. They are either part of the RCNP or inner city policing. I’ve gotten to have a lot of really good conversations with them and they’ve told me stories about going undercover and how it affects you. These are good people and these are people I love. They’re my family. Yet there is this hardened quality that I feel I wanted to exemplify through the show, and in season 3, I’m finally getting to do that. It’s just been exciting as an actor. I feel totally blessed to be able to do that and I’m excited for the fans to see it. To see what they think. Just a couple days ago I was on Twitter during the last episode to support Greg [Smith], who directed the episode, and I was like, “I’ll just go on and talk.” Everyone was saying how happy and how excited they were about what we were doing with Chris and that made me feel really good. I’ve worked very, very hard and the writers have worked incredibly hard to mould this character, and that I think people have really taken a liking to. 
To see how Chris survives his latest round of trials and tribulations in “Every Man,” be sure tune in for an all new episode of ROOKIE BLUE on Thursday August 30th at 9PM on ABC (10PM on Global in Canada). Hopefully this is not the end of Chris’ journey in 15 Division.
Tiffany Vogt is the Senior West Coast Editor, contributing as a columnist and entertainment reporter to TheTVaddict.com. She has a great love for television and firmly believes that entertainment is a world of wondrous adventures that deserves to be shared and explored – she invites you to join her. Please feel free to contact Tiffany at Tiffany_Vogt_2000@yahoo.com or follow her at on Twitter (@TVWatchtower).