Matthew MacFadzean Tackles InSecurity

Matthew MacFadzean stars in a new CBC television series called InSecurity, which follows a team of six agents at a fictional Canadian agency called NISA (National Intelligence and Security Agency). I had the chance to interview Matthew about the new show and to explore his background in theatre.

InSecurity has been called the “24 of Canada,” yet it’s sort of a hilarious riff on the entire spy-action genre. What exactly is the premise, and what role do you play?

MM: I think you’re right. InSecurity IS a riff on the whole spy genre—24, CSI, Alias, all those incredibly popular shows—we are saturated with them; InSecurity, in a way, is the backlash. So the premise of the show is that we are a team of “hot-shot” NISA agents—Canada’s fictional spy agency—protecting the country from evil doers; we’re just not very good at it… I play Burt Wilson, sort of the Jack Bauer of the team, and arguably the biggest idiot of the bunch. He’s the agent with the heart of gold, but he’s just not very competent…

How did you come across this project, and what attracted you to it?

I came across the project in the usual way—through an audition a few years ago—but I was immediately drawn to the humour and conviction of the character. It was very clear that Burt took himself and his missions very seriously, which made me laugh out loud as I was working on the sides; I knew I wanted this role badly. It’s not very often that you read a script and laugh at loud at what you get to do…

You play the character Burt Wilson, who is an agent with the best intentions, but he’s also a bit of a klutz. Are there any other characters your draw from, be it a Jack Bauer or Frank Drebin, for inspiration with this character?

I guess that Burt is a bit of a amalgamation of a lot of characters that are sort of over-confident idiots… I was recently watching the Toy Story series again and thought, “that’s Burt!”, about Buzz Lightyear—a total hero who has no idea that he’s just a toy—there’s something really heartfelt about a guy who wants to be a hero but just isn’t very good at it. It’s certainly why we love Frank Drebin or Maxwell Smart. And characters like Jack Bauer are just waiting to be made fun of… no one should take themselves so seriously.

What’s the best part about playing Burt Wilson?

Burt is always on a mission, so playing him is just like playing any “real” action hero—I get to act out all my little-boy fantasies about running around with a gun and saving the world… but the added bonus is that I also get to trip and fall on my face while I’m doing it. So Burt is both Jack Bauer and Bugs Bunny—and it’s a joy to play both at once.

What’s the tone like on set between takes?

Everyone on set is an absolute joy to work with. Each member of the cast and crew is working so hard to make sure everything goes well—very. very professional—but more importantly, everyone really cares about each other. We’re a really tight group and look out for each other. Between takes we get all the laughs out that we can’t do during shooting because, when they call “action,” it’s time to be serious and get the job done. Any one of us would say it’s the highlight of our careers and that we’re so so lucky to be working together.

There are some very funny moments and lines in the show; does the cast have a hard time keeping a straight face? Any scenes in particular come to mind?

It’s hard to pinpoint a particular moment that was difficult to get through because of laughter. Every day there was at least one moment where I would laugh ’til I cried, and it got to the point with some scenes where we couldn’t shoot them while looking each other in the eyes. I have never had a better time or laughed so much on a project as on InSecurity.

InSecurity is set in Ottawa but filmed in Regina. Saskatchewan is becoming a popular place to film an original Canadian series. How has the reception been for the cast and crew since you’ve started production there?

Regina has really opened its arms to our show. They’re not unfamiliar with shows shooting there—Little Mosque [on the Prairie] shoots there, as did Corner Gas—so they’re quite happy to have us. It’s a fantastic little city with a warm heart and lovely people. We’re very lucky to be there.

You’re also a writer; what have you written? Have you worked on any episodes on the show?

I’ve written nine plays, two of which are published—richardthesecond and The Mill—and recently have moved into writing for TV. I currently have two series in development, one with Aircraft Pictures (who produce Todd and the Book of Pure Evil) and another that I can’t really talk about, but it’s a sprawling Canadian historical drama in development with the CBC. I haven’t written anything for InSecurity, but we are talking about the possibility…

You have a background in theatre—talk a bit about the transition between stage and camera. Apart from the obvious difference in format, as an actor, what’s similar and what’s different?

Camera is a joy after so many years in theatre. In some ways it’s much easier—you don’t have to work so hard to show what you’re going through, and that’s also what makes it hard. You have to do all the same kind of work, but then do much much less “showing.” I love that about camera work—the flick of an eye can tell the whole story. The writing in theatre is often more ornate and grand, better than tv in that it’s like poetry—elevated, important—but on TV, the writing is more “effective” and like real life; I think the acting differences are the same. On stage, you can be anyone but, on camera, it works better the more of you that you reveal and, if you don’t reveal yourself, the camera will catch you.

You’re from North York which, despite its population of over half a million, isn’t really known as a hotbed of Canadian talent. Do you think there’s a reason for this, or does everyone else just consider themselves Torontonians?

I don’t know. Howie Mandel, John Candy, a lot of the SCTV crowd spent a lot of time in North York, as did the Kids in the Hall… I guess I also consider myself a Torontonian at heart as I spent most of my life here, and being born at Yonge and York Mills doesn’t make me feel like a huge suburbanite…

Do you have any other projects in the works? Anything you’d like to plug?

I’m busy writing a couple of projects—TV series and a movie right now—and that will take me through to late spring when, hopefully, we start shooting season two of InSecurity!