ROOKIE BLUE: Gregory Smith Previews Dov’s Big Hour

The officers on ROOKIE BLUE have been through a lot in the show’s first three seasons, but in tonight’s brand new episode, things reach a whole new level of stressful — a mistake by Dov could cost him everything.

To get some scoop about what’s going on, I spoke with Gregory Smith (Dov) about what goes down, how that will impact him this season, and more…

Tonight is a big episode for you! What can you tease about what happens with Dov?
Gregory Smith: Dov walks into a convenience store to pick up a pack of gum and unknowingly is walking in on a robbery in progress. A lot of stuff happens in a short amount of time, quick decisions are made, shots are fired and a young kid loses his life. And then Dov is — people are questioning Dov and Dov is questioning himself if he did the right thing.

Do viewers actually see the shooting? In the preview clip I saw, it cut off conveniently before the shot was fired, so is the audience in the dark on whether Dov did the right thing or not?
GS: No, you do [see it]. I can’t remember exactly — we shot a lot of stuff and I can’t remember exactly how it was cut, but you do see the incident and then also there’s a scene where you see it, but you’re not really quite sure what you see.

Do you have a feeling one way or the other about whether Dov did the right thing? Or as his portrayer, do you have to believe he did everything to the best of his abilities?
GS: Um, it was very clever the way they wrote it, because when I read the script, nobody had given me the heads up as to what the episode was about so I didn’t know. And I had to take a break halfway through the script because I was really concerned this was their way of either telling me Dov was either off the show or we were going to do a spinoff like PRISON BREAK.

Wow, so it gets really serious for Dov.
GS: It’s really well done and as an actor, I was concerned reading it.

That’s probably a good thing. Obviously it’s not great you were momentarily panicked, but having that kind of intensity focused on your character is a good thing, especially on an ensemble show.
GS: Oh yeah. As an actor, you sort of wait and hope for and you live through the challenges. And this was a challenge.

Given the relationships Dov has formed with his coworkers, is there anyone that is particularly vocal with their support for him? Or anyone who doesn’t have his back as much as they should?
GS: I think for the most part, they all want to believe he did the right thing, but…it’s Dov. His history of screwing things up doesn’t serve him well, you know? So I think everybody wants to believe him that he did the right thing and I think everybody believes he intended to do the right thing, but sometimes intention and reality don’t necessarily match.

Chris is on the scene in the store, he’s outside when it happens, and he sticks up for him, but we both have to be sort of quarantined and investigated and they try and find holes in our stories and use them against each other. So that shadow of doubt creeps in.

It’s also been teased that the accidental death incites a community outrage. How is Dov dealing with that on top of everything else?
GS: Dov spends a lot of the episode being interrogated and being quarantined and everybody tries to protect him from that, so I don’t think he’s super hyper-aware of the ramifications [of the death] beyond his own guilt and all the questioning himself.

How much will this be playing out throughout the rest of the season?
GS: It definitely has ramifications; it defines the rest of the season for Dov. Nothing is the same after this. And really what the writers wanted to do — and they told me this afterwards — is they wanted to imagine and explore the worst possible nightmare for any police officer and this is it. And to see how it impacts them professionally and personally as well…I was happy for them to trust me with that responsibility.

So touching on the personal side of his life, will we be getting a glimpse of what that does to him on his off-duty time as well?
GS: You’ll see how it affects his personal life, absolutely. Once it’s dealt with professionally, it lingers personally for a long time.

Does he start acting out a bit? Perhaps do some things fans might not be expecting?
GS: I can tell you he definitely does some things that no one in a billion years would guess, but I can’t tell you how it manifests itself yet. But I can promise you you’ll be shocked.

Speaking of shocked, the season may have just debuted, but you’ve already finished filming — can you share whether season 3 ends on a cliffhanger?
GS: It does. I’d say it ends on more of a cliffhanger than any other season to date.

And is there any word yet on season 4?
GS: We don’t [know]. They usually air a couple of episodes — 3 or 4 episodes — and then they let us know. I think we’re all cautiously optimistic, the show has never been better, and [Thursday] is one of the best and we all hope we have the chance to continue playing these characters.

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If you want an early sneak peek at tonight’s episode, take a look at this clip!

ROOKIE BLUE airs Thursdays at 10 PM on ABC. If you’ve missed the first few episodes of the season, be sure to catch up at the show’s official site!

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