Enrico Colantoni Talks Emotional Side of Flashpoint

CBS' hit series Flashpoint (Fridays at 9 pm/ET), which follows the lives of elite cops within the Strategic Response Unit, has returned for its second season after debuting with strong Friday-night ratings. Enrico Colantoni, who plays the SRU's Sgt. Gregory Parker, tells us what distinguishes his series, teases upcoming storylines and reveals what goes on when the cameras aren't rolling. Plus, Veronica Mars' dad dishes about the upcoming movie.

TVGuide.com: How does Flashpoint differ from other law enforcement shows?
Enrico Colantoni: There's a heightened adrenal rush and sentimental experience that has little to do with cops and robbers. It has more to do with watching our characters struggle with a particular situation and how that affects them directly. I find myself quite moved by the human aspect in our scripts that show what these guys are going through and how much they care. Every week we deal with people having a bad day and it's hard not to feel for them.

TVGuide.com: You guys tackle some extreme storylines. What situations can we expect in upcoming episodes?
Colantoni: Friday's episode is about the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder on police officers. Then we're going to deal with some revenge situations that actually are specifically related to what happened during the pilot episode of last season. Recently, we've been handling a lot of domestic situations that vary in different locales — like the winter. [Laughs] People freak out over the snow! It just makes them do crazy things.

TVGuide.com: Anything exciting coming up for Sgt. Parker?
Colantoni: I wish I knew! What I anticipate is maybe a little about what his love life would be like. He's so committed to his job, his team and these people. I think it would be difficult to watch him in a social environment because he'd probably fail miserably. So I hope we get to watch him struggle with that and trying to find a semblance of normalcy.

TVGuide.com: Television is a tough market in terms of cancelations. How does it feel knowing you're show does so well?
Colantoni: I'm just relieved we're not dipping that much from Ghost Whisperer and Numbers. And we just found out that we beat Friday Night Lights' premiere. It was like, wow, people are intentionally sticking with us, and that's always nice.

TVGuide.com: What's it like on set when the cameras aren't rolling?
Colantoni: Imagine us filming the show inside a male locker room — that's how I'd describe it. Hugh and I create this whole environment where there's a lot of yelling, name-calling and good guy banter. And poor Amy Jo — she sort of has to tolerate it. Last season she was pregnant most of the time, so she didn't really have the energy to reprimand us! But the context of the whole day is a lot of fun.

TVGuide.com: It's been reported that Rob Thomas wants to make a Veronica Mars movie. Would you want to resurrect your role as Keith Mars?
Colantoni: Uh, yeah! I keep hearing about it. It'd be a much better sense of closure. Absolutely! So many people were disappointed, including me, that we didn't get to tie a little bow around that show. I wonder who's going to play me in the movie? [Laughs] Paul Giamatti as Keith Mars!