Giacomo, Ellis finally got some closure on his brother’s murder at the end of season two. How has that affected him in this third season?
GIACOMO: Yeah, whenever someone loses someone that’s special in their life, there’s some soul-searching that happens, because a large part of our identity sometimes has been tied to that person — whether it was your brother or your father or your mother. When it’s someone you love, it’s like they were a part of you. It’s kind of figuring out, “Alright, well, who am I without that person and how can I still be a contributing member of society, a good person in the world?” And [for Ellis] I think he’s very much about doing what’s right and being a righteous human as a police officer.
So, in coming back [after his sabbatical from the police force], he’s refreshed and rejuvenated. He’s had some time off to think, he’s found someone who he’s very fond of that he brings back with him. And he’s just trying to enjoy life — to be happy for the first time in a long time. I think Ellis is focused on letting himself be happy.
On the subject of that newfound happiness, how does the arrival of Jessica [Kaylah Zander ] impact Ellis and Max’s partnership, as well as their personal bond?
GIACOMO: He has this girlfriend. He’s very happy. He’s in love. Max is having to kind of reconcile that and “deal with it,” for lack of a better word . . . but still trying to be there for Ellis as a friend, and work together. It’s awkward, though. And that’s what we’re playing with this season — the awkwardness of working with someone you have feelings for and having to compartmentalize the work stuff with the feelings, and keep them separate. Can we do that? Do we want to do that? Those are the themes that we’re playing with.
And Vanessa, Max’s long-lost mom, Vivienne, resurfaces this year. It’s obviously a complicated reunion. What does your new co-star Tamara Taylor bring to the mix?
VANESSA: She is, first of all, a very talented actress. And just the whole storyline is massive. You know, my mom is back from the dead. “Why were you gone for 15 years? Why didn’t you contact me?” That’s gonna be a huge piece of it for Max. She’s torn because she loves that her mom is back, but also is so betrayed that she made her daughter live with this pain for 15 years, and feeling like she lost the most important person . . . She does a great job portraying my mother and I’m excited for everybody to see that — especially with the fact that she brought a major mafia head to our door, and we owe $150 million!
Given that this is a family of con artists, is there part of Max that doesn’t quite trust Vivienne? Is she worried about getting stabbed in the back?
VANESSA: She’s a bit more accepting than Ricky [Fletcher Donovan] and her dad [Jason Priestley]. I think she’s questioning if she’s gonna be played maybe. But she loves her mom, so I feel like she’s convincing everybody else, like, “OK, we need to do this [pull off a con to help Vivienne pay her debt to the mob boss].” She believes her more than the others, for sure. But I think in the back of her mind, there’s a question . . .
How does this motley family of con artists gel after all these years, now that they’re taking on this massive job?
VANESSA: It’s very interesting. I mean, we’re all working together again in this con dynamic and it’s obviously very stressful for everybody. Because tensions are high, there’s gonna be a little bit more fighting between the group as we try and agree on certain things — because, again, we’re handing over $150 million. We just went from being rich to losing the money again. And not everybody is a fan of that.
How do you think growing up in a family that lies for a living shaped Max as a person? Beyond just picking up the tools of mom and dad’s con artist trade, has that volatile dynamic made her feel like she can’t rely on anyone?
VANESSA: For sure. And I feel like that’s manifested into maybe her being not the most reliable — and being able to bend on her word more easily, since that’s happened to her. A lot of white lies or sugarcoating things . . . stuff like that. But if she is a product of the environment that she was raised in and conditioned to be in, she has a good heart deep down. She doesn’t wanna screw over anybody who she doesn’t feel deserves it, you know what I mean? Sometimes she’s forced to hurt people that she loves, but that’s not her goal.
And Giacomo, on that note, where has Ellis landed with Max and her con artist ways? Has he more or less reckoned with the fact that he may never be able to completely trust her? Has he come to a place of loving the good and living with the bad?
GIACOMO: A little bit of that. I think in the beginning, he was desperately fighting her personality and desperately fighting who she was and trying to make her fit in this box that she didn’t fit in. Now Ellis has realized, “OK, I’m gonna stop wasting all this energy trying to make you fit in this box and just kind of learn to take you at your word, and love you for who you are and not for who you’re not.” Even though it frustrates him — her style and how she goes rogue all the time — ultimately there’s something inside all of that, that Ellis loves.
It also seems Max has been accepted by the rest of the cops this season. Even when Ellis was off on his sabbatical early on, Max was walking onto crime scenes and taking control . . .
VANESSA: For sure. As you’ve seen, she has her bedazzled badge; it’s all she really needed to feel fully accepted [laughs]. But yeah, now you can see that Chief Li [Terry Chen] trusts her and is like, “Max, you’re on it. Get on the case!” . . . Ellis, he even is like, “OK, I guess we’re doin’ this!” Before, he was way more hesitant in disguise [on their undercover cases]. He’s rolling with it. That’s really fun for Max. She feels like a real member of the squad.
Has Ellis picked up some con artist flare from Max at this point?
GIACOMO: Definitely. I think he’s finally seen the value of her approach, and understands that it’s not crazy. He’s very much like, “Alright, I guess we’re dressing up! What do you want to do? This works, clearly. We’ve done it a million times. So, let’s find a way in.”
What’s been your favourite undercover mission thus far?
GIACOMO: I thought the Yellowstone episode last season was fun. Kind of a cowboy, western feel . . .
VANESSA: And I slapped him.
GIACOMO: You slapped the hell out of me.
VANESSA: I actually slapped you! I was like, “Oh, I’m just gonna fake it.” And he’s like, “No, hit me. Let’s make it real.”
How would you pitch this third season to a potential viewer?
GIACOMO: It’s very exciting. There’s a lot of really great action. Gideon Varga, this bad guy that is the looming shadow of darkness throughout season three — Max and her family are desperately trying to pull off this con that they’re essentially forced to for this big bad guy to clear their debt . . . And Max is discovering stuff about her mom and trying to make up for all this lost time. Ellis is happy and in love and trying to enjoy that — and balancing his feelings with Max. So, we’ve got a nice swing of dramatic stuff and comedic stuff, as well.
Wild Cards airs Wednesdays on CBC
MEMORABLE ROLES:
With a résumé stretching back to childhood on such series as Disney’s My Babysitter’s a Vampire and Family Channel sitcom The Latest Buzz, Ottawa native Vanessa Morgan landed her buzziest part to date in 2017, on The CW’s zeitgeist-throttling hit Riverdale. Joining the ensemble in season two, she played Toni Topaz, a key ringleader of local biker gang the Southside Serpents. Born in Rome, but mostly raised in Ontario, Giacomo Gianniotti is best known for his turn as Dr. Andrew DeLuca from season 11 through season 17 of Grey’s Anatomy. He also recurred on Murdoch Mysteries as Leslie Garland, villainous brother-in-law of Dr. Ogden, and got up to some pre-Wild Cards con-artist antics as wannabe lord Remy on CW history drama Reign.
CURRENT GIG:
Both shot and set right here in B.C., this breezy CBC crime romp traces the unlikely partnership between police detective Cole Ellis (Giacomo Gianniotti) and con artist Max Mitchell (Vanessa Morgan), as they take advantage of the latter’s skills of deception and persuasion for a host of kooky undercover operations. All the while, they dance around their undeniable attraction to one another, and flirt with the impending disaster represented by Max’s fellow con artist parents (Jason Priestley and Tamara Taylor).