Scott Speedman Promises More ‘Hair-Raising’ Adventures in Season 2 of R.J. DECKER

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede   What’s the key to growing the perfect, scruffy “Florida beard?” That bristly question was posed to Canadian Scott Speedman, star of the Florida-set R.J. DECKER, which returns for its second season Tuesday, Sept. 15 on CTV (streams next day on Crave). “I tell this to young actors all the time, I’m like, ‘get out of makeup!’” Speedman said. “I mean, I love makeup and hair, and I love those people personally, but you have to figure out some stuff on your own. You have to be willing to say ‘no,’ and sort it out.” So the lead character’s signature Florida look in R.J. DECKER was all Speedman’s idea? “That’s just me playing around, with the longer hair and the longer beard,” Speedman said. “Believe me, the makers of the show would probably not want any of that. They would probably want me looking more like I am right now.” To clarify, Speedman was speaking during a trip to Bell Media headquarters in Toronto, where he was promoting Season 2 of R.J. DECKER. He was looking quite neat and spiffy, with shorter hair and a more closely trimmed beard than his character. “Truthfully, I’ve been like that since the beginning,” added Speedman, who has a deep acting resumé that includes GREY’S ANATOMY, ANIMAL KINGDOM, FELICITY, and much more. “I remember going to my first wardrobe fitting for my second job here in Toronto. They put me in an outfit, and I said, ‘no, I’m not doing that, I’m not wearing this.’ And they could not fathom it. I was just a day player. So I’ve always been very controlling … well, not controlling, but I like trying to figure it out on my own.” The title character in R.J. DECKER also tends to figure things out on his own, often by choice, but sometimes by necessity. R.J. is a disgraced newspaper photographer and ex-con who has started over as a private investigator in the colourful-but-crime-filled world of South Florida. The series follows him tackling cases that range from slightly odd to outright bizarre, as he walks a fine line to keep himself from going back to prison. “That’s a great thing to have hanging over a character’s head, you know?” Speedman said. “You’re always looking for a need, or an objective, or a want, or stakes. That’s what engages the character, which engages me as an actor, and then hopefully it engages an audience.” Speedman certainly gets to showcase all his acting skills in R.J. DECKER, as there’s a dramatic element, a comedic element, an action element, and he has to be something of a romantic lead as well. “I think that’s all true, but when you break it down like that, I start to feel the pressure there, which can be sort of daunting,” Speedman said. “When I read the first script for this show, I just instinctually knew I could do something with it. But I also was aware that in my younger days, truthfully, I wasn’t ready to take on a true lead like this, covering all the bases you just talked about. Some of the bases, sure, but not all of them. And that means both in front of the camera and behind the scenes, to lead a show. So I’m at a certain place in my career, and in life, that I’m really ready to take all that on, which has been a cool thing.” Of those four previously mentioned aspects – dramatic, comedic, action, romantic – which ones came naturally to Speedman, and which ones did he have to work on a bit harder? “The drama stuff, the action stuff, the romantic lead stuff, I’ve been doing all that since I was a kid,” Speedman said. “But some of the comedic stuff … everybody who knows me personally has been close to begging me to lean more into that, because that’s part of our relationship, and how they know me. But honestly, I’m not going to be the inventive one in that way. Some of my best friends are, you know, very famous, amazing, true comedians, and they are inventive. Like, they’ll come to set, and none of it will be on the page, but they’ll just rip the thing to shreds and be amazing, you know what I mean? That’s not what I do. If R.J. is charming and funny and relaxed, it’s in the writing, which allows me to do that.” On the Season 2 premiere of R.J. DECKER, a reunion with an old prison acquaintance pulls R.J. into a string of daring bank heists, as the fallout continues from the shocking events that occurred at the end of Season 1. “There are the obvious things about how the first season ended on a cliffhanger, which creates a bit of a whodunnit,” said Speedman, setting up Season 2. “I’m very excited to learn more about R.J.’s world, getting to know the character, his family, his past life, what led to him going to jail, all that stuff. But we also want to double down on more of the ‘Florida weird’ part of it.” The beard is revered!   billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv