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 Enrico Colantoni (left) and Christine Ghawi in "Celine." |
Celine Dion's husband Rene Angelil is far more controversial than Enrico Colantoni ever realized.
But Colantoni's neutrality helped as he took on the role of Angelil in the CBC biopic Celine. The bulk of shooting has been completed and the made-for-TV movie will hit the airwaves next season.
"I had no idea," said Colantoni, a 44-year-old Toronto native who is best known for his roles on TV shows Just Shoot Me and Veronica Mars, and movies such as the delightful Galaxy Quest. "I knew Celine Dion, of course, and I knew she was Canadian. But I wasn't aware of her relationship with Rene until I started reading about it."
Angelil is more than a quarter-century older than Dion. He became Dion's manager when she barely was a teenager, and 13 years later they got married.
If nothing else, it sets up Angelil for jokes. When Colantoni was told about an old Tina Fey zinger on Saturday Night Live, which suggested Dion and Angelil's baby was going to be up and dating his manager any day now, Colantoni laughed long and hard.
Still, Colantoni is open-minded.
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"I still don't get the whole controversy thing, because I tried to talk to the French Canadian press about it, and they sort of have this mixed feeling about (Angelil)," Colantoni said. "According to the French press I'm detached in my opinion, but I think the proof is in the pudding.
"They've been married too long. You can't fake that. I can understand it probably being a true love."
And besides, as Colantoni pointed out, the big difference in age between Angelil and Dion is not automatically eyebrow-raising in other corners of the world.
"I imagine (Angelil) is a gentleman and well-mannered and all that stuff, he's French, he's of Middle Eastern descent, and he has a European sensibility," said Colantoni, who never has met Angelil. "In North America we tend to judge. In the rest of the world, it's like, 'Ah, whatever.'
"He must have a charm to him, to get things done in the entertainment business. I have nothing but respect and admiration for what Celine has achieved and what they have achieved together. Anything else, I'm completely unaware of. I can use my imagination, but why judge the man?"
Colantoni lives in Los Angeles, but he has been re-energized recently by the diversity of roles available to him in Canada.
"I have a new agent whose mission is to get me back to Canada more, and I love the idea of that, because first and foremost the quality of work is superior," Colantoni said. "I don't imagine getting rich up here, but you get to do different things.
"If I stay in the United States exclusively, I'll end up being the dad, the funny guy, and that's great. I don't plan on ever leaving that. But I also am lucky enough to have been born in Canada and have access to Canadian film and Canadian TV."
So, to sum up, Colantoni is thrilled to have landed the male lead in Celine, and he didn't enter the project with any preconceived notions or judgments about the manner in which Angelil became Dion's husband.
Be that as it may, Colantoni isn't above taking a little shot. All in good fun.
"I get to be in love with a young, attractive woman (Christine Ghawi as Dion) - that never sucks," Colantoni said with a chuckle. "And the key is, she actually loves me back. It's incredible.
"I'm sure Rene was going, 'What? If I marry you I get 50% commission? Oh ... okay!' "