Over the years Canadian actor Cory Dagg has brought his unparalleled talent to a pretty astonishing list of film and television productions. Becoming known for his roles on hit television shows like “The Andromeda Strain,” “Top Cops” and “Street Legal,” as well as films such as Primetime Emmy nominee Brad Turner’s “The Inspectors,” Michael Kennedy’s action-packed crime film “Hostile Force” and “Bond of Silence” acting alongside Kim Raver from “24” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” Dagg’s proven that he has a unique gift for playing authoritative roles just as easily as he plays the underdog.

With a character list spanning the likes of government officials, sly detectives and frustrated public defenders, Dagg’s way of communicating with his eyes is something that has made each and every character he’s taken on to date unforgettable. His role as Detective Peters in the series premiere of Columbia Tristar’s thriller series “The Net” is one that not only helped carve out his reputation for portraying multi-layered characters in the crime genre, but also set up the basis for the show.

While out for a run early one morning, freelance computer programmer Angela Bennett (played by Brooke Langton) is arrested by federal agents only to find out once in the interrogation room that her identity has been erased and replaced with that of a wanted felon. Dagg’s character Detective Peters comes down hard on Bennett who is both baffled and afraid as Peters threatens her with a lengthy jail sentence for crimes she didn’t commit.  

“Whenever I get a new role, I get to know that character as if they were going to be my new best friend. I try to think of every aspect of them – how they feel, how they would respond in certain situations, what they would say,” explains Dagg.

“With Peters being a cop, I knew I could handle that since I ‘ve done a lot of cops and military roles. But Peters is a bit of a dirty cop, so I had to dig deep to bring that out in him. Really, it comes down to immersing myself in the character, finding something – anything – I might have in common with him, and playing on that.”

Another of Dagg’s authoritative style characters that has left an indelible mark in the minds of viewers is that of General Michaelson on the seven Primetime Emmy Award nominated series “The Andromeda Strain,” which was adapted from Michael Crichton’s 1969 novel and produced by four-time Oscar nominee Ridley Scott. The four-part series follows a group of highly trained scientists as they work to find the source of what killed the inhabitants of a small town and a way to stop it, and the military team tasked with keeping the disaster under wraps as a matter of national security.

Acting alongside Benjamin Bratt (“Miss Congeniality,” “Despicable Me 2”) who plays Dr. Jeremy Stone and Golden Globe Award winner Ricky Schroder (“Get Him to the Greek,” “NYPD Blue”) who plays Major Bill Keane MD, Cory Dagg gave a brilliant performance as General Michaelson, the military leader who is charged with quarantining the affected area from the mysterious virus, and keeping the rest of the population safe.

Interestingly enough, Dagg originally auditioned for a smaller role on the series however, after director Mikael Salomon (“Hard Rain”) saw Dagg’s performance, he was given a much meatier role and his character went on to be featured in three of the series’ four episodes.

“The director said later he was surprised I didn’t have military experience, that’s how convincing he thought I was,” recalls Dagg. “It’s the dramatic roles I love the most, when the stakes are really high I’m able to separate myself from other actors and usually get the role.”

As an actor Cory Dagg effortlessly stands out in a crowd thanks to his magnetic presence both on and off camera, his rare versatility, and his ability to breathe life into the most complex characters, all of this and more have been crucial factors in the impressive career he has created for himself over the past 30 years, and we can’t wait to see what he takes on next!