Éveline Gélinas is now the house cop. For six years, her lover Vincent-Guillaume Otis played Detective Sergeant Patrick Bissonnette in “District 31”, but it is now she who is armed thanks to the role she landed in the series “Alerts”, which comes to begin its third season on TVA.
She plays investigator Cindy Castonguay of the anti-gang squad, an experienced, funny and approachable cop. She is the new teammate of Lily-Rose (Mylène St-Sauveur), the latter having wanted to get away from the Cerberus squad after being sexually assaulted by her colleague Manuel (Frédéric Millaire Zouvi). If Lily-Rose is more reserved, Cindy does not take herself seriously, even being a clown at times.
“Cindy has seen others and has a lot of experience, she who has already infiltrated organized crime. She’s very efficient at her job, but she’s kind of the opposite of Lily-Rose. Cindy always looks on top of her business, but she doesn’t let herself be imposed either with her strong temperament,” said Éveline Gélinas, who had never played a police officer in her 21-year career at the small or on the big screen, and even on stage.
“I’ve had stunts to do, I’ve shot a gun, there’s also the idea of conducting investigations – I really like crime dramas, I read a lot of them too – so it’s a gift this role.”
Police officers who do extras on the set shared advice with her to make her performance even more authentic, and even her spouse Vincent-Guillaume supported her in her preparation. “At first, I’ll admit that I was a little stressed when I was handling my weapon, because as I’m playing a new character, I didn’t have the training that the other actors had at the start of the series. . So Patrick Bissonnette helped me a little bit, at home, in the kitchen, by showing me how to hold my weapon, ”she said, smiling.
Hit in the leg
In last week’s episode, during an arms smuggling operation at the border near Lacolle, Cindy was shot in the leg and Lily-Rose set off alone in pursuit of the shooter, a seemingly uneventful mother turned mule for the Snakes.
Originally from Malartic, Abitibi, Cindy is very close to her niece, who will be involved in “harder, more dramatic elements” in future episodes, revealed the actress, who is a mother of three children aged 7, 13. and 15 years old.
“Lily-Rose will in turn be a support for her. The roles will balance out. For the moment, Cindy does not know that her teammate was assaulted. What will be interesting is how they are two girls from two different generations. Cindy has been living in a man’s world for longer than Lili-Rose and, fortunately, society has moved on. It is not named, but we see that Cindy has experienced similar pitfalls. And, today, thanks to movements like #MeToo, we talk about it more, so not all circles have the choice to evolve.
During the Holidays, Éveline Gélinas played Baroness Elsa Schraeder in “The Melody of Happiness” – the last performance was on Saturday at the Théâtre St-Denis – a role she will resume in Quebec this summer.
- Produced by Pixcom, the detective series “Alerts” is broadcast every Monday at 9 p.m. on TVA.