Dan Aykroyd plays Joe Friday, newphew of the legendary by-the-book detective and a devoted disciple of his uncle's painstakingly methodical approach to police work. Coincidentally, Aykroyd studied criminology for four years at Ottawa's Carlton University before investigating the prospects of becoming a performer.
"My generation grew up on the 'Dragnet' TV series," he explains. "I can't say what influence it may have had on my choice of college studies but it was the first show I was aware of that treated investigative police work in a realistic way. It changed the whole tone and orientation of all the police shows that followed by making them more real than they'd ever been before."
The Canadian-born actor found early success writing and performing for the improvisational comedy group Second City. He later became one of the founding writers/performers of the popular weekly comedy program "Saturday Night Live," which earned him an Emmy in 1977.
His work with Second City confirmed hi preference for ensemble acting. Aykroyd feels that his skills are sharpest when he is working with other actors--as he does with Tom Hanks in "Dragnet."
"I've never wanted to be a solo act," he says. "My strength is in collaboration. The way it was with Second City, our most successful ventures seemed to be when we pooled our resources. I enjoy the feeling of kinship with an ensembel"
Aykroyd made his American feature film debut in Steven Spielberg's "1941" (having previously appeared in the Canadian picture "Love at First Sight"). He followed with "The Blues Brothers," which he co-wrote with director John Landis. Aykroyd's other film credits include Landis' "Trading Places" (which he helped wright), "Twilight Zone: The Movie," "Neighbors," "Doctor Detroit" and the enormously successful "Ghostbusters," which he co-scripted as well as starred in. "Dragnet is another example of his skills as both writer and actor.