Brian Markinson, who plays the man behind the "Mayerthorpe" tragedy, tells CTV.ca he tried to humanize Jimmy Roszko.

Brian Markinson, who plays the man behind the "Mayerthorpe" tragedy, tells CTV.ca he tried to humanize Jimmy Roszko.

"I feel that nothing this man did was outside the realm of humanity," says Markinson.

"He was a man who was a product of society and his home life and he was on an inevitable collision course with the force of law and order."

The film portrays the events that lead up to the horrifying tragedy on March 3rd, 2005, in Mayerthorpe, Alberta.

Four RCMP officers were gunned down by Jimmy Roszko and it was the RCMP's greatest loss of life in a single day.

"Mayerthrope" follows the decade long battle between Roszko (Brian Markinson) and Corporal Alex Stanton (Henry Czerny), a fictionalized character who represents the many law enforcement officers that Roszko encountered over the years.

Markinson believes the film is a call for Canadians to re-examine how the country deals with its criminals.

"Rozko played the system, the RCMP delivered him up time and time again, and the system failed. It failed everybody," says Markinson.

"This is what our movie is about. I don't think we take sides, there's nobody standing on a soap box in our movie. I think people will be able to look at this movie and draw their own conclusions about if their justice system works."

As an actor, Markinson has over 100 credits to his name. He's played a multitude of bad guys, most notoriously a murderous father on "NYPD Blue," but none have been as brutal as Roszko.

Because the script, written by Andrew Wreggitt, painted such a vivid and haunting picture of Roszko's pyche, Markinson said he couldn't resist taking the role.

"The script was so good and well thought out, that as an actor, how could I not take this role? It's very meaty, multi-layered and I've played guys like this before, and it's a very rewarding process," says Markinson.

According to the 46-year-old, shooting "Mayerthorpe" was an emotional process for everyone involved. Also of importance was the need to get all the facts right. To ensure the film wasn't an exploitive process, family members of the slain RCMP officers were brought to the set to ensure they were comfortable with having their story told.

"It put everything into a very sharp focus," says Markinson.

"I think everyone had a real unity of purpose, and a real passion to get this story right. I knew I was telling the story for them."

Markinson recalls when Grace Johnston, Const. Leo Johnston's mother, visited the set, and he told her, "I'm not him."

She responded by giving him a hug and said "No, you're not."

"From then on we were all on the same team and telling the story of these four fallen heroes," says Markinson.

"To tell their story, it was imperative to tell Roszko's story."

"Mayerthorpe" airs Sunday, Feb. 10 at 9 p.m. ET on CTV.