‘To protect and film'

Dean McCann, with his wraparound shades and West Texas accent, doesn't seem like your typical Hollywood type.

He looks more like a cop.

He's actually a little bit of both.

After serving more than a decade with the Odessa Police Department, the 45-year-old Odessa native and former Army Ranger now spends his time in the midst of celebrities - like Michael Madsen, for one - helping film producers bring authenticity to the big screen.

He's served as an adviser on several films, including the recently filmed but not-yet-released "The Ascent" and "Conflict of Interest," which starred Michael Madsen, for whom McCann was a bodyguard.

McCann, who has been both a detective and SWAT team member at OPD, said he also teaches things like tactical training techniques, hostage rescue and weapons training to local law enforcement agencies and businesses of all types.

Tactical training, he said, is nothing new for McCann. He began doing that for the OPD years ago.

His career in filmmaking, however, began in 2004 as he watched a show on the Sci-Fi Channel that involved military and police tactics.

The characters "would do the stupidest crap I've ever seen," he said. "What they need to understand is that there are law enforcement guys out there watching this stuff saying, ‘That's the stupidest crap that I've ever seen.' "

His wife at the time and told him to send his resume to Los Angeles - and he did.

By the fall of 2005, McCann said he was on the set of the movie "Waking Dreams," which was filmed in the Permian Basin. Still working with the Odessa Police Department, he was the film's law enforcement liaison.

Before long, McCann's lifelong friend, Odessa native film producer and actor Kerry Wallum, came knocking with a script in his hand and an offer for his friend.

By summer of 2007, McCann found himself in Kyle, Texas, with Wallum as they began filming "Conflict of Interest," starring Michael Madsen - whom many may know as the character Vic Vega in Quentin Tarantino's 1992 classic "Reservoir Dogs."

In addition to serving as a general adviser for "Conflict of Interest," McCann said he also signed on as Michael Madsen's bodyguard.

On Dec. 31, 2007, McCann retired from law enforcement to pursue his movie-advising and tactical-training careers.

McCann said the memory of saying goodbye to his friends at OPD still stays in his thoughts.

"I miss those guys every day," he said. "I really do. I miss those guys every single day."

But he doesn't dwell, despite the challenges of working in show business.
"I've run across people I want to work with again in the movie industry," McCann said about his experiences on movie sets. "I have also worked with people who, if I don't get a call from them again, it won't bother me."
Not long after leaving OPD, Wallum came knocking again, this time with a new script: "The Ascent," a mountain-climbing thriller that will be released in Europe in February.
For this flick, Wallum asked McCann to oversee the scenes in which actors rappelled from cliffs in Johnson City, Texas.
"We were in some pretty treacherous terrain over there," McCann said. "We really were. My philosophy is that, if somebody gets hurt, that's not their fault. That's my fault for not training them properly."
But nobody was hurt during during filming, which he said concluded in early December.
"I don't care how long I've known you - 30 years - I have a rule: If you don't pull your weight, then I won't use you anymore," Wallum said. "And Dean, well, I'm still using him because he definitely pulls his own weight."
"The Ascent," Wallum said, should be picked up and released in the United States soon.
Wallum said his next project, tentatively titled "The Last Mission," is sure to be a blockbuster.
And McCann will be right there with him.
"I guess he just brings a good, positive attitude," he said. "Everybody knows what he does and knows where he's been, and they know he knows what he's doing."

‘My philosophy is that, if somebody gets hurt, that's not their fault. That's my fault for not training them properly.'
dean mcCann
Former police officer, current movie adviser

Top left: Dean McCann, left, teaches actor Larry Romano a gun-disarming techniques during filming of ‘The Ascent.'

Middle left: Actress Josie Davis learns rappelling techniques with McCann's help.

Bottom left: McCann, left, goes over rigging techniques with actor Martin Kove.