Annie O'Neill, Post-Gazette Bingo O'Malley Click photo for larger image.

Hundreds of Pittsburghers played extras in "The Kill Point," and dozens worked on the series behind the scenes, but three actors with local ties also landed prominent roles in the production.

Veteran stage actor Bingo O'Malley got the largest role, playing a bank customer-turned-hostage in all eight hours of the series. His character, Bernard, is fairly unassuming at first, but more is revealed about him during tonight's two-hour premiere.

"He emerges in crises where you don't expect him to," O'Malley said while on a break from filming in early May. "You don't expect him to because, up until that point, he seems to be taking it pretty lightly, pretty matter-of-factly, not being upset by it, which causes the very frantic bank manager to wonder at this."

Kate Rogal Click photo for larger image.
Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette photos Brandi Engel Click photo for larger image.

O'Malley said he doesn't generally gravitate toward film or TV roles, but he's been pleased with his "Kill Point" experience.

"I don't know if it's just the nature of the story, but we've been talking about how bonds form, first among the [actors playing] hostages," he said. "That's been very fascinating."

Kate Rogal, the granddaughter of Bill "Chilly Billy" Cardille, and Brandi Engel, a 2004 graduate of Mt. Lebanon High School, play two friends accompanying a Pittsburgh real estate magnate's daughter (Christine Evangelista) when the bank is robbed.

Rogal, who graduated from the acting program at Carnegie Mellon University last year and now lives in New York, said "Kill Point" is her first major role, although she did play Paulie's hooker on a recent episode of "The Sopranos." She was thrilled to land an acting gig in Pittsburgh.

"I never really saw myself in L.A. I'm used to gray skies and dark rivers, not blue skies and fresh ocean, and I prefer the [former]," she said. "I'd go out there for work obviously, but I'm so glad I can get work in Pittsburgh."

Engel has been taking classes at Duquesne University between acting jobs (her major is broadcast journalism), including a lead role in the girls basketball movie "Believe In Me," which never opened locally. She lived at home with her family while filming "Kill Point."

"I'm in four episodes, and I won't say anything more," Engel said of her role. "Let's just say it gets really intense."