\”Bradford is definitely a guy that I think people, especially in season one, love to hate,” says Winter, 43.
“He’s a very militant, hardass, driven cop that wants to push his rookies always to the very end and try to get them to quit.
“He comes with a lot of baggage. So he’s a really complex character and a lot of fun to play. But in real life, I’m nothing like him, which was one of the things that most excited me about this role.”
The Rookie, which is in its second season, stars Nathan Fillion as middle-aged construction worker John Nolan, who leaves his job to train as a police officer.
On the show, rookie officers such as Nolan are paired with experienced law enforcers like Bradford to learn the ins and outs of day-to-day policing.
“I did quite a bit of research with various ridealongs with the LAPD and talking with a lot of training officers,” says Winter, when speaking about the homework he did for the role.
“I came to find out that a lot of training officers are very similar (to Bradford). Every cop I’ve met tells me, ‘Oh I once had a training officer that was exactly like you. They put me through the wringer. They were such a jerk.’
“So a lot of cops can really relate to Bradford and what he brings to the table because he’s a very accurate portrayal of a lot of training officers.”
Winter never had any ambition to become a police officer. In fact, before he discovered a love for acting, he wanted to be a doctor.
At university he studied psychology and took acting classes which led to modelling jobs. He was once cast as pop singer Britney Spears’ love interest in a perfume commercial.
But when it came to acting auditions, his looks sometimes counted against him.
“I’ve lost a lot of jobs because they physically don’t think I’m capable of playing the role,” says Winter.
“When it came to getting this role of Bradford, I had just worked with some of these producers on another show and they did not see me as being Tim Bradford.
“They’re like, ‘You’re too nice. You look this way. You’re just too nice a guy. You’re not this character.’ And I was like, ‘Guys, it’s acting. What are you talking about? I can be this character.’
“I had to go prove myself and, thankfully, I had one of the best auditions in my life and blew them away. They were like, ‘Oh, my God, Eric…’
“So it (his looks) definitely posed a lot of challenges for me. It opened doors as well, but has posed challenges.”
Before landing his role on The Rookie, Winter’s TV credits included Brothers & Sisters, The Mentalist and Days Of Our Lives where he spent three years playing Rex Brady.
Outside of acting, Winter lives in Los Angeles with his Puerto Rican-born actress wife Roselyn Sanchez, 46, (Devious Maids, Grand Hotel, Without A Trace) and their children – Sebella, eight, and Dylan, two.
The couple wrote a children’s book which was released in 2017. Last year they launched a podcast where they discuss their opposite personalities and how they make their relationship work. They have talked about juggling family life with work and even discussed their fertility issues.
When asked about the reason for his success in the entertainment industry, Winter says, “I always say our business is not solely built on talent … I mean, there are plenty of talented, really great actors out there that just aren’t working and there are plenty of bad actors who are working. It’s a really weird medium, you know. It’s so subjective.
“I’ve been fortunate. I’ve had some great opportunities.