Stanley Kowalski (Due South)

Detective Stanley Raymond Kowalski (aka "Ray Kowalski") is a fictional character in the television series "Due South". He is a Polish-American detective with the Chicago Police Department, serving with the 27th Precinct. The character is portrayed by actor Callum Keith Rennie.

Character

Kowalski's father was a fan of Marlon Brando — who played Stanley Kowalski in the 1951 film version of "A Streetcar Named Desire" — hence his name. Kowalski however prefers to go by his middle name, Ray. To add to the "Streetcar" connections, Kowalski's ex-wife - the Assistant States Attorney - is called Stella. They still care about each other, but broke up because he wanted kids and she didn't. Kowalski's family includes his parents Damian and Barbara, and a brother who is only referenced on the show's official webpage and never made an appearance on the show.

Kowalski was brought into the series at the start of Season 3. Ray Vecchio had suddenly been sent deep undercover with the mob in Las Vegas, and to protect Ray's identity Kowalski was brought in to impersonate him until the real Vecchio returned. This meant taking on Ray's friend and unofficial partner, Mountie Benton Fraser, who was on vacation at the time of the "switch" and returned to find Kowalski at Ray's desk claiming to be Ray Vecchio. After being let into the secret, Fraser and Kowalski became true friends and partners.

Kowalski's eyesight is not the best in the world, and he needs to put on his glasses in order to use a gun with any degree of effectiveness. He prefers not to wear his glasses because he doesn't like how he looks with them, but he is an excellent shot when he does wear them. Kowalski also likes to put M&Ms into his coffee and likes to dance, something he used to do with Stella. Since the divorce he has taken fancy to a few women, but nothing serious has really happened.

Kowalski owns a black Pontiac GTO that he and his father refurbished. In the episode Easy Money, his father returns it to him and Kowalski now uses it as his car.

The series ends with Fraser and Kowalski embarking on a quest to find the Hand of Sir John Franklin.