Saskatoon performer lands role on TV adaptation of Grease

Cole Neumeier from Saskatoon has landed a role on Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, a 10-episode show streaming on Paramount Plus.

Cole Neumeier plays “Bill” and is part of the ensemble cast. A role that has him singing and dancing.

“I was so pumped. It was kind of like a fever dream,” said Neumeier.

Neumeier estimates 50-100 people would have auditioned for the part.

“You just send it and forget it, wait for the next one and see what happens. Then as soon as you forget it you hear back a couple weeks later, and you’re like, oh wait, I’m actually advancing,” said Neumeier.

On top of singing and dancing, Neumeier says his role has him very “involved” with his girlfriend in the show.

“He kind of hangs out with everybody. He's mostly canoodling with his girlfriend. PDA — So lots of public displays of affection there,” he said.

The series is set up as a prequel to the original Grease movie. Neumeier can be seen in most episodes of the show, which was shot in Vancouver.

“This one is actually my first acting role and is my first acting credit on my resume. So that one was a big one because I continuously just never heard anything back,” said Neumeier.

Neumeier started his performing arts career at 9-years-old as a dancer, and has recently picked up acting. He moved to Vancouver after high school to pursue performance opportunities like film, television and stage. His mom, whose dance studio he learned at, is glad to see his hard work paying off.

“We were so happy for him. He had really, really been wanting to be a part of this project,” said Kristy Neumeier Sotnikow. “There was lots of times there was parties and things going on but Cole had dance at 9 a.m. the next day, so he was coming in early and getting to bed.”

Since first working on the show, more doors are starting to open for Neumeier.

“It's kind of been snowballing slowly, but I've been booking more and more acting jobs slowly, so it's been great,” he said.

The show premiered on April 6th.