Johanssen:If people don't agree with anything I'm saying, please use your cybersword and lop my head off! But don't expect a quickening, being a lowly human.
Question:I enjoy your character on The Raven, but would think Nick would be somewhat curious about Amanda's long life. Does that happen on later episodes?
Johanssen: Yes, on episode two I find out she's an immortal, because she shoots herself with my gun to prove it to me.
OmahaDeb: Which do you prefer, Toruffolo or Torchester, as the name of the generic U.S. city that The Raven takes place in? (Like Seacouver, but different.) :)
Johanssen: I don't have a preference. As long as we make you feel like you are in an American city in a contemporary time, then we have accomplished our job.
TVGEN:What is a typical day like? What hour do you start work etc.?
Johanssen: I am usually up before the sun rises, and I'm lucky to get home before dark. We put in long hours.
m10000: What's your favorite TV show?
Johanssen: I like — you'll think I'm nuts, you'll think I'm so boring — Politically Incorrect and Larry Sanders and South Park.
TVGEN: Will Adrian Paul and Paul Wingfield be guesting on the show in the future?
Johanssen: I have no idea. That's not information that I have been privileged with. I would look forward to having something happen on screen with Adrian Paul and Elizabeth Grayson. It would create a nice love triangle, an interesting drama.
Firinn2: Do you ever read through the Highlander forums since Raven began?
Johanssen: I made that mistake once, and I was blasted by some of the die-hard Highlander fans.
dwolf_CO: Are you aware that loyal fans (myself included) discuss the show on the official site? Have you been there?
Johanssen: Yeah, I have been there. And I know that it is interesting. The premise is such an age-old idea, of immorality, from Dorian Gray to Anne Rice's books. It's a fascinating subject and it creates interesting debate. I'm sure people have strong ideas about it. I mean, Ponce de León discovered Florida, looking for the Fountain of Youth. It's been around a long time, this subject.
Firinn2: How do you feel about the Highlander concept of immortality, personally? Been a fan yourself?
Johanssen: I was a fan of the movies. The Highlander concept, I think, is fable, it's of legend, it's another way of distracting ourselves from our own feelings of impermanence. Like everyone else, I think about it but I never would have allowed myself to take the job on the series had I been asked to be an immortal. From an acting point of view, I want to try something new on the series, I want to bring the human touch to it.
TVGEN: Do you think Nick might become immortal one day?
Johanssen: It would have to be some great distance from where we are right now with this series and format. That's not the plan, as far as I know.
TVGEN: What's your favorite part about being an actor?
Johanssen: The 15 seconds of displaced reality that I get. You can have a 5-minute scene, but only 15 to 45 seconds of that scene are you going to have magic, that feeling that you are living and breathing in somebody else's reality.
kal_el71: I live in Toronto. Are you guys the ones who are always tying up traffic on Richmond Street East and Adelaid Street?
Johanssen: Yup, that's us.
catcon1: When does Raven start filming in Paris?
Johanssen: Nov. 6 is the first day of shooting.
TVGEN: Do you get along with your costars?
Johanssen: Elizabeth and I have a very professional working relationship.
Timman_1998: Hey, Paul, if you lived in NYC, what borough would you live in??
Johanssen: I do live in NYC. Three or four months a year. I have an apartment in Murray Hill.
IBANYAN: Is there going to be another Highlander movie, and are you going to be in it?
Johanssen: Yes, and no. But what I've heard from the producers is that it's going to go back to original feelings and moods of the original Highlander movie.
Egomaniac2: How many more Highlander shows are they going to make? Do they want to wear it out, like what is happening to Star Trek?
Johanssen:As long as there is a solid fan base.... I don't even know how long I am going to be a part of this show. If my character stops becoming interesting, or the show becomes repetitive, I'll want to go do something else, too. But right now we are having a great time.
annie74820: Was fencing one of your hobbies, or are you having to learn from the ground up?
Johanssen: I don't have to do any sword work on this show... that's Amanda's character. But I have a background in Shakespearean combat fighting, from my years as a starving stage actor.
Tangerine_Apple_Lollipop: Do you think Xena could kick your ass?
Johanssen:Naked, a bottle of Mazola oil, and I'll give her a chance.
Robs_Intrigue: Is the majority of your offscreen time spent with your lifelong friends, or is it spent with the "famous" crowd?
Johanssen:Who has time to hang out? When I'm not acting, I'm writing, I'm directing. I spend most of my time with my dog, Damascus.
TVGEN: Did you like being on 90210?
Johanssen:I loved it. Jason and I moved to Hollywood together, in 1987, from Vancouver. We really always wanted to have some time to work together, so it was a lot of fun.
TVGEN: Are you working on any other projects?
Johanssen: I directed a film called Conversations in Limbo that I premiered in Los Angeles last Tuesday night. And I've been hired to write two scripts that I'm trying to finish. I got into acting through writing.
TVGEN: Thanks for joining us tonight, Paul. Please join us again in the near future.
Johanssen: Thank you, everybody, for logging on and for the interesting questions. Enjoy immortality, if that's what you're into.
TVGEN: Glad you could join us from both sides of the chat auditorium, Paul. Good luck in Paris.
 |
October 22, 1998 Yahoo Chat |
