By Peter Bloch-Hansen Starlog, January 1999, #258
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Will Amanda and Nick eventually get romantically involved? "We'll get sticky a little bit," he says, grinning, and proceeds to comment further on his flirtatious working relationship with Gracen. "Have you seen Elizabeth? I think it would be almost unavoidable with her. She's a very beautiful woman and a very talented actress, so it's very easy to play off of her and she gives me lots to work with.
Elizabeth is great to work with. She's a lot of fun. There are so many things going on that when there's a moment when we lock eyes, it can be pretty magnetic."
Immortal Destinies
Besides those steamy stares, Johansson also enjoys other aspects of his work.
"There are tons of stunts," he enthuses. "I dove out of a moving car this morning, I threw a few punches. They're really keeping me busy. I like that part of it. Action scenes do take forever, but then you do a two or three-page dialogue scene. It's all only as good as the writing and what we do with it. You can make good actors with good scripts. A good actor can do a lot with a bad script, too, if you're given the flexibility to do it. Many people are married to the writing, and that's a problem."
Johansson believes his destiny lies behind the camera. "This to me is definately a milestone, but it's not by any means the end of my race. My aspirations don't end at acting. People would say that being an actor is a very free art form, but it's very restrictive. If you can direct, and specifically direct what you've written yourself, then you have control You really are the ultimate storyteller. I've directed a few things, I'm writing and I want to produce; I'm very involved in many aspects of the business. Raven is something I'm proud to be a part of right now.
"I love my work. I want to see that come through on the screen. Sometimes I think that if you really love your work, and if you want to push yourself and other people, you have to be willing not to be liked. I don't mean that I'm not liked, or that we don't all get along. It's a great crew, but when we're all tired and things get tense, I put the interests of my character and the overall show ahead of my own ego. The crew respects that.
"And I don't ever want to be associated with anything that isn't of quality. There are certain things, violent things, I won't do," he asserts, "because I'm who I am, and I won't do them as an actor either. It's just a personal thing. Like my dad used to tell me, 'If you don't stand for something, you fall for everything.'"
Paul Johansson hopes to make Highlander: The Raven a first rate series that will endure. "While I'm here, I'm going to make it the best that I can," he says, "and I'm going to put pressure on myself and on everybody around me. There's an old saying: 'I'm not here to make friends; I'm here to do good work.'"
