“My
godfather once said to me that I think we all become actors to play other
people. I would refine that to say, to discover different parts of ourselves,”
says stage, film and television actor Noel Johansen, before disclosing which of
the characters whom he has portrayed comes closest to reflecting who he is, “I
would have to turn to Shakespeare in that respect. I played MacDuff in Macbeth.
MacDuff has a sense of warrior, which I think I have, because I have trained a
lot in the martial arts, and I have always respected the warrior class so to
speak. He (MacDuff) has immense vulnerability and leadership qualities, which I
think in life, I have always had. I don’t say that with much ego attached,
although it may sound that way (he laughs). I guess I have always felt like a
leader, not because I wanted to be famous or in charge, but just because that is
a human quality which I have always had. MacDuff is the character who greatly
embodies who I am.”
Johansen, in part, because of
his heritage, his mother is American, his father English and Johansen was born
in Canada, has been permitted the luxury of working in American cities such as
Los Angeles and New York City, throughout Canada and in London, England, but his
opportunities have not come to him merely because of his natural links to those
countries, but instead he has earned them. Johansen is an actor’s actor, who has
worked hard at his craft and he continually works at perfecting those skills. On
stage he has been cast in the lead role for the production of
Alfie,
he portrayed Einstein in the Broadway national tour of
Picasso At The
Lapine Agile, and he has also been cast in
the lead roles of Romeo and Richard III in just two of the many Shakespearean
productions in which he has appeared.
Johansen’s television appearances include
Stargate Atlantis,
Smallville,
Supernatural and
Psych.
In addition, he has appeared in several films
including
Under The Mistletoe.
As for the opportunities that have come his way, and his
ability to work in several countries, “I am super grateful for it, and not just
for the work, but because I have lived in different places and experienced
different lifestyles. I think that is valuable. My wife said to me the other day
that a lot of people look up to me or as a source of inspiration, and I never
really think about that, because I am so busy, but I hope that I am, and I hope
that is the case.”
When the question was posed to
Noel Johansen as to whether he prefers the stage to film or television he
admitted to a desire to do more screen work, but he also said, “Work on the
stage comes a little easier to me, but only because I got started a little
earlier on that. Right from the word go when I got out of drama school in
Like most actors, Johansen’s
preference when it comes to television and film is to be cast in meatier roles.
“The less that I am part of a project, the more potentially disappointed or
forlorn I am. I don’t mind doing the day stuff (smaller parts), but it is
definitely a stepping-stone for me. I want to be playing some larger roles. For
Dr. Dickenson (Stargate
Atlantis), I had six or seven days (of
filming), so I felt that I was part of the whole episode. I felt that I got to
make some friends and to talk to the other actors on the show. I felt much
better (knowing) that I was a part of the show.”
Expanding on his thoughts about working in television, Johansen says, “It is difficult for me to be only a day player, because it doesn’t afford me the opportunity to act, with the chance to really play a character, which is a better way (of describing it), because acting is a dangerous word sometimes. I like to get under the skin of characters and to expose subtleties and layers of them, rather than just doing something simple. It is kind of like, I am qualified to fly an air force jet, and you ask me to make a model airplane (he laughs), for lack of a better analogy.” Read more