The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Local actor wowing film lovers at Utica con
We Need a Hero Con: Wayne Johnson wowing film lovers at Utica convention
UTICA>> Actor Wayne W. Johnson might play the bad guy in just about every movie he has ever been in, but that shouldn’t scare visitors to the “We Need A Hero! Con 2017” at the Utica Children’s Museum from taking amoment to chat with him about his many projects.
Watching a movie might never be as intimate as it is when sharing the experience alongside the actors seen on screen, and Johnson will be there this weekend for not just one, but three screenings of films he is featured in. Those include the Con grand finale “Tales of Dracula,” where he stars as the blood drinking count himself.
That film carries on a classic tradition, the Syracuse-based actor/musician/writer said.
“It’s a throwback to the old black and white movies, that really helps fill in some of the blanks left by the original films,” Johnson intimated of the flick, which is in black and white as well. “We really wanted it to be just like the classics.”
He said he expected to be a part of the introduction before the screenings, and the question and answer sessions after the films. The other Johnson movies shown at the Con are “Brackish,” where he stars as Merlock, and “Slade Collins and the Tree of Life,” featuring Johnson as the Czar. Between film screenings he expects to be at or near the Matt Angel Films table, and invites fans to come by for a visit.
One film that won’t be seen at the Con is “Night of Something Strange,” a 2011 “kinky horror” film that is a little too
“It’s a throwback to the old black and white movies, that really helps fill in some of the blanks left by the original films. We really wanted it tobe just like the classics.”
— Wayne W. Johnson
much for the anticipated audience of the event, Johnson said. It has some of the most physically demanding acting he has ever done, he noted, andmany people are a bit stunned to see him doingwhat he does in the film.
Fans of the “Star Trek New Voyages/Phase II” series also know Johnson for his heroic role as USS Enterprise Ensign Walking Bear, who wears a red shirt but so far has lived to travel at warp speed another day. An upcoming “Federation Files” project filmed in Arkansas will see him reprise that role on a grander scale, in a film titled “Walking Bear Running Wolf.”
“It’s going to expand on his back-story and I’m really looking forward to it,” Johnson said.
There are numerous other projects in the works -- both announced and in the pre-planning stages -for Johnson, so film fans should check his website for the latest details.
Johnson recalled he was involved in school plays here and there as a youngster growing up in Syracuse, but it was in his high school Spanish class that he got his first taste of fame. There they made a commercial for a breakfast cereal, where he wore a martial arts mask as he mumbled a Spanish phrase as he placed the box down. A second video was made to the music of the song “Tequila,” assumably without the students actually sampling any, with Johnson gyrating around in bad makeup.
If anyone still has copies of either video, Johnson would enjoy hearing from them.
“I would love to see those videos again now,” he said.
He graduated high school with musical aspirations rather than acting on his mind, going on to play in local bands including Front Row, Four Large Men, and Caroline Blue, and recording several CDs. But it was the filming of music videos that reignited his passion for moviemaking. By 2010 he decided to jump back into acting full-time.
“I really threw myself into the deep end,” Johnson recalled. “I didn’t really know what I was doing, but learned along the way.
He took any parts he could find -- even playing a dead body, which is tough because you can’t breath at any time the camera is on you, he explained.
In the future, Johnson said he wants to continue not only his movie appearances but his music as well, and even start writing professionally as time permits.
“I want to do one upperlevel movie, one CD, one music video, one live show, and one book every year,” Johnson said of his goals.
“We Need A Hero! Con 2017” features cosplay contests, movie screenings, workshops, a live rock show, and plenty of professionals from the world of pop culture. The event is a fundraiser benefiting the general operating fund of the Utica Children’s Museum, and their many educational, hands-on and child-friendly exhibits including Native American and dinosaur historical displays, musical instruments, a real train car, and even rooms turned into a dentist’s office, bank, and grocery store. In addition to Johnson, other special guests over the weekend will include Brian O’Halloran and Scott Schiaffo from “Clerks,” Kevin Duhaney and Jeff Parazzo from “Power Rangers Dino Thunder,” and Taimak from “The Last Dragon,” plus Jayne Heitmeyer, Noelle Hannibal, Nadia Verucci, Steve Geiger, Mark McKenna, Genoveva Rossi, Sal Otero, and a variety of other luminaries from comic book and pop art culture. The Rochester-based rock band Wicked rock the second floor stage Saturday night at 7 p.m., with The Wizard opening. Tickets for the Wicked concert will be $10, or $5 with the purchase of a convention ticket.
“We Need A Hero! Con 2017” is April 22 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and April 23 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission each day is $10 for adults and free for kids under 12. For more information, visit: www. facebook.com/uticachildrensmuseum. For more on Johnson’s film, music, and writing, visit: www. waynewjohnson.com