Paladin here; at Wizard World Philly I was given the opportunity to interview Australian actor Vernon Wells live and in person!

Upon approaching his booth I felt the excitement of seeing my idol villain whom I’ve waited 25 years to meet.

This interview was supposed to be setup in advance, however to prove that Vernon Wells is not like the baddies in which he plays on film, he offered to do the interview on the spot.

Nerdsociety/Paladin (NS): Hi, it’s a pleasure to meet you, I’ve waited 25 years, I’m a huge fan! (Yeah, that’s what I said–I must be a fan-boy or something!)
Do you remember Fortress with Rachel Ward? ::He nods and replies.:: I’m a huge fan of that film, it’s one of my favorites, it’s just as well the “original” independent film. Can you tell me some memories you had of making it?

Vernon Wells: Fortress was based on a true story that happened to a busload of kids whom were buried alive. Things were changed for the movie of course.
The kids were great to work with and I got to break windows. (Referring to a truck window using a shotgun and yelling to one of the kids “Get outta the car boy!”)

NS: I know you get asked about Commando a lot, but, what are some memories you have of working on that movie?

VW: It was a great experience, Alyssa Milano and I became good friends. The movie was well cast including Bill Duke (Played Cooke) being such a great actor. Arnold is like a kid in a candy store, and fun to work with.
I was not the original actor to play Bennett and I don’t know who was, I was cast at the last minute for the role.

NS: I loved the fight at the end, it was good because YOU weren’t a wimp where Bennett just got his ass kicked and that was the end. Bennett actually was tough and kicked Matrix’s ass for half the fight.

VW: The fight with Arnold in the end was great. There is a good guy and a bad guy and only one can win and the good guy won.

NS: The futuristic movie Circuitry Man was really cool, I’ve seen the first one, but I can’t get a hold of the second part, what do you remember about it?

VW: I loved making Circuitry Man, I wasn’t sure I would be cast for the role due to my popularity at the time. I liked the make up and at the end I was used as a puppet.

NS: That’s what I liked most about the movie, there was no CG it was all classic FX and make-up.

NS:  You were the major villain Wez in Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior, can you tell me about filming that movie?

VW:  It was VERY cold, I froze my butt off!  It was rough, but no one complained, we all worked hard on that movie.  It was the first major film for everyone including Mel [Gibson].  No one was above anyone else, we were an ensemble cast  We did (regardless of the climate) enjoy ourselves making it.

NS:  Power Rangers has been around for a long time and has a broad fan base.  What was it like playing the villain Ransik and what was it like being a part of this classic series?

VW:  Power Rangers was very interesting to work on.  It was great working with kids who were such great actors that I didn’t need to tone it down for.  This version of Power Rangers (Time Force) had four things that made it stand out for me.  One, it was the first time that a Ranger was killed, my character Ransik killed the Red Ranger whom I had become friends with, when we are both at conventions we get together and hang out.  (Jason Faunt).

Two, I played the only male human to be the main villain, where in the past it was females, or monsters.  Three, the scripts were written by film writers making them great stories. And the forth is as mentioned before, it was amazing to work with kids that were on the level of adult actors.

NS:  That’s awesome!  The last thing I would like to ask is, do you have any hobbies?

VW:  I like to hike and travel, I work with kids and I have a passion for wolves.

End Of Interview

Wolf Connection

Visit the link above for the Wolfconnection.org website, there are great videos and great information on Wolves.

I thanked Vernon Wells at the end of the interview and shook his hand, it was a great feeling to meet someone who plays such nasty and insane villains–but is a real kind gentleman.

He signed my DVD of Fortress and said that he had not gotten a copy of the the movie yet–I couldn’t part with it so I said the famous line–they have it on amazon.com…Sorry Vernon, I would give it to you, but I love it too much!

The man with him–agent?  Had made a comment on Rachael Ward in a positive way and that was cool that I brought with me something so obscure.

It was more than a pleasure to meet Vernon Wells and to have the chance to talk with him was a treat that I’ll remember forever.  It might have been a once in a lifetime experience–one that I’ll remember for a lifetime.

My sincere thanks to Vernon Wells for the interview, the time and the memories!

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