Actor Eric Johnson is best known for his role in Smallville as Whitney Fordman but he has moved from supporting actor to leading man with his new show Flash Gordon.The new drama sci-fi series Flash Gordon is based on the comic strip of the same name and is the 21st century version of the character, who has had many incarnations over the years.I caught up with Eric to discuss his new role, his career and what's coming up in the future.

There have been several interpretations of Flash Gordon over the years how would you describe your version of Flash Gordon and how does the show differ from previous movies?

I think that, as you said, Flash Gordon has been around for a long time and has had many incarnations and each one has had something that was unique and different about it. I think that the thing that we really did with our show we tried to incorporate the comedy, which was made famous in Flash Gordon by the 1980 film, as well as a bit of that retro feel that classic superhero of the Buster Crab Flash Gordon and the original comics. And the big thing that it does is update a lot of the material for 2008, instead of the damsels in distress it has three very strong capable women, so a lot of the source material had to be upgraded to be more appropriate for today's audience. But I think that that was the biggest thing that we were adding to the mix when people look at this version in twenty years time when they are doing another version it will be the female characters that will be the biggest difference.

How much of your character is influenced by previous incarnations or did you avoid watching other actors performances?

It’s tough you are really looking at twenty, twenty five year gaps between pieces. There’s a wonderful innocence, almost like a naive character who comes in and really doesn’t know how much is at stake but he is just going to do the right thing, and I think that that is something that we have really tried to capture and keep that boyhood innocence, despite the fact it’s life and death situations.

And it really does make him like an older style hero in the fact that he is a good guy a nice guy he’s not a jerk, he is definitely not one of these dark brooding heroes, I think that has been the thing that we have taken from all of it and that was one of the things that were similar throughout all the versions of Flash Gordon.

How big a fan of were you of the comic books or the movies before hand?

Like a lot of people I had heard of Flash Gordon but I was not all that familiar, I wasn’t a big fan of comic books when I was growing up as a kid, as soon as I started catching wind of Flash Gordon I did the crash course on Wikipedia and took a trip to the comic book store to see what I could find.

Alex Raymond is behind the comic strips how big an influence have they been on the show?

The original comic strips is what the writers would look at in the room, when looking at characters and scenarios, it was the original source material that they were working off. It’s tough because certain things have to be updated for 2008 and also you can draw things that you can’t necessarily film, so there were other restraints that were put that, but I know for the executive producer Peter Hulme the source material was very important to this project as a whole.

What is the tone of the show is it laden with special effects, comedy, adventure?

It really involves all of those things. We are just trying to make an hour of really fun television so you have the adventure the run and jump and excitement and the action and you have the comedy and the special effects and the sci-fi all falls into that.

I think as the season progresses we really find the mix of action and comedy throughout the story Like any series you have your growing pains in the first few episodes to figure thing out and ten as the year goes we really figure out how to do our show well.

And every superhero has a love interest can you tell me a bit about Flash’s relationship with Dale?

Well in this version of Flash Gordon they have set it up so Flash and Dale were actually high school sweethearts and then she left to go to Yale and he stayed at home and lived at this mom’s house. She comes back to town and is the new hot-shot reporter and they both find out that maybe the fires that were burning aren’t quite out.

So it’s an awkward situation where her fiancé is a detective with the police force and Flash, being the good guy that he is, isn’t going to purposefully step in-between them. So it’s a lot of fun there are a lot of awkward pauses and beats in their relationship.

How have you found working with Gina Holden?

I was lucky enough to read opposite twenty five different girls, to find the right girl, and Gina came in and it was clear right from the get go that this was going to be a lot of fun, we got on like gangbusters, it was an absolute pleasure.

I have never met anyone as keen as I am, I’m pretty excited when I’m at work I’m a bit like a Golden Retriever just really excited to be there, and we would actually have races to see who would get there first and be ready first. We were both absolute dorks and it made the show a lot of fun.

What has been the biggest challenge for you with this role?

I think that there are a lot of expectations that comes with doing a project that has had different incarnations people have a previous idea of what the show could be or should be and depending on the generation and what you are a fan of it could be a myriad of different things.

So I think for the show that has been the struggle to try and keep everyone happy but also be doing our own thing and not worry about that.

As far as other challenges just sleep. (laughs) No really I can’t complain it’s the most fun I have had acting in my whole career, and I have been doing it since I was a little kid and have been very fortunate, but everyone involved from the executive producer to the production assistants were just great to work with and we had a riot.

How does Flash’s relationship with Ming develop through the series?

At first obviously Flash isn’t much of a threat to Ming nor is he much of an adversary. I think Flash, at the beginning, is a bit like a fly buzzing around in the room, it’s not hurting you but it gets annoying, and so by the end of the series that fly is really annoying for Ming and he wants nothing more than to squash that fly and of course Flash gets involved with his daughter and learns not to completely trust her.

Now many will know you from Smallville how have you found the transition from supporting cast to leading man?

I mean the big difference is that you are there everyday and that was the best thing, for me because I’m ridiculously keen at work, so I got to be there everyday and got to be part of this team.

It’s a lot of fun everyday were doing something exciting we were blowing something up or running through the wood or having a good laugh, there was something to look forward to everyday there wasn’t a boring monotony. I always wanted to take on that challenge and I’m glad that I did.

Sometimes it’s tough as a supporting character you are on the sidelines and you don’t get to be there for most of the fun stuff, you are hearing about all the great stuff that is going on but you never get to be a part of it. The great thing about being a lead is getting to go to work everyday and have fun.

Were you able to take anything from your experience on Smallville on to Flash Gordon?

Series work is not easy you have a very demanding schedule and on Smallville I got to witness that second hand, I wasn’t the one with the incredible demands that Tom Welling had and still has in terms of doing that show.

So I was able to watch and learn and also in dealing with that comic book science fiction fan base, my character in Smallville wasn’t very well liked, so you learn quickly not to take anything personally so it was a good introduction to that comic book sci-fi world.

You have also done some work behind the camera on Fishbowl and Candy From Strangers is directing something you hope to explore a bit further?

Yes absolutely ever since I was a kid I was making films and videos with my friends and it was something that I wanted to do, surprisingly it wasn’t something I thought I would be getting into until my thirties, and so the few that have presented themselves I have been very fortunate to take advantage of them and it’s something that I will pursue as relentless as I do performing.

It’s pretty amazing to see something in your head and write it down, go out and shoot it them see it on the big screen it’s a pretty amazing feeling.

You and your wife had your first child back in October how are you finding juggling work and fatherhood?

Well the first few months were a bit of a challenge because I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with her but now that we have stopped shooting I have more than made up for it. She is an absolutely wonderful girl and I couldn’t imagine having a better year, getting to be the lead in your own show and having a beautiful baby girl in amongst all that it was pretty amazing.

And finally what is next for you?

Well we will se (laughs) there are a lot of things up the air right now we are not entirely sure but it could be a myriad of things. We are waiting to hear about the fate of Flash Gordon and where we are going to go with that so that opens up the doors to many different opportunities so I will have to keep you posted.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw

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