Aleks Paunovic is not a name I knew upon first reading it, but after looking at his credits, I have definitely seen him in some of my favourite shows and films. You may have seen Aleks Paunovic in War of the Planet of the Apes, Supernatural, The 100, Dead Rising: Watchtowner, Van Helsing, and even the most recent season of Reacher. At 6’5”, he is hard to miss.
Paunovic will be one of the headlining guests at Game Con Canada in Edmonton, Alberta, on June 13-15, at the Edmonton Expo Centre, and we at CGM were able to chat with him before we all headed out to the major gaming convention. I have to say, speaking with Paunovic was an absolute joy. Rarely do you see such kindness, positivity, and genuine gratefulness beam from someone. We chatted about Game Con Canada, being Canadian, favourite fandoms, and more.
How did you end up getting involved with Game Con Canada?
Aleks Paunovic: I think one of the coolest things about getting involved with them was our water, Legend Water. I’m co-founder, and that kind of started the conversation. And they also were really excited to have me as a part of it as one of the guests because of the work that I’ve done.
And I was just really honoured. I do Comic Cons, for sure, because I’ve done a lot of sci-fi, but a Game Con was something I never thought would be in the mix. And they’re one of the most elite cons out there for games, so I was just really excited to be a part of it.
While we are talking about conventions, you said you do cons because of your sci-fi background, but what’s your fandom? Are you really into any video games, franchises, or tabletop? Perhaps sci-fi?
Aleks Paunovic: Well, sci-fi for sure, because I wasn’t much into sci-fi before I started acting. I mean, there were a few things that I liked. Planet of the Apes was one of my favourite movies, for sure, and Star Wars, that kind of stuff was great. And then, full circle, I’m in War of the Planet of the Apes. So that was a huge, huge excitement for me there. I’m not a big gamer at all. I love the fantasy aspect of gaming. I love the way gaming has kind of progressed throughout the years, but I’ve just never been a part of it.
It’s never too late, let me tell you, it’s never too late! You were talking about War of the Planet of the Apes. Did you have to do motion capture for that one, or were you only the voice?
Aleks Paunovic: No, we did motion capture, and I did the voice. So, they had the camera set up right in front, and it’s a trip because we’re all wearing green leotards and trying to be serious. But when you have someone like Andy Serkis at the helm guiding you, it’s kind of remarkable. And we were doing a scene because our cameras were here, and we did a really intimate scene, so we kept on bumping. So you have to kind of know the geography.
It’s like an awkward first date.
Aleks Paunovic: Yeah, that’s exactly it. That weird kiss. But being a part of that and seeing what Weta did with the characters when they brought them to life was just amazing. Remarkable. And yeah, being a part of that franchise is just a gift.
Very cool. Do you have a preference over live action or doing something a little more intricate, like motion capture, or have you worked a lot in voice acting?
Aleks Paunovic: I did a little bit of voice acting, but it’s mostly been sci-fi. And I love the aspect of sci-fi because you can really control the narrative as to who your character is and create something. Being a part of a drama and, you know, everyday life is fun too. But there’s just something different about sci-fi and kind of the gaming community of what the content is, that you can create something really, really wonderful.
Like I played Logan in Dead Rising [Watchtower], and to really encapsulate that character, I watched some of the game and people playing the game. There’s actually a scene in the movie where I’m playing Dead Rising, and then stuff hits the fan, and I stop playing. But yeah, we were like, “Well, why don’t we just put Dead Rising on it? And that’s what you play.” I was like, “That’d be great.”
What a good idea!
Aleks Paunovic: Yeah, I really enjoy building those kind of characters in that fantasy outlook and being creative with it, and sci-fi and that whole gaming culture really kind of allows for that.
Awesome. Now, I just saw you on this season of Reacher, right?
Aleks Paunovic: Mhmm. Yep!
So, I’m a Reacher fan, so we’ve got to talk Reacher a little bit.
Aleks Paunovic: Sure!
I got to talk to some of the cast before the season came out, and I want to ask you what I asked them. What’s it like being on “Team Bad”? Do you like playing a villain versus a good guy?
Aleks Paunovic: Well, see, that’s the thing. The best part of it is that I don’t look at any villain that I play as a villain. I look at him as somebody who wants that thing just a little bit more than the other person. And so, I’ll do whatever I can to get it. I have my own moral compass of what I need to get it to, to feed my family.
So, when I make it emotional and I make it something that really means something to me, I don’t necessarily look at it as a bad guy, and I know that that’s the context of the show or what the character is, but it’s just a little deeper than just thinking you’re playing a bad guy. So, I really love the aspect of playing those types of characters because I can go a little deeper into it.
That’s really cool. Reacher, especially this season, featured a lot of massive men. You being one of them. I’m wondering how that plays into your acting career. Do you find yourself typecast a lot because of that?
Aleks Paunovic: Yeah, well, I mean, every actor is typecast, basically. So, Tom Cruise, if you never saw Tom Cruise and him playing a bouncer, he wouldn’t get cast, right? But it works. You know, there’s an advantage and a disadvantage, and I never really look at it as a disadvantage. I just try to fit that character in the way I can.
So being typecast, I know I’m going to be going out for the big guy roles. I’ve just got to make it interesting for myself and not lie to myself that I can play, you know, a jockey in this movie. “What do you mean? I can’t go for this?” It’s just knowing where your pocket is and then hoping you can expand with different projects.
There’s a short film out there. It’s one of my favourite projects, called The Shipment, that I did. And it’s a sci-fi thing, kind of like a Star Wars vibe. It had nothing to do with my size. I just played a dad of a single daughter, a single kid, and I lost my wife. She lost her mother. And then that’s just trying to make it through the galaxy as a team. It was just a beautiful father/daughter story and had nothing to do about size.
So those are the roles that I really dig when you don’t see my size, where it’s not about the casting. So, those come about once in a while, which I really am grateful for. But yeah, I definitely get a lot of big guy roles. And I’ve just got to make it, put the humanity into it. That makes it feel good.
You actually touched on my next question. I was wondering what some of your favourite appearances to date, ones that have already been released, because we’re going into the others after!
Aleks Paunovic: Well, Van Helsing was a big one for me because it was sci-fi. We did five years, so we got to really develop a great family, and the writers really wrote a fantastic character for me, starting out as Vampire Julius and then switching into the human Julius. So, I got to play two characters on the show, which was a blessing.
That was definitely one of my favourites. Snowpiercer is a huge favourite of mine. Those two are the ones that really stand out because I got to really do a lot of work into it. Snowpiercer went four seasons, so the more the seasons go on and the more they want to include you in the story, I just feel super grateful that I get to be a part of that.
Do you like sticking with one character for an extended period of time, or are you somebody who likes to switch it up often?
Aleks Paunovic: Well, I really love switching it up. I’m doing a show next week for a few days, and I get to play this outlandish character. It’s a few days that I get to play him. But I also love a character that has a long run because you have got to find more things about him, and the more that’s written about him, the more complex the character gets. I like finding the little cracks in that to show the growth of the character.
It all depends. I love going in there and doing…I did a show, Percy Jackson, recently, and there was a lot of prosthetics involved, a lot of stuff involved. And there’s like four hours in the chair. See, that’s something that I don’t think I want to do for a full season. You know, 13 episodes of coming in with that?
What we did was a really good chunk, and I’m happy to welcome that character in and find the complexities in him. But I’m also thankful that I get to say goodbye and not jump into that costume for that extended amount of time.
It’s like a temporary vacation. You try something new, and then you put it away for a bit.
Aleks Paunovic: That’s exactly it.
I was looking over your “in production” credits. They are wild right now. You have some things happening. Is there anything that you can talk about? I’ve heard that you’ve been cast in a show for Prime Video, The Greatest. I don’t know if we’re allowed to talk about it, so I leave that to you.
Aleks Paunovic: Are you talking about The Greatest? They just went public with it, so we can talk about that.
Tell us a little about The Greatest and about your role, if you can.
Aleks Paunovic: Well, this is a huge gift for me because I come from three generations of boxers in my family. Muhammad Ali was, since five years old, when my dad first sat me in front of the TV to watch a Muhammad Ali fight on a Sunday. Sunday during the day, I’ll never forget. Me and my dad are hanging out, and I’m like, “Oh my God, I love, I love this man.”
And then I just went into the whole VHS, all the VHS documentaries that I could find and just been absolutely in love with the man at how fun he can be, but how outspoken he is. Outspoken in a time where people were told to shut up, especially a black fighter, and for him to do what he did. And he wasn’t part of a football team where it’s a team, it was him. And not only was that sport singular, but it was “You get to punch me in the face if you don’t like what I’m saying.”
And he was so boisterous and vocal of what he thought was right and stuck with it. His honour to his word and the way he just conducted himself to me was just something really fascinating and how beautifully he boxed. So, I was really a huge Ali fan. I’ve been a huge Ali fan since I was five, and then I had the beautiful chance to meet him.
A friend of mine, Rory Richards, is an event coordinator, and she basically asked me if I wanted to be a part of this event. It was a premiere called For Facing Ali for a movie, and the director was from Vancouver, and it was a charity dinner. And so, she asked me if I would be okay taking care of him for the night when she sure well knew because I taught her boxing. So, I told her all this stuff about Ali. So, she’s, like, tongue in cheek, “I don’t know, this is something you want to do.” And I’m like, “Whaaaat!?”
So, I got to meet Muhammad. I got to meet his wife, Lonnie, and their caretaker, Marilyn. It was a wonderful night. And then all of a sudden, I was alone in the theatre with him, and that was my chance. So, I basically sobbed, telling him how much he meant to me, and I even said, “You’ve heard this a million times. You have affected people, like a million different lives.” I was telling him, and then I pointed to his fist and said, “You know that that fist beat up Joe Frazier. You knocked out George Foreman,” and he lifted it up and just touched my chin with it. And I was just like, oh my God.
So that was something I cannot be any more grateful for my life where I actually get to meet my hero. And then a friend of mine, Ben Emmanuel, we produced and starred in a short film about Muhammad Ali. That’s how much he means to me. Then this opportunity came, and I was just happy that I got to audition for it. And then I was happy to be in the mix for it. And then I was just ecstatic that I got cast in telling my hero’s story. It really means a lot to me.
I play a character named William Faversham Junior, and he signs Cassius Clay right out of the Olympics and basically starts his pro career for him and with him, and guides him through it as a mentor and the financier with a group of other people. So I get to help tell this story this year, of Cassius Clay slash Muhammad Ali.
I’m looking forward to it. And more so now, seeing your passion behind it. That’s really exciting. You lit up like a kid. That was awesome.
Aleks Paunovic: Oh, my God, it’s the best. It’s the best.
Very cool. Now I have to ask: You were born in Winnipeg.
Aleks Paunovic: That’s right.
How do you get into acting? Not only interested in it, but actually into it, being born in Winnipeg.
Aleks Paunovic: Well, that’s a great story because I played in a rock band for a while, and I was playing in a bar, and a casting director came up and she suggested, “Hey, why don’t you come in and read for this movie that we’re shooting in Winnipeg?” And it was an HBO movie [Heads] with Jon Cryer, Ed Asner, Jennifer Tilly, Roddy McDowall, who was in the original Planet of the Apes.
Wait, and this is your start? This is your “Yeah, I’ll just jump in. Why not?”
Aleks Paunovic: Well, here’s the thing. My brain didn’t comprehend that with film because I was such a music guy. My blinders were on for my band. But I love just doing stuff, like I love saying yes to cool opportunities. So, it wasn’t a thing. It’s like, “Oh my God, I get to act!” I was like, “Oh, this will be cool” because I was never attached to it. I went in and I just did the thing.
They even said, “Okay, just do a quick slate.” And I’m like, “Yeah, I would love to, but I don’t know what a slate is, and so, “Oh, just say your name and just say your name and where you’re from and what character,” I went, “Oh okay.” And then “You’ve got to say this line,” and I say the line, and I just, I had no nerves because it didn’t mean anything to me. It was just a fun experience. And then I booked it, and then I was like, “Okay, this, this will be fun.”
And when I went to the set, I was just like, “Oh, this is really cool. I kind of really dig this.” And then the stunt coordinator, Rick Skeen, in Winnipeg- and any movie back then, there were not a lot of movies, but any movie that came into Winnipeg, there was only one stunt team, and Rick Skeen was the head of the stunt team. So, anything that you did, any movie that came through, you had an opportunity to be a part of as a stunt or a stunt actor.
And he wanted me to be part of the thing because I had a fighting background. I was a big guy, and we really hit it off. He was one of the best men I’ve ever met. And so, I just started, every once in a while, being a gopher on set for them, just to grab mats, and then they’ll be like, “Oh, we need a bouncer for this. Do you want to do this?” And then I would do the audition and do the fight in it.
I got a lot of experience in Winnipeg. Basically, in the short amount of time that I worked in film in Winnipeg, I did quite a few movies just as a stunt or a stunt actor. And then when I decided to make that leap, I didn’t want to do stunts anymore because it just hurt.
Yeah, I bet!
Aleks Paunovic: I really wanted to tell stories. I wanted to be an actor and tell stories, and I started late. I took acting seriously in my early 40s. And then I decided to take, to catch up, so I took a lot of workshops in Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, just to kind of get us get as many tips as I can.
And I studied with a man named Larry Moss, who basically coached Hilary Swank and Leonardo DiCaprio, and he would do these workshops, and I would travel to see him because he spoke my language of how I like to act as an emotional actor, but also doing script analysis.
He understood. He understood script, and he understood emotionality. He wasn’t a heady acting coach, and I’m more emotional. So that really helped me with kind of progressing and starting to find work in Vancouver when I moved here.
Is there a big difference between working in film in Canada versus in the States, or do you primarily do work in Canada?
Aleks Paunovic: I go back and forth. Also, I was fortunate enough, I shot a movie in Antarctica, and I shot a movie in Japan, shot a movie in China. So, I got to really be around a lot of different sets and stuff. And the thing is, everything’s the same. You know, the crew, to me, are the hardest working people on set. And everywhere I’ve shot, the crew has just been next level.
It’s, I think, with anything, US, Europe, Asia, it’s developing that family and that coordination with the energies of the people that are working on set and just being grateful for it. I’m not a fan of people who don’t really, well, people who take advantage of the people around them.
And I had some really great mentors, like the guys from Supernatural. They’re amazing leads. And watching them know all the guys on set, all the crew on set’s names, and any guest star that came in, they knew their name and introduced themselves, “Welcome to the show.” As in welcoming them into the family.
For me, that’s what I feel like I want to be when I kind of work more and more. It was something that I really, really enjoyed doing, and it’s really no big difference. Everyone’s working their ass off trying to get a great project done.
Now, a final question, and it’s the big one. What are you most looking forward to at Game Con Canada?
Aleks Paunovic: The people! I mean, I love comic cons because so many different people come out. I love seeing people who socially don’t excel in the real world, but you see them light up at these cons, and you see how happy they are to be there and talking to new people like their old friends. I love that!
That’s the biggest thing. I’m really excited to see the costumes and meet the people, because I know it’s going to be a big con. The event itself, they’ve been nothing but gracious and generous with me, and having me a part of the show. And I’m really, really looking forward to being there and being a part of it.
And you said a Legend Water is how you got involved. You’re a sponsor as well, right? You want to tell us a little about that while we’re here?
Aleks Paunovic: I’m co-founder of Legend Water, and it’s a Canadian company, and it’s actually in Alberta, so it’s close to Edmonton. We’re one of the lead sponsors, and our team couldn’t be more excited to be a part of Game Con Canada, which is such a huge, huge event, and we’re just excited to be a part of it. And by coincidence, I’m excited to be a part of it as an actor, so it’s pretty great.
That’s great! Now, I will be on the show floor at Game Con Canada as well, so hopefully I get to meet you in person. I will be the little 5’1” girl running around, though, so you may miss me!
Aleks Paunovic: I’m sure I’ll find you. I’m sure I’ll find you. I’ll find.
Thank you so much!
Aleks Paunovic: Thank you, too. I’m really stoked to meet you, too. And we’ll have a sit-down, and you can show me how to play one of the games.
Game Con Canada takes place in Edmonton, Alberta, June 13-15, 2025, at the Edmonton Expo Centre. Grab your tickets on their official site.
