Paul Johansson Biography
Born: January 26, 1964
At 6'2", with a handsomeness best-termed "rugged," the towering and burly Paul Johansson originally developed his ability in sports -- unsurprising, given his physical stature and the fact that he was the child of hockey demigod Ching Johnson, a key player on the 1954 Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. Born in Spokane, WA, but raised in the Vancouver area, Johansson landed all-Canadian status as a basketball player for the University of British Columbia, where he was, by his own account, ejected from five games against the University of Saskatchewan for overly aggressive behavior (in 1987). Johansson had his eyes on a stint in the Olympics and full-time work in the NBA (and in fact, the Atlanta Hawks offered him a spot on their team) when he suddenly realized that he no longer cared seriously about a sports career.
Seeking fulfillment and actualization elsewhere, Johansson planned (with the help of his UBC English degree) to launch himself as a writer, and traveled to Los Angeles with friend Jason_Priestley with that goal in mind. Instead, he soon discovered a love of acting, and a recurring role on the soap Santa Barbara (as Greg Hughes) followed. Johansson appeared on the Ferris_Bueller-like series Parker_Lewis_Can't_Lose from 1991-1992 (as an impossibly hip counterman) and as Sally_Field's husband in the 1991 Soapdish, prior to his portrayal of Austin Peale in the blockbuster Western series Lonesome_Dove (1994-1995) and its follow-up, Lonesome_Dove:_The_Outlaw_Years (1995-1996).
Alongside on-camera appearances in such projects as Highlander:_The_Raven (1998), Wishmaster_2:_Evil_Never_Dies (1999), and John_Q. (2002), Johansson moved quietly into writing and directing, first with the 1997 short film Conversations in Limbo (based on an Oscar_Wilde story), then with the direct-to-video coming-of-age picture The_Incredible_Mrs._Ritchie, co-starring Gena_Rowlands and James_Caan. Johansson also starred in the popular teen series drama One_Tree_Hill, as Dan Scott. Nathan Southern, Rovi
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