Whats a hick like him doing in theatre?
Geordie Johnson–son of a sawmill owner from the small foothills town of Cowley, Alta.–still recalls how incredulous some folks were to learn that he was studying theatre at the University of Calgary. “What could possibly be in that young man’s mind?” one neighbor was heard to wonder aloud. “Imagine, the son of a lumberman going into acting.” Fifteen years and several theatrical successes later, the 34-year-old actor has no trouble understanding what the fuss was all about. After all, drama classes were an unlikely training ground for a rurally raised graduate of a high school where theatre was no more a part of the curriculum than nuclear physics. As a youngster, Johnson was stricken with asthma and tuberculosis. Though he says he’s not sure what drew him to theatre, he sees a relationship between his interest in acting and the amount of time he spent cooped up in hospitals and sanitariums. “When you’re in a passive situation like that, you watch the interpersonal relationships aroun
