{"id":156,"date":"2019-03-18T15:42:59","date_gmt":"2019-03-18T19:42:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/johnsonjr\/?p=156"},"modified":"2019-04-15T16:48:02","modified_gmt":"2019-04-15T20:48:02","slug":"total-recall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/johnsonjr\/total-recall\/","title":{"rendered":"TOTAL RECALL"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Benny from Total Recall<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h4>\n

<\/h5>\n
<\/h6>\n

<\/h2>\n

ONE NEVER KNOWS<\/h3>\n

\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u00a0As an actor you rarely get a look behind the veil of how casting decisions are made. As actors we assume that the most talented will get the part\u2026but most of us know that so much more goes into that decision than just talent and ability.
\nI had a wonderfully funny and serendipitous opportunity to get a peek behind that veil during my experience with TOTAL RECALL.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How I got cast in TOTAL RECALL appears to be straight forward\u2026my agent informed me, I had an audition for a movie called TOTAL RECALL. I was sent the script to read. However the day before I auditioned for T.R., I had an audition for another film (that will remain unnamed) with some of the most horrible Black stereotypes in it and it was a very disheartening experience. So when I began to read the script for T.R. and got to my characters description as Benny a Black \u201cJivester\u201d I literally threw the script across the room! However, I was going to the audition, so I had to finish reading the script and it turned out to be a great character and I was looking forward to auditioning for it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0I didn\u2019t really know who the director Paul Verhovan was when I went in for the first audition, nor did I know it was an Arnold Schwartzenegger project. The audition went well and the screen test with Verhovan went even better. So I was feeling pretty good about my chances of getting this. ( And I am not one to say that lightly).
\nHowever, weeks went by and I didn\u2019t hear anything, one way or another. So I had my agents give them a call and we were told that an offer was \u201cpending\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0So, here\u2019s the point of this whole story\u2026I end up getting the part \u2026this is a huge deal! I\u2019m on the plane to Mexico City, where the film is being shot\u2026as I\u2019m sitting in my isle seat, two teenage girls come down the isle and stop at my seat and say \u201cyou\u2019re playing Benny!\u201d Mind you I\u2019m on my way to Mexico to shoot the film. Off of my confused look the girls said\u201d We picked you! We\u2019re Paul Verhovan\u2019s daughters and he showed us all the final screen tests and we picked you!\u201d And with that they continued to stroll down the isle of the plane.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Needless to say I was dumbfounded!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0What a light bulb moment that was for me!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0One never knows who has a say in your \u201ccasting destiny\u201d !<\/span><\/p>\n[aesop_gallery pslightbox=”on” pslayout=”122222″ galleryType=”photoset” id=”217″]\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ONE NEVER KNOWS \u2026. \u00a0As an actor you rarely get a look behind the veil of how casting decisions are made. As actors we assume that the most talented will get the part\u2026but most of us know that so much more goes into that decision than just talent and ability. I had a wonderfully funny […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","hentry","category-highlight","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"metadata":{"_edit_lock":["1555361522:116"],"_edit_last":["116"],"_wp_old_date":["2019-03-07"],"_wpac_members_redirect_to":[""],"_wpac_show_in_search":["0"],"_wpac_show_excerpt_in_search":["0"],"_wpac_nonmembers_redirect_to":[""],"ase_map_component_start_point":["a:2:{s:3:\"lat\";d:29.76;s:3:\"lng\";d:-95.38;}"]},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTOTAL RECALL - Mel Johnson Jr<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/johnsonjr\/total-recall\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TOTAL RECALL - Mel Johnson Jr\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ONE NEVER KNOWS \u2026. \u00a0As an actor you rarely get a look behind the veil of how casting decisions are made. As actors we assume that the most talented will get the part\u2026but most of us know that so much more goes into that decision than just talent and ability. I had a wonderfully funny […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/johnsonjr\/total-recall\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mel Johnson Jr\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-18T19:42:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-04-15T20:48:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/johnsonjr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/113\/2019\/03\/benny-total-recall_0001-e1552939126990.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"3300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2552\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mel Johnson Jr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mel Johnson Jr\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/performingartslegacy.org\\\/johnsonjr\\\/total-recall\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/performingartslegacy.org\\\/johnsonjr\\\/total-recall\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mel Johnson Jr\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/performingartslegacy.org\\\/johnsonjr\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7259d008a3c2a017564eaff8a57a066\"},\"headline\":\"TOTAL RECALL\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-18T19:42:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-04-15T20:48:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/performingartslegacy.org\\\/johnsonjr\\\/total-recall\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":462,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/performingartslegacy.org\\\/johnsonjr\\\/total-recall\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/performingartslegacy.org\\\/johnsonjr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/113\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/benny-total-recall_0001-e1552939126990-1024x792.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Highlight\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/performingartslegacy.org\\\/johnsonjr\\\/total-recall\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/performingartslegacy.org\\\/johnsonjr\\\/total-recall\\\/\",\"name\":\"TOTAL RECALL - 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MEL JOHNSON JR. Actor\\\/Director\\\/Producer-Though easily recognizable from his TOTAL RECALL co-starring role opposite ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Mel is equally comfortable these days discussing the production of his new one man show \u201cFrederick Douglass In The Shadow Of Slavery\u201d which had it\u2019s extremely successful world premiere in California at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center, as he is discussing his work with such companies as Goldman Sachs, American Express and Credit Suisee as a corporate councilor. While living in Los Angeles, Mel was the Executive Producer of Shadow Entertainment\u2019s Urban Horror label \u201cBig City Pictures\u201d, he produced four feature films \u201cRagdoll\u201d, \u201cThe Horrible Dr. Bones\u201d, \u201cKilljoy\u201d and \u201cThe Vault\u201d \u2013 All of which can be found on video. Mel was also the Artistic Director of The Imagination Workshop, a group of actor\u2019s, writers, and directors that work within the psychiatric community and with kids at risk. He\u2019s extremely proud of the fact that during his tenure as Artistic Director, The Imagination workshop won the first Ovation Award given to a company for \u201cOutstanding Community Outreach.\u201d Mel has countless credits from a resume that reflects his work on stage, screen and television. As a theater director his work is best embodied by the award winning \u201cGive\u2019em Hell Harry\u201d starring JASON ALEXANDER, \u201cOscar To Oscar\u201d, \u201cThe Me Nobody Knows\u201d, \u201cThe Ballad of Lizard Gulch\u201d and the critically acclaimed \u201cThe Last White Man in the World\u201d. Most recently he directed the World Premiere of Tom Dugan\u2019s one man show \u201cRobert E Lee, Shades of Gray\u201d at Richmond Virginia\u2019s Carpenter Center. When his acting career is mentioned, Mel finds it difficult to point to his most significant work, but can quickly identify the roles that gave him the most pleasure. In addition to his film work, the list includes Broadway stints in \u201cOn The Twentieth Century\u201d, \u201cEubie!\u201d with Maurice and Gregory Hines, \u201cThe Rink\u201d with Liza Minnelli, and Chita Rivera. Bob Fosse\u2019s \u201cBig Deal\u201d Mufasa in \u201cThe Lion King\u201d, starring in the new Earth, Wind and Fire musical, \u201cHot Feet!, and most recently, featured in the musical revival of \u201cJekyll and Hyde\u201d. Mel would be remiss if he didn\u2019t mention his long standing relationship with The New York Shakespeare Festival\\\/Public Theatre, where among many he starred in the revival of the musical \u201cTwo Gentleman Of Verona\u201d for The Festivals, Shakespeare In The Park, and most recently was featured in Stephen Sondheim\u2019s \u201cRoad Show\u201d. On television he was a regular on David Lynch\u2019s \u201cOn The Air\u201d and guest starred on numerous other T.V. shows from \u201cJessica Jones\u201d and \u201cThe Blacklist\u201d, to \u201cStar Trek Deep Space Nine\u201d and \u201cFresh Prince of Bel Air\u201d. Mel has always found it extremely rewarding sharing with other what he has learned from education, at the High School of Performing Arts and Hofstra University and his vast life experience. He has taught classes in both New York and Los Angeles, coached individually and spoken with numerous schools, colleges and community organizations around the country. MEL JOHNSON JR. is as excited about his future as he is proud of his past accomplishments.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/performingartslegacy.org\\\/johnsonjr\\\/author\\\/johnsonjr\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"TOTAL RECALL - Mel Johnson Jr","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/johnsonjr\/total-recall\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"TOTAL RECALL - Mel Johnson Jr","og_description":"ONE NEVER KNOWS \u2026. \u00a0As an actor you rarely get a look behind the veil of how casting decisions are made. As actors we assume that the most talented will get the part\u2026but most of us know that so much more goes into that decision than just talent and ability. 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MEL JOHNSON JR. Actor\/Director\/Producer-Though easily recognizable from his TOTAL RECALL co-starring role opposite ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Mel is equally comfortable these days discussing the production of his new one man show \u201cFrederick Douglass In The Shadow Of Slavery\u201d which had it\u2019s extremely successful world premiere in California at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center, as he is discussing his work with such companies as Goldman Sachs, American Express and Credit Suisee as a corporate councilor. While living in Los Angeles, Mel was the Executive Producer of Shadow Entertainment\u2019s Urban Horror label \u201cBig City Pictures\u201d, he produced four feature films \u201cRagdoll\u201d, \u201cThe Horrible Dr. Bones\u201d, \u201cKilljoy\u201d and \u201cThe Vault\u201d \u2013 All of which can be found on video. Mel was also the Artistic Director of The Imagination Workshop, a group of actor\u2019s, writers, and directors that work within the psychiatric community and with kids at risk. He\u2019s extremely proud of the fact that during his tenure as Artistic Director, The Imagination workshop won the first Ovation Award given to a company for \u201cOutstanding Community Outreach.\u201d Mel has countless credits from a resume that reflects his work on stage, screen and television. As a theater director his work is best embodied by the award winning \u201cGive\u2019em Hell Harry\u201d starring JASON ALEXANDER, \u201cOscar To Oscar\u201d, \u201cThe Me Nobody Knows\u201d, \u201cThe Ballad of Lizard Gulch\u201d and the critically acclaimed \u201cThe Last White Man in the World\u201d. Most recently he directed the World Premiere of Tom Dugan\u2019s one man show \u201cRobert E Lee, Shades of Gray\u201d at Richmond Virginia\u2019s Carpenter Center. When his acting career is mentioned, Mel finds it difficult to point to his most significant work, but can quickly identify the roles that gave him the most pleasure. In addition to his film work, the list includes Broadway stints in \u201cOn The Twentieth Century\u201d, \u201cEubie!\u201d with Maurice and Gregory Hines, \u201cThe Rink\u201d with Liza Minnelli, and Chita Rivera. Bob Fosse\u2019s \u201cBig Deal\u201d Mufasa in \u201cThe Lion King\u201d, starring in the new Earth, Wind and Fire musical, \u201cHot Feet!, and most recently, featured in the musical revival of \u201cJekyll and Hyde\u201d. Mel would be remiss if he didn\u2019t mention his long standing relationship with The New York Shakespeare Festival\/Public Theatre, where among many he starred in the revival of the musical \u201cTwo Gentleman Of Verona\u201d for The Festivals, Shakespeare In The Park, and most recently was featured in Stephen Sondheim\u2019s \u201cRoad Show\u201d. On television he was a regular on David Lynch\u2019s \u201cOn The Air\u201d and guest starred on numerous other T.V. shows from \u201cJessica Jones\u201d and \u201cThe Blacklist\u201d, to \u201cStar Trek Deep Space Nine\u201d and \u201cFresh Prince of Bel Air\u201d. Mel has always found it extremely rewarding sharing with other what he has learned from education, at the High School of Performing Arts and Hofstra University and his vast life experience. He has taught classes in both New York and Los Angeles, coached individually and spoken with numerous schools, colleges and community organizations around the country. MEL JOHNSON JR. is as excited about his future as he is proud of his past accomplishments.","url":"https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/johnsonjr\/author\/johnsonjr\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/johnsonjr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/johnsonjr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/johnsonjr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/johnsonjr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/johnsonjr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/johnsonjr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/johnsonjr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/johnsonjr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performingartslegacy.org\/johnsonjr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}