After nearly thirty feature films as a director, and another several dozen credits as a stunt performer and coordinator on major Hollywood blockbusters, filmmaker JESSE V. JOHNSON Is wrapping up work on no fewer than three action features to be released in 2023. With the western-influence crime drama “One Ranger” (with Thomas Jane and John Malkovich), the period action adventure “Boudica” (with Olga Kurylenko, “Quantum of Solace”), and the CIA spy thriller “Chief of Station” (starring Kurylenko and Aaron Eckhart), Johnson continues to bring new life, energy, and imagination to the world of action-oriented filmmaking.
Growing up the Winchester, UK, Johnson was raised far from the trappings of show business, but fell in love with the cinematic art form through watching great westerns and other classics that gave him a unique sense of the storytelling possibilities of the American west. “My heroes are John Ford, Sam Peckinpah, Anthony Mann, Budd Boeticher,” he says. “Their films often reflected characters pushed to the very limits of their endurance, they were universal themes and timeless.”
That can certainly be seen in Johnson’s first release this year, “One Ranger,” which features Thomas Jane as a modern-day Texas Ranger who is recruited by British intelligence to help stop a potential terrorist attack on the UK. The dogged, relentless pursuit for justice gives hero Ranger Alex Tyree a strong moral compass that compliments his extraordinary skills as a tracker.
Johnson is also excited about his foray into period adventure with “Boudica,” the legendary story of a Celtic warrior queen who leads her people against an invading Roman army. It’s one of two projects with Olga Kurlyenko in the lead, along with “Chief of Station” which will pair her opposite Aaron Eckhart and Alex Pettyfer (“The Last Witness,” “The Butler”).
From his stunt coordination on MCU films, working with the likes of Tim Burton and Steven Spielberg, and creating dynamic and intense international action fare, Jesse V. Johnson is a testament to the value of passion, hard work, and the ability to create stories that fulfill our need for great cinematic action.
Jesse V. Johnson generously shared his thoughts with Splash Magazines Worldwide.
What inspired this film?
I have always loved the “fish out of water” concept when applied to a cowboy out of his element.
Watching him (or her) apply their rangey street-wise-intellect to the complex problems facing modern law enforcement or big city life was interesting.
Don Siegels: Coogans Bluff, Brannigan, with John Wayne or even the old TV show with Dennis Weaver, McCloud, were entertaining to me as a youth growing up in the UK.
Watching a Cowboy, or Chicago cop (Brannigan) deal with the mundaneness and red tape of a modern City was thrilling to me.
Thomas Jane immediately understood this appeal, leaned into the “old world” Texas accent and homolie quoting character of Ranger Tyree beautifully.
What impact would you like it to have?
I wanted very much to make a film where the protagonist was morally incorruptible and driven by a sense of honor, integrity and duty.
I’ve made and seen many action films where revenge or greed were the motivators and I felt I wanted to change it up with One Ranger.
The Texas Rangers are such a unique organization, they are the outfit you call when regular law enforcement is simply not enough.
Photos are courtesy of JESSE V. JOHNSON
Splash Magazines
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