Dr. Luka Kovac in Roman Empire for temporary work Vjesnik, April 19, 2003 by Branka Sömen, Translation by Presscut Goran Visnjic speaks about his latest role in the spectacular miniseries "Spartacus" to be filmed in Bulgaria; physical preparations for the role include not only bodybuilding, but short sword fighting and bareback riding, as well. Also: Why Dr. Kovac is learning French, why he is going to Africa, and why, after a series of short, difficult romantic relationships, he is back to concentrating on the noble aspects of practicing medicine. Visnjic tells us more about his plans for after he quits the "ER" role, seen by 25 million viewers each week. Discussing the Oscars is a waste of time BS: The computer-animated "Ice Age," in which you lent your voice to one of the characters, was also an Oscar nominee. How do you see this year's Oscars? GV: I can't make final conclusions because I haven't seen all of the films. When it comes to the Oscars, the choices of the Academy members continue to astonish people. What illustrates the situation best is what happened to Russell Crowe. He won the Oscar for "Gladiator" -- a decent role, but nothing special, and the next year, despite his outstanding performance in "A Beautiful Mind," he was not awarded one. This is why I think discussing the Oscars is a waste of time. Many men, many minds. It is hard to foresee what somebody is going to like the most at a certain time, and difficult to judge whether the final choice is the best possible one. Nobody told me why I was chosen to play Spartacus BS: How did you get the role? Did you have to audition for it? GV: No, there was no audition; it was offered to me directly. I've talked with the producers and the director; we've agreed on some details and the time of shooting, but no one ever told me why they chose me, of all people. I've accepted to star in "Spartacus" because, as I already said, I liked the scenario and the choice of director, but also because the time of shooting suits my schedule. As long as I work on "ER," I can only accept those projects that take place during the two and a half-month-long summer break. "Things are developing and happening gradually, and I can't and mustn't complain about anything." This sentence, one of the final ones in this interview, can serve as the perfect illustration of Goran Visnjic, an actor from Croatia who has not changed at all during his four-year-long stay in Los Angeles, after the undeniable success he has had with his "ER" role of Dr. Kovac and after six films. A diligent perfectionist, Visnjic is very selective but objective, playful but methodical, self-critical but determined, optimistic but realistic, modest but ambitious. In achieving his goals, he has managed to keep his feet on the ground, not being carried away by compliments, and not rushing into decisions, but always testing himself and his suspicions of other people's exaggerations, even when they are to his benefit. It is for exactly these reasons that we should not be surprised by his latest, big role as Spartacus, the legendary slave revolt leader. As an actor seen weekly by 25 million TV viewers, thanks to whom they have heard about the tragedy of Vukovar, prayed in Croatian, learned something about Hamlet, tested their knowledge of the beauties of Dubrovnik, and learned to accept the idea that a doctor can also be a stubborn fighter for justice (especially when he is right), Visnjic was the first and only choice for Spartacus. Visnjic after Kirk Douglas BS: The role of Spartacus belongs without question to a series of big challenges in your career. How appealing to you is the character of this ancient freedom fighter, considering that his causes carry a message which is still topical and has multiple meanings? GV: Robert Schenkkan's script is very good, based on the same Howard Fast novel that Stanley Kubrick turned into a movie. Spartacus was a slave brought from a mine to a gladiator school, where he organized a revolt -- the biggest in the history of the Roman Empire. The role in itself is excellent, but what makes it especially attractive to me is the fact that I have never played in a period spectacle. That also was one of the reasons I liked this project. Another contributing factor was the choice of Robert Dornhelm as director, [because he] has so far made several high-quality feature and television movies, such as "Anne Frank: The Whole Story," starring Hannah Gordon and Ben Kingsley, and the recently-screened TV movie "Rudy," about Rudolph Giuliani, who was NYC mayor at the time of the September 11 attacks, with James Woods and Penelope Ann Miller. In the past few days, I have talked often with Mr. Dornhelm, who has been explaining some of his ideas about the shooting of "Spartacus." I am really very happy about our working together, because I think we can make something good come out of this cooperation. He has already left for Bulgaria in order to make the necessary preparations, and I will join him as soon as I finish the last episodes of "ER." BS: Although this is a project for television, the budget for this miniseries is an impressive $20 million. GV: Yes, this is the first time that a miniseries will shoot on such a large budget. The amount really is high, considering this is a TV project, and even more so since it will be filmed in Bulgaria, which means the budget would probably be double in the U.S. To illustrate the extent of the project, there are already 400 people who are now re-creating ancient Roman buildings in Bulgaria. BS: I assume the role will be quite enjoyable for you, with all the fencing and riding. GV: Oh, yes! I'm crazy about fencing and everything that goes with that period of time. In the past seven years, I have participated in some ultra-realistic projects, which makes this one very special to me. I will have to switch to another time, and that will include a lot of fencing, riding, and fighting -- everything versatile enough to set me on fire and make me feel like a child. BS: Do you, by any chance, know why Bulgaria was chosen for the shooting instead of, say, Croatia, which used to be a European mecca for American feature and TV films? GV: I know that they've been to Croatia to see the locations, but they preferred what they saw in Bulgaria. The scenery has to be similar to that of inland, southern Italy, around Vesuvius. The scenery is more blank, and not as lush as in Croatia. Apart from that, I assume that the overall cost was lower in Bulgaria. Riding, fencing, body building... BS: How are you preparing yourself for the role? GV: The shooting will be extremely demanding, because the first half of the film will include gladiator fights in the Arena, which calls for a fit actor. I will have to build up muscles and work with special coaches who will train me. I am also taking riding lessons, since there will be bareback riding. When it comes to fencing, I've always enjoyed that, only this time it will be somewhat different because we will be using the so-called Roman short sword. All in all, there is a lot of work to be done, and lately I've been spending all of my time off the "ER" set on the preparations, so I haven't had the chance to see a movie lately. BS: You said you are looking forward to "escaping" the real world and moving into the past. What type of character, in general, attracts you? If you had the opportunity, what role would you choose to play? There is no easy answer to this question because what is most important to me, in the end, is the script and the director. It is only after I have had these questions answered that I consider the genre and the type of film. What I would personally like to do, under ideal circumstances, and by this I mean the Middle Ages, is another issue. However, there is much time for that, and no need to rush things or be hasty. For example, there is a big King Arthur project coming up in Hollywood, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and that is about the type of character and period I've always been interested in. But, as I've already said, as long as I am working on "ER," I can't even think about auditioning for that kind of project, because I don't have the time or the conditions. I can only work when I have time. To be honest, it's not always a matter of choice, since I'm not getting many offers, but it's also true that I don't have the time to audition for everything. However, I'm now 30, and in two years my "ER" contract will expire, and I'll be 32 and financially secure, which will enable me to audition more frequently for a greater number of projects. We'll see then how things develop. BS: The shooting of "ER"'s fourth season [that is, Goran's fourth "ER" season] is about to finish. Your contract does not expire for another two years, as you've just mentioned, and you have to stay for at least another year. What developments have there been lately in the series, especially after some of the main characters left? "ER" in Africa GV: Noah Wyle (Dr. John Carter) is the only one remaining since day one. As far as my character is concerned, I'm very satisfied with the way things are developing. For five or six episodes, my character is secondary, and there is one episode (the tenth, in this case) where he is given the main role. I think such conditions are ideal, because they allow me to prepare well and don't increase the pressure. We plan to shoot more episodes this year. Apart from the regular 22, we will also shoot two more for the next season, which is why we're finishing later than usual. BS: It seems that something "extraordinary" will be going on, since you're learning French and planning to go to Hawaii. GV: This will be the fifth language I'll use on "ER," after English, Croatian, German, and Italian. I guess they think that, since I'm from Europe, I'm able to speak these European languages. Anyway, we're working on this season's last episode, and the next season's second episode, in which Carter and Kovac go where they are most needed -- to Congo. They're going as members of a humanitarian mission, and the official language in Congo is French. The shooting will mostly take place away from California, in Hawaii, as our substitute for Africa. The two episodes are the biggest in scale so far. There will be only open sets, which are more expensive and difficult from a production standpoint. But the producers are putting a lot of money into the show, always trying to come up with new developments, which proves that it is still in their interest to keep the ratings up. We are usually first or second, rarely third, and this means that there are, on average, 25 million viewers per episode. BS: You've mentioned this season's tenth episode, in which Dr. Kovac has the leading role. What's been happening to him lately? GV: Dr. Kovac seems a little lost -- he doesn't know what to do or where to go. He started drinking and having frequent affairs that don't mean anything to him. He's not emotionally attached to anybody, and he's wasting his energy and himself. Because of exhaustion, he gives a wrong diagnosis and causes a patient's death. In the same episode, he has a car accident, which a medical student who's with him barely survives. It's a very unpleasant episode, with the story being told retrospectively, starting from the accident. I can't wait to see "Duga mracna noc" ("The Long, Dark Night") BS: Let's go back to Croatia for a moment, and talk about your work on the "Duga mracna noc" film and series by Antun Vrdoljak. Have you seen it edited? GV: I've only seen the first version, and I liked what I saw, so I can't wait to see it finished. I don't know when this will happen -- I only know that Tonci [Vrdoljak's nickname] started working on it, and that he's very satisfied. I can't wait to see the film, and I'm sure that everything will be great. Judging by the way we were filming it, things can't go wrong. BS: Have you recently had any offers by a Croatian producer or director, considering there is quite a number of films being made? GV: No, I haven't had any offers. I guess they know I'm busy the whole year working on "ER," so they don't even try. BS: A subject we can't avoid is the Iraq war, and the atmosphere in the U.S. is completely different than the one in Europe. GV: I don't know what the best way to deal with the situation would be. A peaceful solution failed, and the war is not the right answer. I really couldn't tell. We'll see how things develop. BS: You have lived in the U.S. for four years. Do you feel like there is something you have passed up? GV: I don't think so, because I don't know what else there was for me to do. Perhaps I could've used the breaks to participate in some larger projects, but it's difficult to plan everything so neatly. I'm sure I haven't passed up anything. I also think that the decision to stay with "ER" was very good, because it improved my English, which was one of my goals. Furthermore, I've worked non-stop for ten months, and I've used the breaks to play in films. Because of all that, I haven't even had the time for a vacation longer than 15 days. I'm aware that things are developing and happening gradually, which is why I mustn't and can't complain about anything. So far, I've been pampered by good fortune, and I have no intention of provoking it in any way. Copyright 2003 "Vjesnik."