Interview: Guns Of Redemption’s Casper Van Dien on Johnny Rico working with The Lawnmower Man
Casper Van Dien can’t escape his breakout role. Best known as Johnny Rico in Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 cult classic Starship Troopers, the actor “can’t walk down the street without somebody yelling a line from the film at me. And I love it!” But for his latest film, he’s saddled up for one of his favourite genres. A western.
In Guns Of Redemption, he plays a mysterious stranger haunted by his past during the Civil War. When he hangs up his guns in an effort to find a new life, he’s tracked down by old enemies who kill his greatest inspiration, a small town preacher (Sean Astin), and sets out to track down the man responsible, General Bork (Jeff Fahey), before time runs out.
Working with Fahey – and the prospect of Johnny Rico sharing the screen with The Lawnmower Man – was one of the reasons he signed up for the film. It’s their seventh movie together and, in the interview below, Van Dien says that, for a whole host of reasons, it’s one of his favourites. He especially enjoyed the cowboy training and working with his horse in the movie, Paint. “When you don’t ride every day, it’s best to get back in the saddle. If I was to have horses again, I would have Paint. He was so smart and made me look good!”
The actor is due in the UK in late spring for Liverpool Comic Con, something of a reunion for the Starship Troopers cast. He counts himself as lucky to have been in a film which still has a massive following nearly 30 years after its release – “Its influence has been huge and very few films have that sort of effect.” – and he recalls one especially memorable experience of being photographed for one of its legions of fans. But for now he’s just enjoying “cowboying up.”
Check out the full interview.
Guns Of Redemption opens in US cinemas and on demand on 7 March.
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
