Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Volition’s Aleks Paunovic

Aleks Paunovic has made quite the name for himself in film and television with projects like Van Helsing, Snowpiercer, War for the Planet of the Apes, and Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. This summer, he stars in Tony and Ryan Smith’s time-bending picture, Volition, which follows a clairvoyant who attempts to change his fate after seeing his own death. Aleks’ character, Terry, is an ex-con who is looking to turn his life around by any means necessary. Pop Culturalist caught up with Aleks to learn more about Volition and how the film will have audiences questioning freewill versus fate.

PC: Tell us about Volition and your character in the film.
Aleks: Volition is an interesting, mind-bending picture. It follows James, a clairvoyant who sees his own death and tries to escape that fate.

My character is Terry. He’s not a bad dude. He’s been wronged throughout his whole life. He’s been conned, manipulated by people. He trusts a lot, but also because of his trust, he’s taken a back seat to it. Now that he’s out of prison, he’s ready to take life by the horns. He wants to do something different. His motives aren’t bad. He just wants a better life. That diamond scam is his ticket to freedom. That was really interesting to me.

The main character, James [Adrian Glynn McMorran], has some unusual abilities with his brain. Ray [John Cassini] and Sal [Frank Cassini] tell me otherwise. But I think James is lying and self-serving. I don’t trust him because I think he’s a scam artist.

PC: You’re no stranger to the sci-fi genre. What was it about this particular project that stood out to you? How did you get involved?
Aleks: Tony and Ryan Smith approached me to play the role of Terry. I know everyone in this film: Adrian, who is absolutely phenomenal in this film, along with Magda [Apanowicz]. Frank and John Cassini are friends of mine. Bill Marchant is a friend of mine. I’ve admired their work and who they are as people. That attracted me to this project. On top of that, this is a phenomenal script by Tony and Ryan. It was easy to jump aboard and be a part of it.

PC: Speaking of Tony and Ryan, this has been a passion project for them. What was it like collaborating with them?
Aleks: Tony has been talking about this for years. It’s one of those things where you’re like, “I hope you get it done.” Then it was like, “This is the ninth time I’ve heard it in five years. Good luck with that.” But then you read the script and it’s a masterpiece. I heard it took Lin-Manuel [Miranda] seven or eight years to write Hamilton. When you’re going to write something that great, it takes time. You have to have patience. These guys did a phenomenal job. What they did is next level. I feel so lucky to be a part of this cast. I loved working with them. They were so great. They knew their shots. They love to collaborate.

PC: Like you were saying earlier, it’s easy for Terry to come off as the villain. How did you prepare to tackle that duality in him?
Aleks: It’s interesting. When I read the script, Terry wasn’t your typical bad guy. There’s a lot to him. I wanted to bring a life underneath what he was actually doing. Tony and Ryan let me explore my ideas of where this character is coming from. The collaboration was really great. They allowed me to do some things that I’m really, really happy about.

PC: One of the major themes within the film is this idea of fate versus freewill. What’s your opinion on the topic?
Aleks: It’s a trip because we’re constantly going back and forth between that and freewill. This movie explores it in a way where we can go through it in real life and we can see how others go through it. When you have a film like this and you’re sitting down, you’re that person. You are playing through that idea through the main character. You feel empathy for the person on the other side. That is the work of a great film. It’s the ability to get the person watching to play both sides and be viscerally attached to both sides. Volition shows that.

PC: There’s a really fun dynamic between Terry and Sal. How did you and Frank prepare to tackle that dynamic? How beneficial was it working with an actor that you know and have a rapport with?
Aleks: It was super easy because we have that rapport. We’re friends, and I’ve seen Frank’s work for years. He’s a phenomenal actor. We literally needed no prep. We looked at each other and went, “We know what the deal is. Let’s have fun.” If there was anything that we needed to talk about, it was such an easy conversation.

But we were pretty much on point with each other. We knew who was driving the scenes at what time. There was just minor discussions because we were in the pocket. I know who he is. I trust who he is. I trust his talent. When you have that, it really helps out in the performance.

PC: The film has made its way around the festival circuit and it’s been really well received. What do you think is resonating most with audiences?
Aleks: I think it’s the fact that we’re not spoon-feeding the audience. Audiences are ready to be challenged. Matrix was the first one for me that really did it in a sci-fi aspect. Blade Runner was one too. The audience is not as dumb. You have popcorn movies and there’s nothing wrong with that. But then there’s another avenue where you have to trust your audience. Your audience will figure it out. You don’t need to spell it out for them.

Tony and Ryan really understood that and challenged the audience with this ride. Freaks did the same thing. It’s really tipping your hat to the audience going, “I know you. I know you got this.”

PC: In addition to Volition, you’ve got a lot of other projects in the works. Are there any that you can talk about right now? Is there anything you can tease about what’s ahead on Snowpiercer?
Aleks: I just finished a project during the pandemic. It’s strictly a Zoom movie called 92. It’s very interesting. I’m very excited for it. It might be out before the end of July. It kept me busy during the pandemic working with nine other people in nine different countries all within our homes.

I’ve been loving the response that I’ve gotten for Snowpiercer. I love my character, Buffy, so much. Working with Jennifer Connelly has been amazing. We have Season 2 coming out after Season 1.

There’s a film called Into the Wolves. I’ll be working on that shortly, hopefully in September. I’m also on location right now for Van Helsing. We started shooting with all the pandemic protocols. We’re the guinea pigs right now. Everyone is watching us to see if we can pull this off.

To keep up with Aleks, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Catch Volition in select theaters and on digital.

Photo Credit: Brendan Meadows