With a presence as imposing as Aleks Paunovic’s, one would assume typecasting would be a primary concern within the entertainment industry: bodyguard, prize fighter, goon number one. But, the Canadian actor’s career trajectory has been a case study in breaking down barriers, opening doors, and just saying ‘yes’. And, when the occasional typecast comes along, Paunovic is sure to blow crews and audiences alike away with his chops.
“I ended up here by saying yes. I’m a new soul trying to figure it out. The ‘yes’ highlights the idea of going through life in a new way.”
The star’s newest series, The Silent Service, began streaming on Amazon Prime in February. This is only the latest feather in his cap, otherwise adorned with prior careers as a boxer, musician, thespian, stuntman, and entrepreneur. Paunovic’s lengthy resume has taken him around the world, embodying entirely each obstacle put in his path, whether it be filming on China’s Great Wall, or championing the silent epidemic of men’s mental health. Paunovic’s towering physical frame is only overshadowed by his radiating presence, generous, altruistic, and open beyond six feet, five inches of grit.
“I have three generations of boxers in my family, so boxing has always been a love. Music came up with my high school buddies. At 15 years old, we were playing at bars, where– after we played– they would tell us to leave the bar until the next set. [laughs] While I was doing that, a casting director asked if I wanted to audition for a movie. It was in Winnipeg. Because it’s a small city, you only have one stunt team, for which Rick Skene was the stunt coordinator. He said, ‘I have no big guys on my stunt team. Would you want to try?’ I started getting into stunt doubling and stunt acting. When the band broke up, I decided to give acting a legitimate shot.
I came to Vancouver and was taking workshops all across Northern America with some amazing instructors. I started at 35, quite late, so I felt that 5 day workshops, 12 hours a day was the quickest way to condense the learning process. I developed a really great group of friends in Vancouver, so that pushed me and made it tangible. They were booking a bunch of stuff, and they were ten years younger! I was like, ‘Is this the right gig for me? I don’t know.’ I was throwing my dice on the table. When you see your friends become successful, I’m a cheerleader for that. If they’re booking it, there’s no reason that I can’t book it.
Aleks Paunovic Photographed by Ben Cope
Where it turned for me was when I did a play, called Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. I wasn’t working, I was absolutely broke. There was an opportunity to book one of my biggest jobs: 22 episodes on a show. It took place in a prison, so continuity-wise there were a certain number of guys that were consistent on the show. It wasn’t challenging stuff– it was a thug role– but it would have really padded my bank account. I had a decision: do I do this thing that scares the hell out of me (the play) or do I do the thing that would pay my rent? This was a crux in my career, and I decided to do the thing that was more challenging. If I could do that, I knew that I could do anything. I was very fortunate that, after doing the play, my career really started to take off.”
For Aleks, The Silent Service, “was a wonderful surprise, when the offer was sent to my team. We looked it over, I read the script, and realized we got to shoot in Tokyo. It was an easy yes to say.”
The series follows a nuclear Japanese submarine and its ensuing mutiny, juxtaposing a war-stricken backdrop with ideations of peace. As Paunovic is a man with the Midas touch of making his own dreams come to fruition, it is not the first once-in-a-lifetime destination in which Aleks has spent ample time to shoot, either.
“I have a lot of opportunity in Vancouver to shoot, but I’ve always had this idea that I want to shoot all over the world if I can. I’ve been very fortunate to shoot in China, on the Great Wall. I had an opportunity to work in Antarctica, which not many actors have. There were a lot of really great moments of gratitude down there that I haven’t had anywhere else. I love that kind of filmmaking. I’m not a fan of doing my scene and going back to the trailer to wait for my next. I want to help with the crew. I want to be involved in moving stuff, making it a team effort. Those jobs were great opportunities to expand in that way around the globe.”
With global reach comes global responsibility, and an immersion in local custom, a crash course administered during filming in Japan.
Aleks Paunovic Photographed by Ben Cope
“Something I had never done before was translators. When I got there, the professionalism was next level. The respect within the country was next level. I really enjoyed how thorough and clean everything was as far as communicating what they wanted. They were very much open to suggestions, which I love. A few Japanese crew members kept calling me Godzilla. [laughs heartily] The makeup department had to carry around apple boxes to stand on while touching me up. They’d approach me with these apple boxes, giggling.
I love the idea of learning a new culture through working. We shot my scenes six days straight through. I prefer that; I don’t like sitting around. Staying involved in that aspect was something that really helped with my performance. We nearly did it chronologically.”
A self-proclaimed late bloomer in the entertainment industry, Paunovic is coming into his own when crafting his front-facing aesthetic.
“As I’ve started working with people who understand clothes more– I came from the heavy metal world– I started to understand color and what works for my palette. Earth tones are great for me, which I never would have known before. I love a long trench coat. Those are things that came from talking to different stylists and designers, who would tell me, ‘Your physique is great for this type of look.’ I’ve enjoyed learning style and learning what would look good on me, what makes me feel great. Those are amazing tools to have when hitting a red carpet.”
Paunovic’s latest venture stems from closer to the heart, and encourages us to take care of our loved ones. His upcoming release, Legend Water, brings sustainability to the forefront of hydration, while also bolstering men’s mental health awareness, the oft-overlooked social issue that is finally getting its due in our culture.
Aleks Paunovic Photographed by Ben Cope
“I’ve unfortunately lost friends through mental illness and addiction. There’s an amazing man in Canada that has an addiction recovery facility in Thailand. He was helping me help people who were going through a hard time, which piqued my interest to explore the ways in which I would give back. By coincidence, I have three other partners in Legend Water, launching in April. We’re really working on getting rid of single use plastic. I’d love to see our bottles on all sets, to get rid of single use plastic. We want to help the movie industry in that way, while weaving in the message of mental wellness. We’ve also added a QR code to the bottles that reads ‘Legends supporting Legends,’ which will bring you to our website. There’s a suicide crisis hotline that people can call, and the listed addictions facilities in Canada’s provinces. If we can save or help somebody one night as they’re holding that can, that’s something I can be really proud of. No other company is doing something like that. I’m thrilled to move this forward.”
As Paunovic’s star hurdles through the stratosphere, much like one of his characters might, he wants to use this time to expand his prowess in projects with passion.
“I’m involved in a project that I can’t talk about, but I’m so excited about it. I’m working with some fantastic people, so a lot of time is going into that. Otherwise, I just want to keep on moving forward, doing different things. I love doing indie films and helping out indie creators, because it also presents an opportunity for me to go outside of the box. Within this industry, there are a lot of things that casting directors and directors view me as. If I can throw a curveball in there and work with someone on an indie, that to me is always the best creative output, along with someone’s passionate vision. When someone is doing an indie film, there is a lot of passion behind it, because there is a lot of work that goes into it. Those are things that I’m really looking forward to getting behind.”
