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Actor

1964-01-26 · United States · Male

17 series in the catalog

Paul Johansson (born January 26, 1964) is an American actor and director in film and television, best known for playing Dan Scott on the WB/CW series One Tree Hill, and for his role as Nick Wolfe on the short-lived series Highlander: The Raven, a spin-off of Highlander: The Series. He directed the 2011 film adaptation of Ayn Rand's novel, Atlas Shrugged: Part I.

Acting career

Johansson landed his first role on the soap opera Santa Barbara. He played Greg Hughes from 1989 to 1990. Soon he made appearances in other television shows such as Parker Lewis Can't Lose and Beverly Hills, 90210, and later recurred on Lonesome Dove: The Series and starred on Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years.

Johansson became well-known to fans of 90210 for playing John Sears, a fraternity brother who unsuccessfully vied for the affections of Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) and set up Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering) to burglarize a professor's office. The character returned for the season 4 finale.

He also appeared in commercials, most notably as the delivery man in a Diet Coke commercial. He has appeared in the films Soapdish, John Q and Alpha Dog, and had a small uncredited role in The Notebook. He portrayed the role of Dan Scott in One Tree Hill beginning in 2003 until the show's end in 2012. In 2003, Johansson wrote and directed the film The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie. He has also directed several episodes of One Tree Hill. In 2006, he starred in Emily Skopov's Novel Romance, alongside Traci Lords and Sherilyn Fenn. He appeared in the 7th season of The Drew Carey Show, playing a sportscaster.

He is the director of Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011), the first third of a trilogy based on the novel by Ayn Rand. The film received an approval rating of 12% on Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews from 52 critics.

Personal life

His mother, Joanne Leone Johansson, died on October 15, 2011, after a 20-year battle with breast cancer. The eleventh episode of the ninth season of the CW's One Tree Hill (titled "Danny Boy") was dedicated to her memory.

He is the son of professional hockey player Earl Johnson. Earl went by Johnson when he was playing hockey, but he later changed the family name to Johansson to reflect his Swedish heritage.

Paul was born in the US, but raised in Canada. He has citizenship in both countries.