

Michelle Langstone as Michele Brock/The Goddess Sjofn in The Almighty Johnsons. Photo copyright of South Pacific Pictures.

Over the centuries, women have been labelled the “fairer sex,” but time and time again they have proven more than a match for the men in their lives. In the New Zealand-made fantasy/dramedy TV series The Almighty Johnsons, a group of Norse goddesses reincarnated in human form are scheming to get the upper hand on their male counterparts. They want to be equal, not subservient, to the gods.

Among those involved in this little revolt is Sjofn, the goddess of love. In human form she is known as Michele Brock, a junior doctor/family physician at an Auckland hospital who has the ability to heal with a branch from the tree of life, Yggdrasil. Away from work, her personal life is rather unconventional, given Sjorn’s bisexual and lusty nature. When Michele was reincarnated as a goddess at the age of 21, her mother was not pleased that it was as Sjofn. This led to an estrangement from her parents and a tough-as-nails exterior that masks a softer side, as actress Michelle Langstone, who plays Michele/Sjofn explains.

“My character is tough, angry, determined, damaged, loving, frightened, arrogant and lonely,” says Langstone. “Michele is a mix of a lousy upbringing and a pathological rage against gender roles. She’s a fighter, a feminist – albeit a patchy one – and a contradiction in terms. Michele has a chip on her shoulder and is ready to fight. The challenge with this character was to bring her vulnerability to the fore, find the truth behind all the malice and anger, and to make her loveable, believable and someone worth investing in. I think she has a huge [story] arc over the course of the show’s three seasons. By series three, she is fully in focus, in part because we meet her mother and things begin to make a lot of sense, and also because Michele allows herself to love someone, which changes her choices in a real way.”

In The Almighty Johnsons’ series opener It’s a Kind of a Birthday Present, Axl Johnson (Emmett Skilton), the youngest of four brothers, celebrates his 21st birthday. Along with this milestone comes the revelation that he along with his siblings and their grandfather are reincarnated Norse gods, with Axl being Odin, the most powerful of all gods. In order for the Johnsons to gain their full God-like powers, Axl must find and make love to the Goddess Frigg. If he fails or dies before doing so, then his entire family dies as well. Unfortunately for them, there is a group of goddesses led by Agnetha (Alison Bruce) a.k.a. Freyja, the goddess of fertility and prosperity, that wants to stop Axl and, in doing so, the gods from ever ruling over them again. Michele goes in disguise to a party given by Anders Johnson (Dean O’Gorman) and attempts to shoot Axl through the heart using a bow and arrow. This was a pivotal scene in the episode and one that Langstone had some practice with beforehand.



Sjofn as work as Michele Brock (Michelle Langstone). Photo copyright of South Pacific Pictures.

“I auditioned for The Almighty Johnsons twice – once with the show’s casting director and a reader, and then again at the callback stage when our producer, Simon Bennett, was present and giving direction,” recalls the actress. “If I remember rightly, one of the audition bits was actually the bow and arrow scene from the opening episode. I’m pretty sure I did some poor mime work with an imaginary bow and arrow, which everyone kindly overlooked and never mentioned to me again.

“Decision-wise, I remember the casting process itself being quite a swift one, which surprised me because finalizing casting often takes a fair amount of time. In some ways, I think the process of auditioning actually typifies my whole experience with The Almighty Johnsons – swift, decisive, lively and relatively painless.

“As far as the first episode, we shot it in the winter, and it was very cold to be wearing something as flimsy as what Michele had on,” she continues with a chuckle. “Early on, I also slipped on a path in the dark and, in the process, took all the skin off my knees, which held up shooting a bit. I’d been to archery training a few times so that I would look like I knew what I was doing, and then on-set the actual prop I used had limitations for aesthetic purposes. The latter was so that the arrows wouldn’t fly straight or at all, which made me giggle a lot.

“I am terrible at ‘corpsing.’ In fact, I would say that we were a corpsing cast, in general” jokes Langstone. “Large group scenes were easily interrupted by someone’s giggles, which then spread to the rest of us. That said, Tim Balme [Mike Johnson] has the most self-control, as does Jared Turner [Ty Johnson], but Dean O’Gorman made me laugh so much that I had sore stomach muscles the next day after filming with him more times than I can count.



Michele (Michelle Langstone) and Stacey (Eve Gordon) in the season two episode "Effortless Manly Coolness." Photo copyright of South Pacific Pictures.

“Getting back to the arrow scene, there were so many technical aspects to it, which is why that scene sticks out most in my mind. Also, Mark Beesley, our director, was very worried about my [skinned] knees. As characters go, though, it’s pretty great to have a moment like that. It’s not often that you get to play someone who turns up with a bow and arrow and shoots to kill.”

Much to the Johnsons’ surprise, Michele manages to hit her target, but things do not work out quite as she or Agnetha had planned. He survives and, ironically, Michele’s murder attempt only helps reinforce the prophecy of the youngest Johnson brother one day becoming Odin. Undeterred by their failure, Agnetha devises the goddesses’ next move, and working for her is anything but a pleasure.

“Agnetha is an enabler for rage, but not an enhancer of self-development,” notes Langstone. “She got my character out of trouble, put her through school, paid her debts and sorted her out, but she could never and would never look into the damaged woman and try to work out how to change her. It’s a relationship that is symbiotic – each feeds off the other’s anger as well as ambition, and for a period of time that works for both of them.”

In the season one The Almighty Johnsons episode This is Not Washing Powder, My Friend, Michele plants cocaine in Axl’s car in an attempt to get him out of the way. Lucky for him, Anders intervenes and saves his little brother. In the process, he has a romantic fling, albeit a short one, with the goddess. “Anders is a constant, and of all the characters, the one who I believe is most like or suited to Michele,” says Langstone. “There is a sense of play there that’s really fun and amusing. I think both him and my character want similar things, and have a similar modus operandi.



Michele (Michelle Langstone) in season two of The Almighty Johnsons. Photo copyright of South Pacific Pictures.

“All the scenes involving Anders and Michele were a great deal of fun to shoot. Dean is an excellent actor to work with because he is so light and dexterous. He’s really clever and I learnt quite a bit when we were on-set together. Similarly with Tim, though the character dynamic between Mike and Michele was totally different. There was a really good environment on the show for learning, because Tim is so skilled and such a generous actor. We had a great time together and solved many of the world’s problems in-between takes.”

Undeniably arrogant and self-absorbed, especially when it comes to his love life, Anders eventually decides to break it off with Michele when she is willing to sacrifice Mike’s life in a plan to find Frigg. Ironically, she ends up with Mike after spending some time living with and in a relationship with Colin Gundersen (Shane Cortese), a wealthy, influential and egotistical lawyer who also happens to be Loki, a trickster and God of Fire.

“Michele is seduced by Colin’s wealth and power, but it’s a means to an end,” muses Langstone. “Until she can find her own source of power, she hinges a bit on men, for which she loathes herself, but sees as necessary. Ultimately, she thinks Colin is a jerk, though. I think that’s pretty tacit.

“As for Mike, what an enigma he is. He and Michele have a huge journey and its path is easily traced. I personally think that they truly love one another, but their god incarnations will never let it be an easy ride. Mike teaches Michele so much, and I think in her own way, she teaches him, too.”



Colin Gundersen/Loki (Shane Cortese) and Michele (Michelle Langstone). Photo copyright of South Pacific Pictures.

Born and raised in New Zealand, Langstone never imagined that one day she would grow up and walk in the shoes of a reincarnated Norse goddess. “I loved storytelling from an early age,” says the actress, “but I’m not sure I knew it could be a profession that was viable for me, until the day I realized I couldn’t be without it. It’s a part of who I am, and once I was able to recognize it, that was that.

“My first professional job in front of a camera was while I was still at drama school and I shot a music video. It was in the winter and at night; I had to play a violin and walk the mean streets of Auckland in bare feet. I was paid $200 and it was so exciting. I’m not telling you what the music video is, though,” she teases. “You can’t make me!”

The Waiting Place, For Good, The Final Winter, Separation City, After The Waterfall and Realiti are among the actress’ feature film credits. On the small screen, she has worked on a variety of other series including Shortland Street, Xena: Warrior Princess, Being Eve, The Strip, Legend of the Seeker, Diplomatic Immunity, This is Not my Life and, most recently, as Sarah Bennett in Go, Girls. Langstone also appeared as a series regular in Power Rangers S.P.D. as Dr. Katherine “Kat” Manx/Cat Ranger, and McLeod’s Daughters as Fiona Ryan.

“Power Rangers S.P.D. was an absolute delight – romping around in full imagination mode, dressed as a cat and kicking ass,” she says. “I loved every second of it, and it’s still one of my fondest memories from my time as an actor. If anybody is asking, I would reprise my role as Kat Manx in a heartbeat. It was too much fun.



Michelle Langstone as Cat Ranger in Power Rangers S.P.D.

“McLeod’s Daughters was my first job in Australia and it taught me a lot, was great fun, at times overwhelming, and, ultimately, a wonderful adventure. I learnt quite a bit about myself, sometimes the hard way, and I think made leaps and bounds in my acting maturity. I am very grateful for that role.”

What was once a childhood joy has turned into an honest to goodness profession for Langstone, and one that she remains just as passionate about to this day. “I love my job,” says the actress. “I go into mourning when I'm not acting. It’s my happy place, and the place that challenges me the most. Telling stories is a privilege and one that I never take for granted. It can be very difficult between jobs, and you have to fight sometimes to find a balance between that all-consuming love and the rest of your life, which goes on regardless of whether or not you’re shooting. Acting is a wonderful beast that I will always be trying to tame.”

Steve Eramo

Season two of The Almighty Johnsons is currently airing Wednesdays and Thursdays @ 11:00 p.m. EST in the U.S. on Syfy. As noted above, all photos from TAJ are courtesy/copyright of South Pacific Pictures, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!