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MXG magazine (Summer 1999) Quick links
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Amy Jo Johnson sings with the band Valhalla and has a major role on the WB's Felicity. If only people would stop calling her the Pink Power Ranger... All About Amy Jo Name Amy Jo Johnson Age She wouldn't tell us but we know its early 20s. (Personally we don't think she's got anything to worry about since tons of actresses take on younger roles like 28 year old Charisma Carpenter, who plays Cordelia on Buffy) [b]The book she can't put down A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving [b]The movie that made her weep Life is Beautiful with Roberto Benini [b]The clothes she feels confortable in "I usually dress for comfort since have me wearing little hottie tottie outfits on the show but sometimes its fun to dress up like that". The night before I'm supposed to meet Amy Jo Johnson, I punch her name into Yahoo!, looking for some shred of information that I might be able to use to bond with the girl-other than the fact that we're both Felicity fans. She plays Julie Emrick, the girl who got that guy that Keri Russell followed across the country. But instead of Felicity fan sites, I find a half a dozen spots worshipping Amy Jo as Kimberly, the Pink Power Ranger. Forget the women of Deep Space Nine or Star Trek Voyager, according to a bunch of lusty teen boys, Amy Jo's the ultimate space babe. Armed with this bizarre information, I head off to find out who is the real Amy Jo: Intergalactic princess or down-to-earth actress? The first impression I get as she climbs out of her SUV is that she's tiny and travels with a very big dog, Lucy and American bulldog. "She looks like the meanest dog, but she's a real wimp", confides Amy Jo. The more you get to know Amy Jo, the more it seems like she's protecting the dog and not the other way around. Ten years of gymnastics packed some power into her punch. "I was into [gymnatics] hardcore. I was a kamikaze who would try anything", she says. But then in sixth grade she took a bad fall and had to abandon any dreams of being a professional athlete. Luckily by this time she had already decided to shine on stage instead of the parallel bars. Anyway, it all paid off in the end, explained Amy Jo, since her gymnastics talent landed her the role of Kimberly on the Power Rangers. Her reaction to the space-babe honor? She shakes her head, laughs and says "It's so silly. It was fun but it was my first job". She's searched the Web herself and can't figure out where people get the pictures and the personal information about her. She's even found her head pasted on top of a naked body-prompting her to swear to us that she's never posed nude. (We believe ya.) Most of all, she's prefer to be thought of as the girl from Felicity, even if the attention is just as bizarre. Once she was at a gas station with a friend and a group of girls started screaming at her. "They didn't ask for an autograph. They just stood there and screamed 'Julie', it was so weird", she says, shaking her head. As if she isn't getting enough attention, Amy Jo's got a following as the lead singer of the band Valhalla. She taught herself to play guitar three years ago then went looking for a band. "Tim was my chiropractor's assistant and was working on me when I told him I was looking for a guitarist. He said 'Oh I'm a guitarist.' So he came over and jammed with me. His best friend, Jason, plays bass and we ust got a new conga player, David". The band now plays together almost every weekend and has dates coming up at L.A. hot spots such as the Mint and the Whiskey. "We're starting to play around Hollywood, and its been real good. the last show we did was the biggest turnout we've had", says Amy Jo. Fans might even recognize the cast of Felicity sitting in the audience. According to Amy Jo, they're totally supportive and have been to almost every gig she's had. While the gang is all friends in real life, none of them have hooked up off the set. That's not to say that Amy Jo doesn't appreciate the benefits of her job. Being Scott Speedman's TV girlfriend is a major perk. "I'm always asking the writers, 'Can we add a kiss in this scene?'" But Amy Jo forsees things getting rocky between Julie and Ben. "It's been over six to eight episodes thats we've been girlfriend and boyfriend, and you know they can't have us go out for too long". In the end even Amy Jo doesn't know exactly what's going to happen because the script is written week to week. [quote][The writers] watch the episodes and see what type of chemistry we have and then get ideas", she reveals. That type of fly-by-the-seat-of-her-size-one-pants filming is sort of scary, she admits but it makes things more spontaneous, less predictable. As an actres she likes the challenge of tackling the unknown. She feels that Felicity is sort of like her training camp before she graduates to feature films. Our interview and photo shoot are almost over. (Even though she got up at 4 a.m, Amy Jo hasn't stopped smiling.) I excuse myself to go to the bathroom. On the way I pass a couple staring at Amy Jo. The girl leans over and whispers to the guy, [quote]I think she used to be one of the Power Rangers". What can you do? Two weeks later, I meet up with Amy Jo again. Valhalla is playing at Luna Park, a very cool night club. I don't spot Keri Russell, but I do find myself about two feet away from Scott Foley, yum. I spend the next hour looking back and forth between him and Amy Jo. The place is packed, standing room only, thank you. The crowd seems equally divided between fans of Valhalla and celebrity watchers who've come to check out the girl from Felicity with the powerful voice. But at least on this evening there's no mention of you know who. |
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