Dec. 17, 2007
By: Brian Siegrist, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications
Joonas Suotamo's face lights up with a huge smile when he remembers the night. Anyone else present at Penn State's preseason "Dinner & Dunks" event in October will not soon forget it. There he was, the 6-10 forward in his element and loving every minute of it. Not on the floor shooting lay-ups mind you, but decked out as the spitting image of Ivan Drago from the classic "Rocky" films and playing the part to the "T."
"I said to the guys in the locker room if I put it on I want to wear it all night," Suotamo said obviously still please with the performance. "I didn't want to just show up for awhile."
And, so he did play it all night staying in character with the dedication of seasoned actor. Shirtless with red boxing shorts emblazoned with the Russian anvil and crescent and Drago's signature blond flat-top, Suotamo played to the crowd while he mimicked Drago's stiff run and machine like persona, even grabbing the microphone at one point to deliver a broken English soliloquy.
"I would love to be an actor," He said. "But, It's not possible. I am to tall. There are no roles for people as tall as me. So, I want to become a director. I want to direct people how to convey a certain meaning with your face and how to express your emotions."
It's and interest that has compelled him from an early age when he used to come home from school at lunch and watch "Good Will Hunting" so many times he has lost count.
"To me it's not been how many movies you watch, but how many times you watch one movie," the film major said. "When I was a kid I had one or two VHS tapes. I moved in with my mom when my parents divorced and my dad had all the VHS tapes, so I took one or two back to my place. After school I would go home and watch `Good Will Hunting' every day and eat lunch. I had three movies like that - `The Rock', `Good Will Hunting' and `Forrest Gump.' And, I watched them all the time. `The Rock' had the best sound track ever made."
A native of Espoo, Finland, Suotamo got to see most American films in Finland a few months following their U.S. release. He says the American Film Industry, which he credits as being the world's biggest entertainment exporter, inspired his creativity and gave him an outlet for his multiple interests.
"I've always been interested in multiple things, it's never been just one," he said. "Film is one field where I can put all of them together. It includes everything - music, art and acting - it combines everything." Suotamo's varied talents include playing guitar, drawing and using downloaded samples to create beats and music on his computer. "Everything that you need to make movies, I can do," he said. "I can draw story boards and picture the shots in the frames. I can make music. I love acting, but I'm to tall to be an actor."
His film career began back in Finland where he would get his buddies to act in roles, many times dealing with thwarting terrorists, and would then screen the films for anyone who would watch.
" I Used to screen for parents and everyone I could," he said. "I always enjoyed showing all my works to them. I loved to receive feedback about what was good or what was bad."
One of his latest works you can actually view on youtube.com by searching his name. He filmed it over the summer when he returned to Finland and it once again stars his friends.
"My friends have an Airsoft team, where they shoot BB guns at each other as a sport. They go to war with their BB guns. We shot a trailer to introduce their team. It's called `Wolverine in Action' (in English), that's their team name. Actually, I'm very proud of it, I think it turned out pretty good."
A big fan of director Peter Jackson, Suotamo says he saw the first "Lord of the Rings" movie in the theatre four times and says it is the best film ever made.
"You can't top that," He said. "Everything is so well done in those movies. They created all the armor, all the weapons and they had good actors. It was such a big process to make the whole thing and everything was perfect."
It's a production he hopes to match or better one day as he pursues a career in film with an eye on the bright lights of Hollywood.
"Right now, I'm scripting something I want to film in the spring time that I think is going to be good," He said. "It's about a guy who was in the library and finds a secret hidden microfilm which tells the truth about the JFK assassination."
It will be the next project in a budding career he hopes will break new ground and explore new ideas.
"It seems like every idea has already been made," he said. "But, I would like to do something different or at least do it better than it was before."
And when he does, maybe he'll have the chance return to his native Finland, see it screened and ask, as Matt Damon's character in "Good Will Hunting" does, "How do you like them apples."