A New Trophy For Goran Visnjic Gloria Magazine, October 18, 2002 by Dea Lastic RACING IS BETTER THEN ANYTHING, BUT SEX The most popular Croatian actor in Hollywood for starting yet another ER season, he treated himself witha a car of his dreams, a brand new, green Aston Martin, but he's among the few rich and famous in the States that doesn't attract tabloid's attention. It's James Bond's fault. Ever since I can remember, whenever watching 007 movies, Aston Martin was a car of my dreams. I've always said that I will own this car sooner or later, and this year my wish finally was fulfilled: I bought green DB7 vantage. For me, driving it is better then a good wine, fine food, better then everything, but sex. It's unbelievable how exciting it is to drive it! - said Goran in a recent interview and explained that nobody has to fear, because he will drive carefully. Famous 30 year old Croatian, finally has found some time for himself. Currently, he's filming the episodes of 9th ER season and is waiting for the openings for the movies he made last year: "A Long dark Night" by his father-in-law Antun Vrdoljak, where he appeared free of charge and Nick Willing's "Doctor Sleep". His last year movies, "The Last Will" and "The Deep End" were critically acclaimed and audience accepted them as well. So, it's no wonder that handsome Sibenik born treated himself, after a hard and exhausting work, with a well deserved gift: A long waited car. Even though, he got the status of a Hollywood star and international sex symbol, Goran Visnjic remained a normal, down to earth guy, like he was when he first appeared as Hamlet, back in 1993 on Dubrovnik Summer Festival. He's living with his wife Ivana in a house in Los Angeles. The fame earned by working with Madonna in her "The Power of Good-Bye" video, with George Clooney on "The Peacemaker", with a famous director Michael Winterbottom in "Welcome to Sarajevo" and with Nicole Kidman & Sandra Bullock in "Practical Magic", as he says and his friends confirmed it, didn't changed him at all. Intensive schedule of filming in Hollywood helped him to become a professional. American media is claiming that he's very respected, because he's one of the few handsome, intelligent and rich stars who is attracting the tabloids only by his professional success and not the scandals. Most of the time, celebrities in America are usually like spoiled brats: "How dare you complaining about the food, when millions of people around the world would give their lives for just a smallest thing you have" - He said once to his colleague Noah Wyle one time when he rolled his eyes, when he saw what kind of food was served to him on the set of ER. After all, Goran Visnjic talks proudly about his work on a show that made him famous in USA. "ER is a very popular show in Croatia and it means great deal to me too. I remember, when I was just a student on the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb, I was watching the show and a great body of work, and now I'm working with those people"- He said during one interview. His character, Dr. Luka Kovac, who emigrated to USA after his wife and child died in Vukovar, doesn't seem to stop make the audience liking him, because of his charm, wittiness, and sympathic freshness: He's boyish fresh to his girlfriend, the nurse Abby, with who he's breaking up easily after meeting a French waitress Nicole and is letting her go to his colleagues arms with whom he fight over her. After all, the future of one of the most popular NBC's TV shows is getting more and more questionable: The show is threatened by the actors that are keep on leaving. After George Clooney, Julianna Margulies, William H. Macy, Gloria Reuben, Michael Michele and Erik Palladino had left, Anthony Edwards and Eriq La Salle didn't last up to the 9th season as well. They explained their decisions as the filming schedule was too intense and their wish to dedicate more to their families. Today, Noah Wyle is the only actor left that originated in the show back in 1994, but he's also mentioned the possibility of leaving after his contract is up, because he's getting tired with his character and the show material itself. As the show's producer John Wells explained, ER will keep going, because it's very popular and departure of actors is giving a headache only to the writers. For now, Goran Visnjic stays where he is.