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There are more photos from the episode below. Selecting any of the small thumbnail images will show a larger version of the picture in the main part of the page. »

Zorro: The Man Who Cried Wolf - Cruzero

- E viva l'Espagna!

This was a nice job to get, out of the blue. The Family Channel series of Zorro was filmed in Spain and, although it was an American production, it was cheaper to fly British actors over to guest star than it was to have an all-American cast. This usually meant guest 'bad-guy-of-the-week'.

I played Cruzero, an escaped Spanish prisoner who, to revenge himself for an earlier defeat in a fair fight with Will Young, an innocent settler (played by the wrestler and actor 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper) frames him for murder. His nefarious plans are eventually defeated by Zorro, with the help of the settler's young son (Omri Katz) and his pet wolf.

The episode was filmed on location just outside Madrid and in the studio in Madrid itself. I had about three weeks out there altogether, riding, sword-fighting and generally having a great time. Plus, I also got to utter the immortal line: "Back off...or the boy dies!" How could any actor pass that up? I was slightly disconcerted by the fact that, among a almost entirely Spanish crew and a predominantly Hispanic-American cast, I was the one who had to do a Spanish accent! They were all very kind.

I also gained ernormous kudos as an uncle from this job. My eldest nephew, Christopher, who was about seven at the time, was a huge fan of American Wrestling and one of his favourite stars was 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper. He was well-impressed to see Uncle Jon actually having a fight with Rowdy Roddy (even if it was a bit of a mis-match, Roddy Piper being considerably larger than me!) Roddy himself was a delightful guy, and was kind enough to sign several autographs for Chris.

The regular cast were really friendly and made me very welcome, and it was a real pleasure to work with actors such as John Hertzler (later to become a regular Klingon on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and Duncan Regeher (my Mum was thrilled that I'd worked with Henry Darrow - I think she had a bit of a crush on him when he played Manolito in 'The High Chaparral'!)

Another pleasure was working with Balu, the wolf. She was gorgeous, though surprisingly timid. I've always had a soft spot for wolves, and to work with one up close was a real delight. Sadly, she wasn't a great actor(!) and she got so distressed when I had to 'fight' with her that it was very difficult to get the shots we needed. In the end we had to resort to using a hunting trophy purchased from a local antiques shop - a stuffed wolf's head on a shield - for the close-ups!