For five seasons packed with intergalactic action and intrigue, balance within the universe hung by a thread carefully maintained by the crew of Babylon 5. Perhaps one of the greatest sources of conflict is Londo Mollari, comedic relief turned into an unwitting pawn, played expertly by Peter Jurasik throughout the show‘s runtime. But what else did Jurasik get up to beyond the fallen Centauri Republic?
Peter Jurasik was born in Queens, New York on April 25, 1950, the third of four children. By the time Jurasik was in college, he was already appearing in several plays. Off-Broadway productions all along the east coast defined the early days of his acting career before he totally uprooted and became a character actor on the opposite side of the country.
Traveling the universe
Jurasik’s on-screen experience would be pretty evenly divided between film and television. On TV, he started off with Barney Miller, M*A*S*H, Hill Street Blues, and MacGyver, where he guest-starred as an ornithologist. Jump ahead past Growing Pains, Matlock, and several more, Jurasik found himself aboard Babylon 5. There, he hit it off instantly with co-star Andreas Katsulas, to the point where they would improvise various scenes in full costume.
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Often, their castmates would be doubled over with laughter, especially when the duo performed an infomercial for The Book of G’Kar – yes, still in makeup and costume. But their chemistry didn’t just see them goof off; it also saw them succeed. Any time these two were scene partners, they’d rarely need more than two or three takes to properly perform their scene.
Jurasik’s creative mind also flourished when he worked solo, too. Fans will remember his unique intonation throughout Babylon 5. That was an original idea of Jurasik’s. Back when he was performing a play, he used a Memphis accent that got stellar reviews from natives but was slammed by a critic.
“But being the insecure actor that I am, I took that hard,” he explained. “You take stuff like that, when it’s in the L.A. Times, it hurts you anyway … When I got Babylon, I realized this is a great opportunity for me. I will be the first Centauri, and I can make him talk any way he wants, and no reviewer will ever be able to say, ‘That’s not what a Centauri sounds like. What a terrible Centauri accent he’s doing.’ Because I’m the first Centauri, so I make him talk any way I want.”
What happened to Peter Jurasik?
For those trying to place this original Centauri accent, Jurasik identified it as “a kind of amalgam of a number of different accents. I used a little of my Slovak grandmother, and I mentioned Ireland; I love the rhythms of Irish. So I mixed it up and made it my own.”
But like all good things, even Babylon 5 had to come to an end – as did most of Jurasik’s time on the small screen. He wrapped up his TV career with 3rd Rock from the Sun, Sliders, Dawson’s Creek, and a 2017 appearance on Mercy Street. But he stayed very active in film, adding Runaway Jury, Stateside, Quantum Apocalypse, Little Red Wagon, 42, and The Longest Ride to his resume. Just this hear, he could be heard in Babylon 5: The Road Home reprising his famous role from the show.
But with his acting work slowing down, Jurasik is focused on teaching the next wave of talent. These days, now , he’s planted roots in Wilmington, North Carolina with his wife and son. He works at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, specifically in the Theatre Department and the Film Studies Department. There, he teaches acting in front of a camera.