According to Dion Johnstone, all it takes to lure an actor away from the Stratford Festival is "a great character to play and a wonderful death scene."

But even then it's a tough call.

"It was a difficult decision for me," the Montreal-born, Edmonton-raised actor admits. "It took me about three years at Stratford to find a balance and now I feel I can start to play with it a bit more."

Once he's done "playing," of course, there will still be a Stratford Festival, and based on Johnstone's work over the past few seasons in everything from As You Like It to The Flies, he'll likely be welcomed back.

As Johnstone puts it: "It's nice to have the ability to leave the Festival but also to come back and work on the things that interest me."

PLAYS: Boromir