After 27 years in the industry, John Abraham continues to chart his own course. From modelling to films, and from action blockbusters to roles that push him out of his comfort zone, the actor has rarely followed convention. In a conversation with Bombay Times, he opens up about longevity, resisting trends and making choices on his own terms. Excerpts:

Having spent years navigating an industry where staying relevant can be as challenging as making an entry, John says persistence has been one of the biggest constants in his journey.

“I’ve always believed that if you’re convinced about something, you shouldn’t be afraid to take a different path. When I started out, there wasn’t really a template for what I was doing. A lot of people thought certain things couldn’t be done. But I was never interested in following trends. I was interested in building my own journey,” he says, adding, “What gives me satisfaction is longevity. I’ve been fortunate enough to work consistently for a long time, and that’s never something you can take for granted in this industry.”

That sense of conviction has also shaped the choices John has made along the way. Whether it was taking on grey characters early on in his career, staying away from the party circuit or maintaining a relatively restrained presence on social media, the Satyamev Jayate actor says his choices were never part of a carefully constructed effort to appear unconventional.

“I don’t know if I’d call it a conscious choice. It’s just who I’ve always been. I’ve never had a strategy to be different or going against the grain. I’ve simply tried to make choices that felt authentic to me at that particular point in my life and career. The truth is, trends change every few years. What’s considered the right thing to do today may be completely different tomorrow. If you keep chasing that, it can get exhausting,” he says.

John will reunite with the Force franchise for its third installment, sharing screen space with Harshvardhan Rane. Talking about returning to the action-packed franchise, he says, “We’re still in the process of putting everything together, so I don’t want to reveal too much. But what I can say is that we’re approaching it with a lot of ambition. The Force franchise has always been rooted in strong action, but audiences today expect much more than that. They want emotion, character and scale. Harshvardhan brings a unique energy and intensity, and I’m looking forward to audiences seeing what we’re building together.”

The actor recently presented the documentary Test Subject V. Talking about it, he says, "The first thing that struck me was that it didn’t feel like a documentary in the conventional sense. It felt like a very human story. On the surface, it’s about one man’s experiment, but underneath that it’s really about curiosity, self-discovery and having the courage to question things you’ve accepted your whole life. What also impressed me was the way it was told. It’s entertaining, it’s funny, it’s emotional, and it’s packaged in a way that feels very accessible to Indian audiences. I felt people would genuinely enjoy watching it while also taking something meaningful away from it. That’s what made me want to support it."

Talking about Kunal Avanti, who made the project, he adds, "He is persistent. Anyone can start a project. Very few people have the conviction to stay with it through years of challenges and uncertainty. That determination is something I respect a lot because I’ve experienced my own version of it throughout my career."

While the documentary is getting good reviews, John on a parting note states, "We live in a world where we’re constantly told what to think, what to believe and how to live. This film doesn’t do that. It simply invites people to ask questions and explore things for themselves. If audiences leave the film a little more open-minded, a little more reflective and perhaps willing to look at things from a different perspective, I think that’s a wonderful outcome."