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Don Johnson

Most people know Don Johnson as the man who breathed life into the character of Sonny Crockett during the five-year run of Miami Vice. This fall, Johnson stars as Grant Cooper, a disillusioned lawyer in The WB's new procedural drama Just Legal.

While in his last year of high school in Wichita, Kansas, and needing one more class to graduate, Johnson chose drama and landed the lead role in West Side Story. Shortly thereafter, he was awarded a full scholarship to the University of Kansas where he studied for two years before joining The American Conservatory Theater. A string of feature films followed, among them Return to Macon County Line, Zachariah, The Hazard Experiment and A Boy and His Dog.

Johnson's television credits include The Rebels, Beulah Land and From Here To Eternity. The television movies Elvis and Me, First You Cry and Centerfold all preceded Miami Vice, which began in 1983.

While working on Vice, Johnson turned out the equivalent of one television movie per week. He also managed to find time for other projects as well. These included two feature films, Sweet Hearts Dance and Dead Bang. Johnson also recorded two albums, Heartbeat, which sold over a million copies, and Let It Roll. Dennis Hopper directed Johnson in the feature film The Hot Spot. In Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, Johnson co-starred opposite Mickey Rourke as one of the last of a dying breed, playing the Marlboro Man. He also starred with Melanie Griffith in Disney's Paradise, a delightfully charming and emotional movie based on the French film Le Grand Chemin. In 1992, Johnson and Griffith teamed up again to do Born Yesterday, also for Disney. During the same year, he starred in the thriller Guilty as Sin, with Rebecca De Mornay. In 1996, Johnson co-starred with Kevin Costner and his Nash Bridges sidekick Cheech Marin in the box office hit Tin Cup. His latest feature film, Goodbye Lover, starred Patricia Arquette.

While doing Miami Vice, Johnson developed an astute acumen for filmmaking and directed six episodes over the run of the series. His production company, The Don Johnson Company, has future projects that involve his talents both in front of and behind the camera. He is also executive producing film projects for television and theatrical release.

The Don Johnson Company produced the highly acclaimed movie for TV In the Company of Darkness, which was Academy Award-winning actress Helen Hunt's first movie. In 1995, for the third year in a row, The Don Johnson Company produced the prestigious Washington D.C. based Horatio Alger Awards special and also produced a successful drama series called The Marshal.

In March of 2001, Johnson finished executive producing and starring in the series Nash Bridges, which ran for six successful years. Johnson has starred in a record 233 episodes of network television, and both Miami Vice and Nash Bridges are currently being syndicated worldwide in 143 countries.

Currently, The Don Johnson Company is producing two major feature films, including a combination live-action/CGI family picture with the Walt Disney Company entitled The Mysterious Tadpole. Additionally, The Don Johnson Company is in pre-production on two pictures with HBO and several new one-hour television series. The company is also developing television movies and a variety of feature films.

Johnson loves the process of filmmaking and he plans to continue venturing into many creative aspects of the entertainment industry.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2005.
Read earlier biographies on this page.

Don Johnson Facts

Birth NameDonnie Wayne Johnson
OccupationActor, Producer
BirthdayDecember 15, 1949 (74)
SignSagittarius
BirthplaceFlat Creek, Missouri, USA
Height5' 11" (1m80)  How tall is Don Johnson compared to you?
Awards1986 Golden Globe Awards: Best Actor in a Television Series - Drama (for Miami Vice)

Selected Filmography

The Firm
Hannibal
Marvel's The Avengers: Age Of Ultron
Drunk History Vol. 1
Eagle Eye
Sniper Zero
X-Men Origins: Wolverine EXTENDED
Rocky
When in Rome
Continue » Find more details on the Don Johnson Movies page