Wil Johnson

Early life

Johnson was born to Jamaican parents in Muswell Hill, London and raised in Tottenham. His mother invested in stocks and his father worked for UPS. Johnson had no interest in music while he was in primary school, but after he filled in a role for an absent drummer, he changed his mind.

He went to Mountview Drama School in Crouch End, London. He also joined another drama group at the Haringey Theatre. He also went to a dance group and learned ballet, contemporary dancing, and break dancing, which he performed for about seven years. He also attended National Youth Theatre for three years.

Career

Johnson's first professional acting role came in the play Four Seasons at the 1985 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. For the rest of the 1980s he made minor appearances in television series such as Casualty and London's Burning, before playing detective Stevie Johnson in the London Weekend Television series Anna Lee. From 1994 to 1995 he played the supporting role of Detective Constable Michael Skelton in Cracker.

In 2000, he appeared in the BBC One television pilot Waking the Dead, as Detective Sergeant Spencer Jordan, a member of a specialised police unit tasked with investigating "cold cases". Waking the Dead returned for a complete series in 2001, and Johnson was a main cast member until the series ended in 2011. From 2000 to 2002, he appeared as Steve Robinson in Paul Abbott's popular drama series Clocking Off. From 2001 to 2002, he appeared as a main cast member in two series of the BBC's Babyfather.

In 2004, Johnson played the title character in the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company's Othello.

He also played Marcus Kirby in the BBC One school-based drama Waterloo Road. He departed in the second half of the series.

In 2010, he appeared in In a Better World (film) as 'Dr. Najeeb'.

He also performed in a play, called The Swallowing Dark at the Liverpool Playhouse and Theatre503. In 2011, he also starred as gangster boss Big Mike in Anuvahood and in 2008 as Big Man in Adulthood.

In November 2011, Johnson appeared as 'Sean Dolan' a Consultant paediatrician in BBC One's Holby City.

In 2012, it was announced that Johnson would be joining Emmerdale as single father Dominic "Dom" Andrews in the later part of the year. On 23 February 2014, it was announced that he would be leaving the show later that year following the death of his character's daughter, Gemma (Tendai Rinomhota).

In 2013, he appeared as a gangster in a film thriller called Life Outside.

In 2013, he also co-produced with Christian Ashaiku a film called Disorientated Generation (about a Nigerian man living in London). The film was partially funded by Enfield Council,

In 2016, Johnson was cast as the Earl of Kent in the Talawa Theatre Company and Royal Exchange Manchester co-production of King Lear. Johnson received praise for his performance, with The Guardian writing "giving depth to straight simplicity" and the Manchester Theatre Awards saying that "... wrongest servant Kent is played with passion and often with humour by Wil Johnson".

In 2016, Johnson received the British Urban Film Festival honorary award from fellow actor Charles Venn for 30+ years outstanding contribution to film and television.

He is an advocate of colour-blind casting in British television:

Personal life

Johnson has six children.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

References

1. Eluka, Clare. (12 October 2013). "Interview Wil Johnson".
2. Morris, Davi a. (25 April 2010). "'There's more to us than ghetto stories' - Wil Johnson projects different face of black British film-making". The Gleaner.
3. Staff (15 May 2009). "Since I started singing on YouTube I've thought of nothing else...". ''Evening Telegraph'' (Coventry Newspapers): pp. 30–31.
4. Peake, Jon (30 June 2001). "Dead not buried". ''The Sun'' (News Group Newspapers): p. 15.
5. (October 2008). "Babyfather". BBC Drama.
6. (2011-09-06). "Wil Johnson – (In A Better World – 2010)". mattjhorn.wordpress.com.
7. Kilkelly, Daniel. (25 October 2012). "'Emmerdale' announces four new characters". digitalspy.co.uk.
8. "Wil Johnson special guest DJ for Welcome 20th July". triforcepromotions.co.uk.
9. Morris, Davina. (25 April 2010). "different face of black British film-making". jamaica-gleaner.com.
10. (19 February 2016). "Full casting announced for King Lear at Royal Exchange".
11. Brennan, Clare. (10 April 2016). "King Lear review – two Lears acting up a storm". The Guardian.
12. "King Lear".
13. Green, Chris (25 February 2008). "[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/meera-syal-why-tv-makes-me-depressed-786681.html 'Why TV makes me depressed']". ''The Independent'' (Independent News & Media): p. 4.
14. (8 February 2014). "Ayanna Witter-Johnson: String sensation {{!}} The Voice Online".