The American actor Don Johnson, who is just a few weeks away from turning 70, has had a storied, never-boring career. He continues, flashing that smile, “I feel the same as I always did, 16 and wild!” As a swaggering Sonny Crockett in the television series Miami Vice, he made his breakthrough in the 1980s.
Johnson’s life was fast-paced and glamorous both on and off the screen; he was married five times, including twice to Melanie Griffith, and he indulged in hedonism on an Olympic scale. However, the work has remained steady, with parts in Rian Johnson’s hilarious and sleek whodunit Knives Out and Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained (Star Wars: The Last Jedi).
Christopher Plummer, who portrays a successful crime novelist whose sudden death puts a troubled family against one another, is portrayed in the movie along with Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, and Chris Evans.
Knives Out seem to have been a lot of fun for you and the actors to make. Or did you actually perform that extremely well?
When someone brings up this subject, I always respond by saying, “It’s kind of our duty to make it look easy and fun.” You have to act that way around them even though you might go to jail for some horrific crime you committed against them. However, this was one of those happy instances where we did have a good time.
Whether supporting your children’s jobs genuinely helps them is one of Knives Out’s more serious themes. What do you think as a father of five children?
Oh, the number of volumes I could write on that. I believe that you intentionally harm your kids. The more you do for them, the more you cripple them. You start out wanting better for them than what you got for yourself. The force behind creativity, discovery, and curiosity is struggled.
Are you speaking from personal experience? Your journey to become an actor wasn’t exactly simple, was it?
No way. I had the worst childhood ever. My parents split when I was 12 years old and I was the eldest, therefore I had the quinella. I truly wasn’t happy, so when I was 16 I left home. And when you leave home at 16 without a plan, have to support yourself through high school, and have to fend for yourself, it develops a strong sense of character.
Why do you believe you succeeded as an actor?
I’ve always had faith in my abilities and skills. I was a really gorgeous young man, so you may think that my physical characteristics would be a benefit. However, I had to overcome some of them. However, I was somewhat androgynous at a period when it was not always desirable to be such. I was young, rail-thin, had long hair, and my features were… I thought I was a pretty boy. I didn’t feel that way about myself, but I had to go past it if I wanted to be taken seriously.
Not many individuals, particularly men, discuss the drawbacks of having excessive physical attractiveness.
Yes, it had a number of negative effects. It was beneficial in other ways as well. Because it had a significant impact when it did work for me.
Did you anticipate that you would be acting well into your 70s?
Okay, I didn’t plan on living to 30. So everything has been gravy. I believe I can speak for all actors when I say that virtually often, you think, “Well, that was it. I will never again work. Therefore, for actors, every day is Christmas. Santa either treated you well that day or not.
How did it make you feel when your daughter Dakota expressed a desire to be an actor?
That in itself is a story. I was unaware of her desire to carry it out. She hadn’t told us about that. She must have been around 18, I believe, since I thought, “OK, I’ll just keep an eye on her and reach out to catch her.” That was the last I ever saw of Dakota, haha. She is the real deal. She is a fantastic actress, and in some ways, she is even better than me and her mother, Melanie Griffith.
How do you get along with Chris Martin from Coldplay, Dakota’s boyfriend?
I’ll tell you right now, he’s a beautiful man. But since they have their own affairs, it is not my place. To ask Chris Martin how Don’s marriage is going would be analogous to that.
There is an old photograph of you and Donald Trump. Were you friends?
I had only known Donald for a short while. I’m talking about it for a brief time [loud pause, sigh]. I suppose everything speaks for itself, doesn’t it? It was enough of my 20 minutes with the Donald.
But you were close with Hunter S. Thompson. Could you two ever just chill out together?
Oh, how I adored Hunter. Every day I think about him. He has a kind heart. Amen! He was also crazy. And yes, if you were willing to sip some whiskey, we could simply hang around.
But do you no longer use alcohol?
Oh no, I haven’t had alcohol in a while. I have no idea how long. As soon as I made the decision to stop drinking and using drugs, I had to stay away from him for a bit. Once I felt relatively at ease, I made my way back. He was very interested in my thing—being sober—but it wasn’t on his dance agenda. He did check the box labeled “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll.”
There have been rumors of a Miami Vice remake. Was that show for you a blessing or a curse?
I’m quite proud of myself for having managed to escape the trap that so many other actors fall into after taking on a part that is so renowned. Others were willing to say: “Oh, OK, let me check him out in this,” but I was able to detach Don Johnson from Sonny Crockett and take him on a voyage. And that’s a significant achievement.
