Donald Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer, director, singer, and songwriter. He’s best known for his role as Det. James “Sonny” Crockett in the 1980s television series Miami Vice, winning a Golden Globe for his work in the role.<\/p>\n
In 1984, after more then a decade of acting on television, Johnson landed a starring role as undercover police detective\u00a0Sonny Crockett\u00a0in the\u00a0Michael Mann\/Universal Television\u00a0cop series,\u00a0Miami Vice (1984-1990). Miami Vice\u00a0made him “a major international star.”\u00a0According to\u00a0Rolling Stone, “No one had more swagger in the Reagan era than Don Johnson.”<\/p>\n
His work on\u00a0Miami Vice\u00a0earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Drama, in 1986, and he was nominated for the same award in 1987.\u00a0He was also nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1985. Between seasons on\u00a0Miami Vice, he gained further renown through TV miniseries such as the 1985 remake of\u00a0The Long, Hot Summer. In 1996, he had a supporting role in Tin Cup, along with Kevin Costner, Rene Russo, and Cheech Marin. Johnson received a star on the\u00a0Hollywood Walk of Fame\u00a0in 1996.<\/p>\n
He later starred in the 1996\u20132001 CBS-TV police drama\u00a0Nash Bridges with Cheech Marin,\u00a0Jeff Perry,\u00a0Jaime P. Gomez,\u00a0Kelly Hu, Wendy Moniz,\u00a0Annette O’Toole, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe\u00a0as his daughter Cassidy, and\u00a0James Gammon\u00a0as his father Nick.<\/p>\n
In October 2010, he began appearing on the\u00a0HBO\u00a0series\u00a0Eastbound & Down, playing\u00a0Kenny Powers’ long-lost father, going by the alias “Eduardo Sanchez.” He also reprised his role as Sonny Crockett for a\u00a0Nike\u00a0commercial with\u00a0LeBron James\u00a0in which the NBA player contemplates acting and appears alongside Johnson on Miami Vice.<\/p>\n
He had a supporting role in the 2012 Quentin Tarantino film\u00a0Django Unchained, playing a southern plantation owner named Spencer “Big Daddy” Bennett. In 2014, Johnson starred as the character “Jim Bob” opposite Sam Shepard and Michael C. Hall in Jim Mickle’s critically acclaimed crime film,\u00a0Cold in July. In 2014, he had a supporting role in the film The Other Woman as Cameron Diaz’s character’s father. In 2015, Johnson began starring in the ABC prime time soap opera\u00a0Blood & Oil.<\/p>\n
In 2018, he starred as the character of Arthur, the love interest of Vivian, played by\u00a0Jane Fonda\u00a0in Bill Holderman’s romantic-comedy\u00a0Book Club.\u00a0In 2019, Johnson played the role of Richard Drysdale in\u00a0Rian Johnson’s murder-mystery\u00a0Knives Out; and starred as Police Chief Judd Crawford in the HBO series\u00a0Watchmen.<\/p>\n
In 2021, he co-starred on\u00a0Kenan, until its cancellation in May 2022. He also appeared in a\u00a0Nash Bridges\u00a0television film, with co-star\u00a0Cheech Marin, on the\u00a0USA Network\u00a0in 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Donald Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer, director, singer, and songwriter. He’s best known for his role as Det. James “Sonny” Crockett in the 1980s television series Miami Vice, winning a Golden Globe for his work in the role. In 1984, after more then a decade of acting on television, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-28222","movie_engine_person","type-movie_engine_person","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n