Clark Johnson, sometimes credited as Clark "Slappy" Jackson, Clarque Johnson,
and J. Clark Johnson, is an American actor and director who has worked in
both television and film. Early years
Johnson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The family eventually
moved to Canada. He attended Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. He has
three siblings including jazz singer Molly Johnson and actress and singer
Taborah Johnson. Johnson attended Eastern Michigan
University on a partial athletic scholarship for football, but he was
expelled after he was caught stealing turkey frankfurters from the school
cafeteria. He attended several other universities including Loyola and the
University of Ottawa before ending up at the Ontario College of Art as a film
major. Career
Johnson was drafted by the Canadian Football League, and even played short
stints with the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers before he decided he
had "better try and get some sort of job."
Johnson started in film doing special effects, including David Cronenberg's
The Dead Zone. This behind-the-scenes work often served as a "backup" for him
during the early stages of his acting career.
He began performing in feature films in 1981, landing roles in the movies
Killing 'em Softly, Colors, Wild Thing, Adventures in Babysitting, and Nowhere
to Hide. He also acted in a number of television shows early in his career,
including The Littlest Hobo, Night Heat, Hot Shots and E.N.G.
= Homicide: Life on the Street = In 1993, Johnson became part of the
original cast of the television series Homicide: Life on the Street playing
Detective Meldrick Lewis for all seven seasons and the reunion movie, as well
as directing several episodes. Johnson regularly improvised during filming and
made up his own jokes and dialogue; writer and producer James Yoshimura
called Clark the "king of the ad lib". Though the ensemble nature of the show
meant that Johnson always filled an important role in the series, he became
an even larger presence after his character was paired with a new partner,
Mike Kellerman. The two detectives became the central figures in a plot
line surrounding a Baltimore drug lord whose financial resources and front as a
devoted community servant made it nearly impossible for the police department to
bring him up on charges. Johnson made the transition to director with the
season four episode "Map of the Heart". He also directed "Betrayal",
"Valentine's Day", "Full Court Press" and "The Twenty Percent Solution". David
Simon, the author of the non-fiction book Homicide was based upon, as well as
a writer and producer for the series, commented that the transition from actor
to director was made easy by Johnson's familiarity with the show and that he
was one of the better directors in terms of keeping the tone of the show
consistent. In 2013, Johnson made a brief cameo as Lewis in the Law & Order:
Special Victims Unit episode "Wonderland Story" when the squad are at a
retirement party for John Munch. = The Wire =
Johnson worked on The Wire, reuniting with writer David Simon. Johnson
directed the pilot episode "The Target", second episode, fifth episode and series
finale. He appeared as Gus Haynes, the fictional, principled city desk editor
of the Baltimore Sun in the fifth and final season.
= Alpha House = In 2013, Johnson starred as Sen. Robert
Bettencourt in Amazon's Alpha House, a political comedy written by "Doonesbury"
creator Garry Trudeau. Along with John Goodman, Johnson plays one of four
Republican senators living together in a house on Capitol Hill. Johnson also
directed the season finale for the show's first season. Johnson has spent
the summer of 2014 filming Season Two. = Directing =
Johnson's other directing credits include the big-screen releases The
Sentinel and S.W.A.T., and episodes of Third Watch as well as the HBO original
production Boycott, a project which he helmed and in which he also acted. He
also directed the first episodes of Seasons 1 and 2 of the 2005 mini-series
Sleeper Cell. He also directed the first and last episodes of The Shield, along
with other episodes of that series. Johnson directed the pilot episode of
the FX drama Lights Out. The series stars The Wire cast members Pablo
Schreiber and Reg E. Cathey and focuses on a retired heavyweight boxing
champion. Selected filmography
= Actor = Night Heat TV series as Jefferson
Adventures in Babysitting as Black Gang Leader
E.N.G. TV series as Clarke Roberts Homicide: Life on the Street TV series
as Meldrick Lewis Drop Zone as Bob Covington
Soul Survivor as Busha The Planet of Junior Brown
Homicide: The Movie as Meldrick Lewis Love Come Down as Dean
The Wire TV series as Gus Haynes Nurse.Fighter.Boy as Silence
The Shield TV series as Handsome Marshal, Episode 7.13 "Family Meeting"
Defendor as Captain Fairbanks Unforgettable TV series as Clay Jacobs,
Episode "Blind Alleys" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit TV
series as Meldrick Lewis, Episode 15x05 "Wonderland Story"
Alpha House TV series as Senator Robert Bettencourt
Bird People Hyena Road
= Director = Homicide: Life on the Street TV series
Episodes "Map of the Heart", "Betrayal", "Valentine's Day", "Full Court Press",
"The Twenty Percent Solution" Fast Track TV series
Welcome to Paradox TV series La Femme Nikita TV series
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit TV series
Episode "Sophomore Jinx" NYPD Blue TV series
Episode "Lucky Luciano" The West Wing TV series
Episode "Six Meetings Before Lunch" The Beat TV series
Third Watch TV series Episode "Nature or Nurture?"
City of Angels TV series The City TV series
Boycott The Wire TV series
Episodes 1.01 "The Target", 1.02 "The Detail", 1.05 "The Pager"; Episode 5.10
"–30–" The Shield TV series
Episodes 1.01 "Pilot", 1.03 "The Spread", 1.05 "Blowback", 3.01 "Playing
Tight", 3.02 "Blood and Water"; 6.04 "The New Guy", 7.13 "Family Meeting"
S.W.A.T. The Secret Service
The Jury "Lamentation on the Reservation"
N.Y.-70 Sleeper Cell TV series
Episode "Al-Faitha", "Al-Bagara" The Sentinel
Memphis Beat TV series Episode 1.01 "It's All Right Mama"
King TV series Episodes 1.01 "Lori Gilbert", 1.02
"T-Bone" Homeland TV series
Episodes 1.05 "Blind Spot", 1.11 "The Vest", 3.03 "Tower of David", 3.05 "The
Yoga Play", 4.11 "Krieg Nicht Lieb" Alpha House TV series
"In the Saddle" References
External links Clark Johnson at the Internet Movie
Database 2008 interview on Fresh Air