Clark Johnson


Clark Johnson is an American-Canadian actor and director, who has worked in both television and film. He is best known for his roles as David Jefferson on Night Heat, Clark Roberts on E.N.G., Meldrick Lewis in Homicide: Life on the Street and Augustus Haynes in The Wire.
Johnson was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for the pilot episode of The Shield. He was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Actor for Nurse.Fighter.Boy and Best Supporting Actor for Rude, both directed by Clement Virgo. At the 6th Canadian Screen Awards, he received the Earle Grey Award for lifetime achievement.

Early years

Johnson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to an Afro-Caribbean father from Trinidad and Tobago and a white mother. The family later moved to Canada. 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 American football, but he was expelled after he was caught stealing food from the school cafeteria. He attended several other universities including the University of Ottawa and Loyola College/Concordia University, where he played Canadian football, before ending up at the Ontario College of Art as a film major. He was drafted by the Toronto Argonauts in the seventh round of the 1978 CFL draft but ultimately did not play professionally.

Career

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 films 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.. He starred in the first episode of The Women of Brewster Place in 1989 as Butch Fuller.

''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". Although the ensemble nature of the show meant that Johnson never played a minor role, 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 make it nearly impossible for the police department to charge him. 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", the second and fifth first-season episodes, and the series finale. He plays Augustus Haynes, the dedicated and principled editor for The Baltimore Sun city desk.

''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 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 fellow The Wire cast members Pablo Schreiber and Reg E. Cathey and focuses on a retired heavyweight boxing champion.
Johnson is a guest instructor at HB Studio.

Filmography

Actor

YearTitleRoleNotes
1985–88Night HeatDavid Jefferson18 episodes
1986Hot ShotsAl Pendleton13 episodes
1988–92Katts and DogLennie3 episodes
1989The Women of Brewster PlaceButch Fuller2 episodes
1989–94E.N.G.Clarke Roberts14 episodes
1991–92HammermanHammerman11 episodes
1993North of 60Sonny RossEpisode "Southern Comfort"
1993–99Homicide: Life on the StreetMeldrick Lewis122 episodes
1998Cold SquadDerrick Clark2 episodes
2000Deliberate IntentJames PerryTelevision film
2000Homicide: The MovieMeldrick LewisTelevision film
2002Soul FoodTerrellEpisode: "Lovers and Other Strangers"
2005Tripping the Wire: A Stephen Tree MysteryStephen TreeTelevision film
2008The WireGus Haynes10 episodes
2008The ShieldHandsome MarshalEpisode "Family Meeting"
2009Crash & BurnWalker Hearn5 episodes
2012UnforgettableClay JacobsEpisode "Blind Alleys"
2013Law & Order: Special Victims UnitMeldrick LewisEpisode "Wonderland Story"
2013–14Alpha HouseSen. Robert Bettencourt21 episodes
2018BoschHoward Elias4 episodes
2018Seven SecondsKJ's fatherEpisode "That What Follows"
2019EvilFather Amara4 episodes
2025–presentDaredevil: Born AgainCherry7 episodes

Director

YearTitleNotes
2003S.W.A.T.
2006The Sentinel
2019Juanita
2020Percy