Johnny Harris (actor)

Johnny Harris
Harris in 2019
Born (1973-11-03) 3 November 1973 (age 51)
Lambeth, London, England, United Kingdom
Occupation(s)Actor, Screenwriter, Producer, Director
Years active2000–present

Johnny Harris (born 3 November 1973) is an English actor, screenwriter, producer and director.[1][2]

His breakthrough role came in the feature film, London to Brighton.[3] which was voted into Time Out's '100 Greatest British Films of All Time'. In an interview in The Independent on Sunday at the time of the film's release, celebrated British film director Shane Meadows said of Harris' performance in the film: "It's an incredibly bold and massively powerful performance. The best I've seen on celluloid for a long time."[4]

Four years later, Meadows cast Harris in his cult television series This Is England '86. Harris received both BAFTA TV Award and Royal Television Society Award nominations for his portrayal of Lol's abusive father, Mick Jenkins.[5] The final episode of This Is England '86 was recently named: 'The Greatest TV Episode of All Time' by The Independent.[6]

In 2017, Harris made his debut as a screenwriter with the highly acclaimed feature film, Jawbone.[7] Harris also starred in and co-produced the movie.[8] He received a BAFTA Film Award nomination in the ‘Outstanding Debut’ Category for his work on the movie; Two BIFA nominations for his performance in the leading role, and a Writers Guild of Great Britain Award nomination for his screenplay.[9]

Paul Weller composed and recorded the soundtrack for Jawbone (Weller's first) and in October 2018, Harris made his debut behind the camera, directing the video for Weller's hit single, "Gravity".[10]

He has starred in Jawbone, The Salisbury Poisonings, This Is England '86, This Is England '88, This Is England '90, Snow White and the Huntsman, Fortitude, Troy: Fall of a City, Medici, Monsters: Dark Continent, From Darkness, Welcome to the Punch, and Jack Thorne's BAFTA TV Award-winning TV show The Fades.[11]

Harris played the iconic role of Magwitch in the BBC/FX Network/Disney adaptation of Great Expectations, alongside Academy Award winner Olivia Colman. The show was exec-produced by Tom Hardy and Sir Ridley Scott.[12]

He co-starred alongside Vicky McClure in the ITV drama series, Without Sin.[13]

In 2024, Harris played Osip Glebnikov in the new Showtime / Paramount production of A Gentleman in Moscow, starring Ewan McGregor. A Gentleman in Moscow is based on the internationally best-selling novel by Amor Towles.[14]

The Independent described Harris as "One of Britain's Finest Actors".[15]

  1. ^ Profile, IMDB. "Johnny Harris IMDB". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  2. ^ Tomatoes, Rotten. "Johnny Harris Profile". www.rottentomatoes.com.
  3. ^ Profile, IMDB. "London To Brighton". www.imdb.com.
  4. ^ "Johnny Harris".
  5. ^ Awards, Bafta. "This Is England Bafta Nominations and Awards". www.awards.bafta.org.
  6. ^ "The 50 greatest TV episodes of all time, from This is England to I May Destroy You". Independent.co.uk. 14 May 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  7. ^ Rosser, Michael (26 February 2016). "Boxing drama 'Jawbone' begins shoot". Screen Daily. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  8. ^ Mackenzie, Steven (15 May 2017). "Johnny Harris: "Jawbone is a love letter to an important period in my life"". The Big Issue. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  9. ^ "BIFA Winners and Nominations 2017". bifa.film. 25 October 2017.
  10. ^ Munro, Scott (2 October 2017). "Paul Weller premieres video for his beautiful new track Gravity". loudersound.com. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Johnny Harris". IMDb. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Great Expectations cast and creators reveal all about Steven Knight's new Dickens adaptation". bbc.com. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Vicky McClure and Johnny Harris on reuniting for new drama Without Sin – 13 years after This Is England '86". 27 December 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  14. ^ "'A Gentleman In Moscow': Leah Harvey, Paul Ready & More Join Paramount+ & Showtime Drama Series". Deadline Hollywood. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  15. ^ Ian Burrell (24 October 2011). "Street-fighting man still packs a real punch". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2017.