• Kenny Johnson is an actor with 60+ acting credits and is known for his role in "S. W. A.T."
• He is also a former arm-wrestling champion and award-winning director
• Born in New Haven, Connecticut, he moved to Los Angeles after graduating college to pursue acting
• He is married to actress Cathleen Ovenson with one daughter, Angelica Scarlet
• Kenny's net worth is estimated to be over $3 million
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Who is Kenny Johnson?
He’s an actor with over 60 acting credits to his name, however, Kenny Johnson is perhaps known best for his role as Dominique Luca in the series “S. W. A. T.”, also starring Shemar Moore and Alex Russell, which began airing in 2017.
Did you know that he’s a former arm-wrestling champion? Or that he is an award-winning director? Kenny co-directed and also co-starred in the 2008 short movie “I Heard the Mermaids Singing” alongside Victoria Charters, and the two won the Great Lakes Film Festival Artistic Excellence Award for Best Narrative Short, and Park City Film Music Festival Silver Medal for Excellence- Short Film.
To learn more interesting facts, let us tell you all about Kenny Johnson.
Early life, family, and education
Born Kennett Allen Johnson under the zodiac sign of Cancer on 13 July 1963, his age in 2023 is 60. Kenny was born in New Haven, Connecticut USA, thus he holds American nationality. He was raised by his parents, about whom nothing is known, on a farm in Wethersfield, Vermont, and since he hasn’t spoken about siblings, it’s believed that he’s the only child.
Although Kenny enjoyed growing up on a farm, he wanted more in his life. Upon matriculating from high school in 1981, he enrolled at Central Connecticut State University, where he found an interest in sports, and played basketball and football.
After he graduated in 1985, Kenny moved to Boston, Massachusetts where he launched his career modeling for Ford Models and Wilhelmina modeling agencies. Four years later, he moved to Los Angeles, California, deciding that he wanted to be an actor.
Roles in movies
Kenny made his acting debut as Dave in the 1990 movie “The Forbidden Dance”, followed by his role as Greg in “Mirage” later that year. During the rest of the decade, Kenny co-starred in the TV movie “At Home with the Webbers” (1993), then returned to the big screen playing a small part as a State Patrolman in the 1995 comedy “Bushwhacked”.
Kenny’s next movie role came in 1998, when he was cast to play Lance Pere in “Major League: Back to the Minors”, which ‘won’ The Stinkers Bad Movie Award-The Sequel Nobody Was Clamoring For. Later that year, Kenny was seen as Heat-seeking Dennis in the action horror “Blade” starring Wesley Snipes and Stephen Dorff, which had 11 award nominations and won five.
The early 2000s saw Kenny in “Under Heavy Fire” (2001). He followed with his first lead role, starring as Lou in the 2006 movie “Burned”, a thriller that followed the story of three people who found themselves burning in the sun in a mysterious desert. The movie had no nominations, and the audience rated it 5.1/10.
Next, Kenny was cast to play Officer Murphy in the 2007 movie “The Perfect Witness” before he starred in the aforementioned romantic drama “I Heard the Mermaids Singing” in 2008.
Starting the next decade, Kenny portrayed Frank Connor in “Few Options, All Bad”, starring opposite Erin Daniels and David Marciano in this crime drama which won two Chain NYC Film Festival Awards (Best Ensemble, and Best Original Score).
Kenny had notable roles in the 2015 movies “Solace” and “Blue”, followed by appearing in “Run the Tide” and “No Stranger Pilgrims” in 2016. In the following year, he was cast to play Roy in “Check Point”, in which he starred opposite Bill Goldberg and William Forsythe.
He followed with his role as Levi in the 2021 horror “Howl”, also starring Michele Martin who both wrote and directed this movie, which was the reimagining of “Little Red Riding Hood” – Kenny won the Broadstairs International Filmmaker Festival Award for Best Actor in an English Language Film.
Roles in series
Kenny made his first television series appearance as Ray Minotta in the series “Santa Barbara”, being seen in 10 episodes of this romantic drama in 1992. In the early ‘90s, Kenny mostly guest starred in various series, before he was cast to play Burner in the series “Pensacola: Wings of Gold”, being seen in 27 episodes from 1998 to 2000.
From 2002 to 2006, Kenny portrayed Curtis Lemansky in “The Shield”, which was his breakthrough role. Although he auditioned for the role of Terry Crowley, which was played by Reed Diamond, the creator of the series was impressed by Kenny’s acting, so he created the role of Curtis Lemansky, especially for him – the hit series had 61 award nominations, and won 15, including a Primetime Emmy.
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— Kenny Johnson Fans (@kjohnsonfans) September 26, 2018
In the following year came another of Kenny’s notable roles, when he was cast to play Ham Dewey in the series “Saving Grace”, and appeared in all 46 episodes through 2010. Kenny’s co-stars were Holly Hunter and Leon Rippy, and the show had 18 award nominations, including three for Primetime Emmy awards, and won five.
Concurrently, from 2009 to 2011, Kenny was seen as Herman Kozik in the hit series “Sons of Anarchy”, followed by his role as Matt Webb in the crime-drama “Prime Suspect” (2011-2012). In the following years, Kenny was cast in “Dexter” (2013) and “Castle” (2014), before he was cast to play Tommy Welch in “Chicago Fire” (2014-2015). Concurrently, he portrayed Caleb Calhoun in “Bates Motel” (2014-2017), and played Danny Voss in the 2016 series “Secrets and Lies”.
From 2017 until today, Kenny has been playing his most notable role, as Dominique Luca in 177 episodes of the series “S. W. A. T.”, an action crime adventure, which had eight award nominations, including three for Primetime Emmy.
Kenny’s character was absent from the show during the fourth season in 2020 apparently due to an injury, but the truth was that Kenny had not been involved in the series due to a legal dispute with Sony Pictures Television. On 18 July 2018, Kenny was injured while filming a scene, in which he simulated being dragged through the air while clinging to a helicopter’s landing gear, and this was allegedly when he was injured.
According to the suit, Kenny was ‘unreasonably exposed to danger and injury’ – the last update about this case was in July 2022, but is still pending.
Wife and children
Since 21 December 2005, Kenny has been married to his former long-term girlfriend, Cathleen Ovenson. She is also an actress, and she made appearances alongside her husband in the movie “Under Heavy Fire” and in the series’ “The Shield” and “Saving Grace”.
They have one daughter together, namely Angelica Scarlet, born on 7 May 2009, who’s followed in her parent’s footsteps. Aged eight, she made her acting debut as Kelly in the series “S. W. A. T.”, and she was also seen in an episode of this series on 3 December 2022, playing the role of Jelli.
Net worth
During his more than 30-year-long career, Kenny starred in several hit series, playing some notable roles, which have all contributed to his wealth. According to sources, as of January 2023, his net worth has been estimated at over $3 million.
