Keean Johnson

Keean Johnson
Keean Johnson
	Johnson at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	October 25, 1996; Boulder, Colorado, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2013–present
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Keean Johnson (born c. October 25,1996)^[1] is an American actor who known for his lead role as Adam Freeman in action horror adventure series Spooksville (2013–2014).^[2]

Johnson played one of the lead roles, Hugo, in the film Alita: Battle Angel (2019).^[3] He is also known for his lead role in the films Low Tide (2019)^[4]^[5] and The Ultimate Playlist of Noise (2021).^[6]

Early life

Johnson was born and raised in Boulder, Colorado. His father is British and his mother is American-Chilean. He has a younger brother, Cade Johnson. His first professional acting debut came at the age of 11 at the Denver Center for Performing Arts in the play Plainsong. It was at this same time that the casting director Nora Brennan for the Broadway musical Billy Elliot cast him in the show which went on to win the Tony for Best Musical in 2008.^[7]

Acting career

Television

Johnson began his professional acting career as an actor at the age of 16, when he appeared in episodic roles in the television shows: Switched at Birth, Notorious and Joe Pickett.

Johnson made his television debut in 2013, he was cast to play the lead role of Adam Freeman in the action horror adventure series Spooksville alongside Katie Douglas, Nick Purcha and Morgan Taylor Campbell, based on Christopher Pike's novel of the same name, which that aired on the Hub Network from late 2013 to 2014.^[8]^[9]

From 2014 to 2016, Johnson played the recurring role of Colt Wheeler in the musical drama film Nashville.^[10]

In 2015, Johnson appeared on the third season of the family drama series The Fosters, which he played the role of Tony.^[11]^{[better source needed]} Johnson appeared on the second season in the teen drama web series Guidance, he played the main role of Kyo 'Ozo' Ozonaka, which was second season released in late 2016.^[12] Johnson appeared on the first season of the teen drama series Euphoria, which he played the recurring role of Daniel, based on the Israeli miniseries of the same name.^[13]^{[better source needed]}

In 2023, Johnson was cast to play the main role of Vernon Howell in the crime drama miniseries Waco: The Aftermath, developed by John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle, which was premiered in the first half of 2023, on Showtime.^[14]^[15]

Film

In 2016, Johnson made his feature film debut in the comedy-drama film Heritage Falls starring David Keith, he played the role of Markie Fitzpatrick, which was released in the second half of 2016.^[16]^[17] Johnson's break-out role came in 2019, when he played the role of Hugo in the cyberpunk action film Alita: Battle Angel starring Rosa Salazar, directed by Robert Rodriguez, based on Yukito Kishiro's manga series Gunnm, which was world premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on January 31, 2019 and released in early 2019.^[18]

Johnson also co-starred Alexandra Daddario, Maddie Hasson, Amy Forsyth, Logan Miller and Austin Swift in the horror thriller film We Summon the Darkness, directed by Marc Meyers and written by Alan Trezza, which was premiered at Mammoth Film Festival in early 2019, and was released in digital and on-demand in the United States in the first half of 2020, by Saban Films.^[19]^[20]

Johnson starred alongside Jaeden Martell, Alex Neustaedter and Kristine Froseth in the 2019 drama film Low Tide, directed by Kevin McMullin, which he played the lead role, which was premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in the first half of 2019 and was theatrically released in late 2019.^[21]

Johnson played the role of Chief Aviation Radioman James Murray in the war film Midway directed by Roland Emmerich, which was released in late 2019.^[22]^[23]

In 2020, Johnson played Rufus Kelly in the historical drama film Emperor stars Dayo Okeniyi, James Cromwell, Kat Graham, and Bruce Dern, directed by Mark Amin, which was released in mid-2020.^[24]^[25] On the same year, he appeared in the heist film Cut Throat City directed by RZA, which was released in mid-2020, by Well Go USA Entertainment.^[26]

Johnson starred in the romantic comedy-drama film by Bennett Lasseter titled The Ultimate Playlist of Noise with Madeline Brewer, which was released in early 2021.^[27]^[28]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
2016	Heritage Falls	Markie Fitzpatrick
2019	Alita: Battle Angel	Hugo
	Low Tide	Alan
	We Summon the Darkness	Mark
	Midway	James Murray
2020	Emperor	Rufus Kelly
2020	Cut Throat City	Junior
2021	The Ultimate Playlist of Noise	Marcus

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	Spooksville Freak Files	Adam Freeman	Web series^[29]
2013–2014	Spooksville	Adam Freeman	Main role
2014	Switched at Birth	Angelo 'A.J.' Sorrento Jr.	Episode: "Yuletide Fortune Tellers"
2014–2016	Nashville	Colt Wheeler	Recurring role, 22 episodes
2015	The Fosters	Tony	Recurring role, 6 episodes
2016	Notorious	Finn	Episode: "Tell Me a Secret"
2016	Guidance	Ozo	Main role (season 2)
2019	Euphoria	Daniel	Recurring role, 6 episodes
2023	Joe Pickett	Luke Brueggeman	Main role (season 2)
2023	Waco: The Aftermath	Vernon Howell	5 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2013	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a TV Series – Supporting Young Actor	Spooksville	Nominated
2013	Young Artist Award	Outstanding Young Ensemble in a TV Series	Spooksville	Nominated

References

^ "Keean Johnson – The 22 Year Old Quadruple Threat". Flaunt Magazine. February 13, 2019.
^ "Keean Johnson Chats "Spooksville"!". Sweety High. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
^ "Young Spooksville actor Keean Johnson gushes about filming on Vancouver Island among 'nicest people'". The Official Tourism Tofino. April 1, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
^ "Low Tide". Tribeca Film Festival. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
^ Hayes, Dade (March 5, 2019). "Tribeca Film Festival Unveils Feature Lineup, With Screen Time For John DeLorean, Muhammad Ali, Chelsea Manning". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
^ "Syracuse movie debuts on Hulu Friday, 'The Ultimate Playlist of Noise'". CNY Central. January 15, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
^ Reid, Michael D. "TV star Keean Johnson takes a spooky ride to stardom". Times Colonist. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
^ "The Hub to Launch Brand New Series SPOOKVILLE, 10/26".
^ "The Hub launches 2012-13 program slate". KidScreen. March 1, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
^ Kit, Borys (September 30, 2016). "'Nashville' Actor Nabs Key Role in 'Alita: Battle Angel' (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
^ "The Fosters - Keean Johnson as Tom, Tony". IMDb. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
^ Todd Spangler (October 12, 2016). "Arden Rose, Erica Dasher Star in 'Guidance' Season 2 on Verizon Go90". Variety. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
^ "Keean Johnson as Daniel - Euphoria". IMDb. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
^ White, Peter (February 24, 2021). "Paramount+ Builds On 'Waco' With 'American Tragedy' Anthology Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 11, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
^ Metcalf, Mitch (April 18, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 4.16.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
^ "INSP Films Begins Production on "Heritage Falls"". PR Web. April 25, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
^ Williams, Alan (August 30, 2016). "Keeping the Faith with actor David Keith and new movie". WVLT-TV. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
^ Entertainment Desk (February 8, 2019). "Alita Battle Angel actor Keean Johnson: Wanted to bring a vulnerability to Hugo". The Indian Express. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
^ "We Summon the Darkness". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
^ "We Summon the Darkness – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
^ @lowtidemovie (August 8, 2019). "Starring Jaeden Martell, Keean Johnson, Shea Whigham, Alex Neustaedter, Daniel Zolghadri, and Kristine Froseth — #LowTide Opens in Select Theaters 10/4 and exclusively on @DIRECTV Cinema 9/5" (Tweet). Retrieved August 8, 2019 – via Twitter.
^ Deckelmeier, Joe (November 7, 2019). "Darren Criss & Keean Johnson Interview: Midway". Screen Rant. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
^ Wiseman, Andreas (August 10, 2018). "Roland Emmerich's 'Midway' Enlists Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Tadanobu Asano, Keean Johnson, Ahead Of Fall Shoot". Deadline. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
^ Debruge, Peter (August 15, 2020). "'Emperor' Review: A Runaway Slave Joins the Raid on Harpers Ferry in Forgotten Tale of Black Heroism". Variety.
^ Pape, Stefan (August 18, 2020). "Exclusive: Experienced producer Mark Amin on directorial debut Emperor and upcoming Zorro reboot". HeyUGuys. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
^ "Cut Throat City - St. Louis Times". Riverfront Times. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
^ "The Ultimate Playlist of Noise (2021) – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
^ Eisenberg, Eric (January 13, 2021). "Hulu's The Ultimate Playlist Of Noise Review: A Standard Coming Of Age Drama With Cute, Emotional Moments". CinemaBlend. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
^ "Spooksville". Hubworld. Archived from the original on November 19, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2020.

External links

Keean Johnson at IMDb

[1] "Keean Johnson – The 22 Year Old Quadruple Threat". Flaunt Magazine. February 13, 2019.

[2] "Keean Johnson Chats "Spooksville"!". Sweety High. Retrieved March 11, 2019.

[3] "Young Spooksville actor Keean Johnson gushes about filming on Vancouver Island among 'nicest people'". The Official Tourism Tofino. April 1, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2019.

[4] "Low Tide". Tribeca Film Festival. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2019.

[5] Hayes, Dade (March 5, 2019). "Tribeca Film Festival Unveils Feature Lineup, With Screen Time For John DeLorean, Muhammad Ali, Chelsea Manning". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 5, 2019.

[6] "Syracuse movie debuts on Hulu Friday, 'The Ultimate Playlist of Noise'". CNY Central. January 15, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2021.

[7] Reid, Michael D. "TV star Keean Johnson takes a spooky ride to stardom". Times Colonist. Retrieved March 11, 2019.

[8] "The Hub to Launch Brand New Series SPOOKVILLE, 10/26".

[9] "The Hub launches 2012-13 program slate". KidScreen. March 1, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2013.

[10] Kit, Borys (September 30, 2016). "'Nashville' Actor Nabs Key Role in 'Alita: Battle Angel' (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved May 18, 2023.

[11] "The Fosters - Keean Johnson as Tom, Tony". IMDb. Retrieved May 18, 2023.

[12] Todd Spangler (October 12, 2016). "Arden Rose, Erica Dasher Star in 'Guidance' Season 2 on Verizon Go90". Variety. Retrieved July 16, 2019.

[13] "Keean Johnson as Daniel - Euphoria". IMDb. Retrieved May 18, 2023.

[14] White, Peter (February 24, 2021). "Paramount+ Builds On 'Waco' With 'American Tragedy' Anthology Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 11, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023.

[15] Metcalf, Mitch (April 18, 2023). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 4.16.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 18, 2023.

[16] "INSP Films Begins Production on "Heritage Falls"". PR Web. April 25, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.

[17] Williams, Alan (August 30, 2016). "Keeping the Faith with actor David Keith and new movie". WVLT-TV. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.

[18] Entertainment Desk (February 8, 2019). "Alita Battle Angel actor Keean Johnson: Wanted to bring a vulnerability to Hugo". The Indian Express. Retrieved May 18, 2023.

[19] "We Summon the Darkness". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 14, 2020.

[20] "We Summon the Darkness – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved May 26, 2020.

[21] @lowtidemovie (August 8, 2019). "Starring Jaeden Martell, Keean Johnson, Shea Whigham, Alex Neustaedter, Daniel Zolghadri, and Kristine Froseth — #LowTide Opens in Select Theaters 10/4 and exclusively on @DIRECTV Cinema 9/5" (Tweet). Retrieved August 8, 2019 – via Twitter.

[22] Deckelmeier, Joe (November 7, 2019). "Darren Criss & Keean Johnson Interview: Midway". Screen Rant. Retrieved May 18, 2023.

[23] Wiseman, Andreas (August 10, 2018). "Roland Emmerich's 'Midway' Enlists Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Tadanobu Asano, Keean Johnson, Ahead Of Fall Shoot". Deadline. Retrieved May 18, 2023.

[24] Debruge, Peter (August 15, 2020). "'Emperor' Review: A Runaway Slave Joins the Raid on Harpers Ferry in Forgotten Tale of Black Heroism". Variety.

[25] Pape, Stefan (August 18, 2020). "Exclusive: Experienced producer Mark Amin on directorial debut Emperor and upcoming Zorro reboot". HeyUGuys. Retrieved October 3, 2022.

[26] "Cut Throat City - St. Louis Times". Riverfront Times. Retrieved August 20, 2020.

[27] "The Ultimate Playlist of Noise (2021) – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 25, 2021.

[28] Eisenberg, Eric (January 13, 2021). "Hulu's The Ultimate Playlist Of Noise Review: A Standard Coming Of Age Drama With Cute, Emotional Moments". CinemaBlend. Retrieved December 25, 2021.

[29] "Spooksville". Hubworld. Archived from the original on November 19, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2020.

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Keean Johnson
Johnson at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	October 25, 1996 Boulder, Colorado, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2013–present