Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Blast from the Past: Brad Johnson


After being discovered during his days as a rodeo in star in Dallas, Texas, Johnson began doing modeling work and commercials working for Calvin Klein, and a short stint as The Marlboro Man.  This quickly led to other acting roles, his first, a small part in 1989 on a season 10 episode of the Prime-Time soap Dallas


Johnson's handsome face and masculine good looks were quickly noticed and he won the supporting role of Holly Hunter's love interest in the 1989 drama Always.  The film also featured Richard Dreyfuss and the last on-screen film role for the legendary Audrey Hepburn.   I remember watching Always on VHS when I was young with my parents and believe it was the only time I saw Johnson on screen, 


Johnson continued working fairly steadily in the 1990's, including one his biggest roles in 1991's Flight of the Intruder. During the remainder of the 90's, film roles seemed to elude Johnson, and most of his roles were on television.  He guest starred on a variety of television shows from sit-coms, (A Different World, Veronica's Closet) to dramas. (Courthouse, Melrose Place)


Some of Johnson's early underwear modeling work

Many of Johnson's roles in the 1990's played on his rodeo past and rugged cowboy west, and he appeared in several western themed television movies.  His longest stint, was playing the highly trained covert military operative, Major Matthew Quentin Shepherd in   Soldier of Fortune, Inc. This was Johnson's only turn as the lead of a TV series.  The action series lasted for two seasons from 1997-1999.

During the 2000's, acting roles were scarce.  Although Johnson continued to get acting roles, guest starring on television shows in the early part of the decade, by 2005, roles were fewer and far between.  Although he continued to act, in the 2010's, he basically retired from the business  with he J and family living primarily in Texas. 

In 2014, Johnson established  Johnson Land and Home, LLC,.  The company was a family owned business which included; investment, acquisition, marketing, and development of luxury and destination properties, as well as ranch, hunting, and recreational land.  By the 2020's, Johnson selling ranch real estate in North Texas before his tragically early death from complications from Covid-19.

Always
(1989)


Riverworld (2003)

Hale, an American astronaut dies and is reincarnated with other persons who have lived throughout all of human history and end up on a mysterious planet called 'Riverworld.'


Johnson starred as Hale on the TV-Movie made for the Sci Fi Network in 2003.  Despite his time modeling underwear, Johnson didn't show much skin on film.  Even this scene was edited with 'slime' to cover much of the actors body.  In the scene, which occurs during the films opening scenes, Johnson's character is revived from a cocoon of sorts, and swims through deep water and crawls up on the shore naked.

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