Johnny Harris (born 3 November 1973) is an English actor, screenwriter, producer and director.
His breakthrough role came in the feature film, London to Brighton. which was voted into Time Out Magazine’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."
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. The final episode of This Is England '86 was recently named: 'The Greatest TV Episode of All Time' by The Independent.
In 2017, Harris made his debut as a screenwriter with the highly acclaimed feature film, Jawbone. Harris also starred in and co-produced the movie. He received a BAFTA Film Award nomination in the ‘Outstanding Debut’ Category for his work on the movie; Two BIFA Award nominations for his performance in the leading role, and a Writers Guild of Great Britain Award nomination for his screenplay.
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".
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.
In 2023, 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. He co-starred alongside Vicky McClure in the ITV drama series, Without Sin.
Harris was cast as Osip Glebnikov in the new Showtime / Paramount production of A Gentleman in Moscow, starring Ewan McGregor. A Gentleman in Moscow is due to air late in 2023.
The Independent described Harris as "One of Britain's Finest Actors".
Early years
Born in Lambeth, South East London. Harris left school aged 13 to serve an apprenticeship as a Master Locksmith.
He was a talented young boxer. In 1989 (aged 16), he won the prestigious Junior A.B.A National Boxing Championships. In his late teens, he lived and worked as a dishwasher in Paris, France before returning to London to train as an actor.
Harris studied acting at Morley College in Lambeth. In a ceremony held at Morley College in July 2019, 'The Drama Studio' was renamed 'The Johnny Harris Studio Theatre' in his honour.
Career
He started his career on the stage in London's fringe theatre scene before landing his breakthrough role in the feature film London to Brighton. 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.
Four years later, Meadows cast Harris in 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. The following year he reprised the role in This Is England '88, with the show winning the BAFTA TV Award for Best Mini-Series. Harris continued a run of award-winning projects with a leading role in the BBC drama The Fades, which won a BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Series.
In 2012, he was cast in the Universal Pictures movie Snow White and the Huntsman starring Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth. Harris played one of the "Seven Dwarves" alongside Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, and Ian McShane.
Another feature film followed with Welcome to the Punch starring James McAvoy, and Mark Strong, being released internationally in 2013.
The Independent described Harris as "One of Britain's finest actors".