Kenny Johnson, Actor: The Shield. KJ: There was a stunt coordinator for the film but we mostly just worked it out ourselves. Fans of intelligent indie film passion projects should be thoroughly intrigued by the latest effort by Michele Martin and Charles Huddleston, titled Blue. His mother has smothered and sheltered him his whole life, to the point that he is awkward and socially inept, especially around people his own age. Norman in turn finds himself warming to her, and, at the request of her father, respects her feelings for him. Even before I’d actually gotten into acting, for some reason, I was into Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift and Marlon Brando in old movies. Have you binge-watched anything lately or is there a show you’ve recently become obsessed with via any of those outlets? His interaction with the Bates family does not go smoothly, when he suspects Norma's complicity in the disappearance (and death) of Keith Summers, his friend and the former motel owner. Kenneth Allen "Kenny" Johnson (born July 13, 1963) is an American actor, producer, and model.He is known for his roles as Detective Curtis Lemansky in The Shield, Butch "Burner" Barnes in Pensacola: Wings of Gold, Detective Ham Dewey in Saving Grace, Herman Kozik in Sons of Anarchy, Matt Webb in Prime Suspect, and Caleb Calhoun in Bates Motel. PPLA: The cast assembled around Blue’s protagonists is really impressive. Best known for earthy, authentic characters in acclaimed series like The Shield, Saving Grace, Sons of Anarchy and most recently Bates Motel, Kenny Johnson’s challenged himself yet again by tackling two deeply troubled men in films currently being finalized in post-production. I spent about three years with Larry Moss, every day of the week, trying to be like a sponge and just learn as much as I could and study and put up as many scenes as I could. The dropoff is supposed to have been the neighbor's demise, and Caleb manages to save Dylan. KJ: For The Shield I’d go to the range with our technical advisor, Jesse Escochea, who was in the L.A.P.D. I dig it. It’s amazing how the internet and new media in our current day and age, when you reach out to different places in order to get finishing funds for something, is able to come up with the money to help filmmakers finish post-production. He is known for appearing in a number of television projects including ‘The Shield’, ‘Pensacola: Wings of Gold’, ‘Sons of Anarchy’, ‘Bates Motel’, ‘Saving Grace’ and ‘Prime Suspect’. He really allowed me to explore and go places. KJ: I started with a guy named Vincent Chase for about a year. Fans want answers!" Although Emma is British, having been born in Manchester (as was Cooke, in real life), she was brought up in the United States and speaks with the local dialect. [laughs] We got along great. At a Comic-Con panel on Friday for A&E’s suspense thriller and Psycho quasi-prequel, it … She soon grows close to Dylan, who becomes concerned when he learns that Emma's health has deteriorated severely, and takes it upon himself to raise the money she needs for a lung transplant. So I knew him before and I think he’s buddies with my friend Walton Goggins who I was on The Shield with so, you know, all us Southern buddies kind of know each other. After telling Norma that he will always love her, he is shot by Norman in his "mother" persona. Regretting it, she attempts to make amends with him, but accidentally alienates him further. KJ: Blue is this innocent guy from the hills and Michele’s character (Pearl) doesn’t discriminate based on race or color or anything and there’s just this connection between the two of them that’s the most powerful, innocent kind of first love. Norman is depicted as a kind-hearted but deeply troubled boy who has an often unhealthy attachment to Norma. He returns to help Dylan with a "pot farm" by building a barn. This, in turn, leads to the two starting a romantic relationship. Writing is always the number one most important thing for me and I’d rather portray people that have complexities and moral dilemmas to deal with. There were no boundaries with him. It makes the whole journey of Pearl and Blue’s story just that much more impactful. I know prop guns are different from the real thing but assuming that you’ve trained with at least some of them before filming, I’m curious if you have a favorite firearm that you’ve filmed with? I don’t want it to be somebody else. [laughs] Sean’s great in this movie too. Then you can seek out right or wrong through the character and let the audience decide what they want to, but at least it gives you that much. If you’re a fan from Bates Motel , go back and check out his work on The Shield. Neither of Kenny’s upcoming films has a release date yet but as the final touches are applied to Blue you can follow the film’s Facebook and Twitter pages, and be sure to follow Kenny Johnson on Twitter to stay informed of his impressive film and TV endeavors. Revealed today at A&E’s Comic-Con panel for Bates Motel is that season 3 will dive more into the story of Norma’s brother, Caleb, as Kenny Johnson is made a regular on the show. I had one eight-page scene I did between myself, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Abbie Cornish, Anthony Hopkins and a few other actors and those guys couldn’t be more supportive and awesome. PPLA: Given your background in athletics, do you enjoy doing your own stunts when allowed? Her world takes a turn for the worse, however, when her father is burned to death, and in her time of grief, she ends up having sex with Norman. He graduated from Leonard Slatkin's National Conducting Institute in Washington D.C. I had a great connection with Michele, and Charles is one of those great directors who will let you find it as an actor. PPLA: You’re so remarkably believable in everything I’ve seen you do. His world comes crashing down, however, when he learns from Norma that he is the product of an incestuous rape â his true father having been Norma's brother, Caleb â and distances himself from the family, moving out of the Bates' house. Press Pass L.A. was delighted to spend time with Johnson to discuss his work in Blue and gain greater insight into the man and his method. PPLA: Many of your characters are morally ambiguous, not necessarily villains but with motivations that are hard to root for. I always want to authentically represent that same approach. He is known for his roles as Detective Curtis Lemansky in The Shield, Butch "Burner" Barnes in Pensacola: Wings of Gold, Detective Ham Dewey in Saving Grace, Herman Kozik in Sons of Anarchy, Matt Webb in Prime Suspect, and Caleb Calhoun in Bates Motel. He encouraged me to be really interested in people and humanity and to travel the world studying people; to be interested in everything and everyone and every playwright, just every everything. PPLA: Did you do a chemistry read with Michele to get the role? Press Pass LA had the chance to sit down with character actor Kenny Johnson to discuss his work on TV, most recently playing Caleb on Bates Motel, and his upcoming indie film Blue. I think she got me as a person. My challenge was to bring some humanity to a character that seemed to be a mean, really disturbing and kind of controlling individual. He believes that Norma seeks out conflict and drama, and that her treatment of Norman will damage him. "Vera Farmiga to Star in A&E's 'Psycho' Prequel 'Bates Motel, "A&E's 'Psycho' Prequel 'Bates Motel' Finds its Young Norman", "A&E's 'Bates Motel' Adds Max Thieriot as Norman's Brother", "Mike Vogel & Nestor Carbonell Join A&E's 'Bates Motel', Trio To Recur On 'Shameless, "Kenny Johnson returns to 'Bates Motel' as series regular", "Exclusive: Alias' Michael Vartan Checks Into Bates Motel as Norma's New [Spoiler]", "Rebecca Creskoff, Kenny Johnson & Michael Vartan Join A&E's 'Bates Motel, "Kathleen Robertson Checks Into Bates Motel", "Daniella Alonso Joins NBC's 'Night Shift', Michael Eklund Added To A&E's 'Bates Motel, "Bates Motel Exclusive: Grey's Anatomy Menace to Raise Hell in Season 2", "Roger Howarth Joins 'The Flash'; Ryan Hurst In 'Bates Motel, "Tory Kittles Moves To 'The Colony'; Kevin Rahm In 'Bates Motel, "Joshua Leonard Checks Into 'Bates Motel'; Gbenga Akinnagbe Books 'The Following, "Damon Gupton Joins 'Bates Motel'; Trieste Kelly Dunn In 'Blindspot, "Jaime Ray Newman Checks Into 'Bates Motel, "Rihanna To Play Iconic 'Psycho' Role In 'Bates Motel' Fifth & Final Season â Comic-Con", "Bates Motel Season 5: House of Cards Actress Cast as Norma's Doppelganger", "Bates Motel Elects Grey's Anatomy Alum Brooke Smith (New) Sheriff", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Bates_Motel_characters&oldid=951560029, Lists of American drama television series characters, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 17 April 2020, at 19:28. His persona is very cool and kind of reminds me of James Dean in a way. He escapes in season 5 and kidnaps Norman and forces him to take him to where he hid Norma's body. Before he dies, Romero tells Norman that he killed his own mother and Norman can't hide from that. The depth of diving into Baltimore and making it a living city as a character in the show, almost the main character since it's such an ensemble. Surrounding the film’s protagonists is an exceptional supporting cast featuring Kelly McGillis, Kenny Johnson, Sean Bridgers and retired U.S. Marine Corps captain Dale Dye. He feels like he needs to control that in a way and I just thought that would be really challenging. Join Facebook to connect with Shannon Lynn Bartholomew and others you may know. He’s father to a young woman and is also trying to raise a five year old and a ten year old. As the series progresses, it becomes clear that Norman is mentally ill: he experiences blackouts, during which he hallucinates visions of Norma and behaves violently, before coming to with no recollection of his actions. In season two, Caleb arrives at the Bates Motel but Norma immediately throws him out. I grew up on a farm in Vermont and as a kid I had a .35 Remington, a .30-30, a thirty-aught-six, a 12g double barrel, a 16 gauge, a .22 and a pellet gun so from a young age I’ve been pretty familiar with firearms. Bates Motel dropped a huge bombshell on the Bates' family in episode three of season two when it was revealed that Norma's brother Caleb is also Dylan's father. Double check this years #HolidayGiftGuide for any goodies you might… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…. PPLA: One of your greatest strengths as an actor is the credible way in which you physicalize the roles you inhabit. KJ: I met him as soon as I got there and he definitely likes to sit at the bar and drink and tell stories. presspassla.com/shadow-and-bon…, It’s never too late to check your list twice! As a child, she was abused by her parents and raped by her brother Caleb, and she was also abused by her second husband, Sam (Norman's father). KENNY JOHNSON Q & A: ‘BATES MOTEL’ & ‘BLUE’. Why not have a personal trainer in your pocket? Norman attempts to stab Dylan but is fatally shot by his brother, whom he thanks as he passes away. We all just got along great. Norman Bates (portrayed by Freddie Highmore)[2] is the series' co-protagonist, alongside his mother. Played by actor Kenny Johnson, he first appeared in the season two episode, "Shadow of a Doubt". for something like seventeen years. He finds out online that his mother committed suicide and is furious that Norman did not tell him. 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