Bjørn Johnson is a seeker. An award-winning actor, director, producer, acting teacher and fight choreographer in theater, film and television, he has most recently starred in the stage play Educating Rita, and guest starred in the critically acclaimed television shows ER, Mad Men and Dexter. As a director, Bjørn Johnson was awarded the LA Weekly’s Best Director achievement for “Dutchman.” A master of the word, he has also perfected ten accents and four additional languages.
Born in Minneapolis, MN, Bjørn began his career in theatre at a young age. By the time he was five years old he could perform nearly 1000 songs. Blessed with a family involved in the arts, Bjørn’s continued exposure to the stage lead him to perform in collegiate and professional productions all throughout his youth.
After attending much of high school in East Africa, Bjørn’s intense desire to study political science and international relations might have prevented him from further engaging the craft. However, while in New York, a performance by Colleen Dewhurst in a production of Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf changed the actor’s life. Moved to tears by her portrayal, a chance meeting later that evening saw the nineteen year old Bjørn spending several hours
sipping gin & tonics with the legendary actress, and after their conversation, Bjørn definitively decided on the path to follow in life: acting.
Since that night, the Bjørn’s life has been blessed with no shortage of world-famous mentors. After earning his BA in Dramatic Literature from George Williams College, Bjørn studied at Circle in the Square in New York, the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and apprenticed with B.H. Barry at the Juilliard School of Drama and Opera Programs, learning the art of fight choreography and synthesizing all of the different acting techniques and philosophies there are. Bjørn’s ongoing study with Larry Moss and V. William Reed empowered him with an expert tenor voice before he even had his career fully assembled. Johnson’s knowledge as
both an actor and a teacher were enhanced again by running Michael Kahn’s private acting studio for three years and later intensive study with Mr. Moss.
As an actor, director and producer, Bjørn strives to tackle the projects that scare him – the projects that force self-discovery and growth. Like the strips of a lattice connect to form a new level, Bjørn’s ever growing expertise and experience weave together a higher and higher understanding of the acting craft. The eternal student, he stands on the shoulders of the gurus who taught him, and his own experience, to offer a truly unique contribution to
the Craft, both as a practitioner and a teacher.
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