{"id":19724,"date":"2018-09-27T10:49:40","date_gmt":"2018-09-27T14:49:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/?p=19724"},"modified":"2018-09-27T10:49:40","modified_gmt":"2018-09-27T14:49:40","slug":"kevin-l-johnson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/kevin-l-johnson\/","title":{"rendered":"On Ozark: Kevin L. Johnson '07"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Alumni<\/a><\/p>\n

Johnson left the shores of Hartwell Lake \u2014 not knowing how important another lake would become to him.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

WHEN KEVIN L. JOHNSON LEFT the shores of Lake Hartwell after graduating, he had no idea how important another lake, the Lake of the Ozarks, might become to him.<\/p>\n

The actor and Clemson alumnus has become a fan favorite on the critically acclaimed Netflix series Ozark<\/em>. A sleeper hit last summer, the TV series returned for a second season on Aug. 31.
\nIn Ozark<\/em>, Jason Bateman and Laura Linney star as seemingly ordinary parents that move to a lakeside home with their kids in search of a simpler life. Blue skies, tall trees and the placid lake make things look picture perfect. But below the surface, it all gets darker. The Byrdes are no ordinary parents, and a nefarious past has followed them to their new life.
\nJohnson plays Sam Dermody, a real estate agent who finds the Byrdes their new nest in the Missouri Ozarks. Quirky and unassuming, Dermody appears oblivious to the criminal currents swirling all around him, pulling almost everyone into the wake.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s a little eccentric. He\u2019s a little na\u00efve,\u201d Johnson says of his character. Dominated by an overbearing mother, Dermody is working hard for respect and independence as the first season of Ozark<\/em> unfolds.
\nMaking a name<\/strong>
\nJohnson is an actor on the rise.
\nHe landed a small part in the big film \u201cAmerican Made\u201d with Tom Cruise in 2017. He also earned acting credits in the upcoming remake of the 1990 thriller \u201cJacob\u2019s Ladder\u201d and the independent heist film \u201cAmerican Animals,\u201d which made its debut at the Sundance in January. Johnson also has a supporting role in the thriller \u201cDon\u2019t Look There,\u201d now in post-production.
\nBut his role as Dermody came with something new \u2014 recognition.
\n\u201cI always use the word \u2018surreal,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s still surreal. Every now and again, people will recognize me at the mall.\u201d
\nThough Ozark<\/em> is set in Missouri, most of the filming takes place at Lake Allatoona in Georgia. Johnson, who is based in Atlanta, said the tremendous growth of filming Georgia has led to new opportunities: \u201cThere\u2019s no reason to leave the Southeast right now, if you\u2019re working on building a resume, in my opinion. It\u2019s the best place to get started.\u201d
\nNetflix has helped change entertainment in other ways, too. Each series episode has a cliffhanger, which tempts some viewers to binge watch an entire season in one or two days. The lack of commercials also allows more time to develop drama. \u201cThe content\u2019s much deeper, richer, and you can do a lot more in each episode,\u201d Johnson explains.
\nSpeaking of episodes, Johnson comments on working with Jason Bateman, who directed some of Ozark<\/em>\u2019s episodes in season one. \u201cAs a director, he\u2019s really down to earth,\u201d Johnson says. \u201cHe\u2019s a great actor\u2019s director. He\u2019s perfect at it.\u201d
\nThe second season started production in late November, and shooting lasted from January until May, according to Johnson. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be lots of fun next season.\u201d
\n

\"Ozark:<\/a>

Photo courtesy of Netflix<\/p><\/div>
\nOrange and purple<\/strong>
\nAt another lake in South Carolina, Lake Wylie, Johnson grew up in a Clemson family. \u201cI bleed orange and purple,\u201d he says. Early on, he knew Clemson was where he wanted to study. What to study was less clear. Starting out in computer science, Johnson ultimately graduated with an English degree, but he found a home in performing arts.
\n\u201cWhen I got to school in the morning, I would always go to the Brooks theater,\u201d Johnson says. \u201cIt was definitely like a second family.\u201d
\nHis path to acting began in a Clemson English class, when the students watched a play related to their curriculum. \u201cI thought, \u2018Oh man, that looks like a lot of fun,\u201d he says.
\nThough his first audition at Clemson didn\u2019t win him a role, Johnson still got involved in theater by working on a tech crew. Before long, he won the lead role as a different Sam \u2014 this time as the pickle-maker seeking a love match in \u201cCrossing Delancey\u201d \u2014 at the Clemson Little Theater.
\nIn his first big musical role, Johnson starred as Willy Wonka in \u201cCharlie and the Chocolate Factory,\u201d also at the Clemson Little Theater.
\n\u201cI didn\u2019t realize I could sing, really, until college,\u201d says Johnson.
\nJohnson\u2019s mother had been a country singer, but he hadn\u2019t tested his own voice until he checked out a cast recording of \u201cUrinetown\u201d from the library to prepare for an audition. \u201cI was like, \u2018Wait a minute, why didn\u2019t I know that I could sing?\u2019\u201d
\n

\"Kevin<\/a>

Photo courtesy of Netflix<\/p><\/div>
\nMajor revelations<\/strong>
\nLooking back at his Clemson years, Johnson recalls how much his trajectory changed during college.
\nHis advice for students is to keep looking for new opportunities and experiences.
\n\u201cAfter you arrive and start taking your classes, if it\u2019s not what you are looking for, then switch majors,\u201d he says. \u201cSwitch it up. That\u2019s what I did.\u201d
\nJohnson definitely switched it up as a student at Clemson. His first, small role in a Clemson production, a bit part in Seamus Heaney\u2019s \u201cThe Burial at Thebes,\u201d changed his life forever.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt changed my whole outlook on what was going to happen in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Johnson left the shores of Hartwell Lake \u2014 not knowing how important another lake would become to him. WHEN KEVIN L. JOHNSON LEFT the shores of Lake Hartwell after graduating, he had no idea how important another lake, the Lake of the Ozarks, might become to him. The actor and Clemson alumnus has become a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":19725,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[21],"tags":[104,1156,1642,1756,2059,2176,3108],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-19724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumniprofiles","tag-actor","tag-fall-2018-alumni-profiles","tag-jason-bateman","tag-lake-of-the-ozarks","tag-netflix","tag-ozark","tag-tv"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/09\/i-WfVv6Fg-X4.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19724"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=19724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}