
Person · Actor
Don Johnson
- Also:
- Producer
- Director
In short · Acting since 1967, 7 decades active, 74 credits, 2 Golden Globe Award wins.
Known for
Ranked by community engagement + sustained interest across this person's credits in our database.
Now & next
- Award win
Golden Globe Award — Best Actor – Television Series Drama
- Award win
Golden Globe Awards — Golden Globe — Best Actor – Television Series Drama
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Biography
Donald Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer, director, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for his role as Det. James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series *Miami Vice*, for which he won a Golden Globe.
In 1984, after more than a decade of acting on television, Johnson landed a starring role as undercover police detective Sonny Crockett in the Michael Mann/Universal Television cop series *Miami Vice* (1984–1990). *Miami Vice* made him "a major international star." According to *Rolling Stone*, "No one had more swagger in the Reagan era than Don Johnson."
His work on *Miami Vice* earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama in 1986, and he was nominated for the same award in 1987. He was also nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1985. Between seasons on *Miami Vice*, he gained further renown through TV miniseries such as the 1985 remake of *The Long, Hot Summer*. In 1996, he had a supporting role in *Tin Cup*, alongside Kevin Costner, Rene Russo, and Cheech Marin. Johnson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1996.
He later starred in the 1996–2001 CBS-TV police drama *Nash Bridges* with Cheech Marin, Jeff Perry, Jaime P. Gomez, Kelly Hu, Wendy Moniz, Annette O'Toole, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe as his daughter Cassidy, and James Gammon as his father Nick.
In October 2010, he began appearing on the HBO series *Eastbound & Down*, playing Kenny Powers' long-lost father, going by the alias "Eduardo Sanchez." He also reprised his role as Sonny Crockett for a Nike commercial with LeBron James in which the NBA player contemplates acting and appears alongside Johnson on *Miami Vice*.
He had a supporting role in the 2012 Quentin Tarantino film *Django Unchained*, playing a southern plantation owner named Spencer "Big Daddy" Bennett. In 2014, Johnson starred as the character "Jim Bob" opposite Sam Shepard and Michael C. Hall in Jim Mickle's critically acclaimed crime film *Cold in July*. In 2014, he had a supporting role in the film *The Other Woman* as Cameron Diaz's character's father. In 2015, Johnson began starring in the ABC prime time soap opera *Blood & Oil*.
In 2018, he starred as the character of Arthur, the love interest of Vivian, played by Jane Fonda, in Bill Holderman's romantic-comedy *Book Club*. In 2019, Johnson played the role of Richard Drysdale in Rian Johnson's murder-mystery *Knives Out*; and starred as Police Chief Judd Crawford in the HBO series *Watchmen*.
In 2021, he co-starred on *Kenan*, until its cancellation in May 2022. He also appeared in a *Nash Bridges* television film, with co-star Cheech Marin, on the USA Network in 2021.
Filmography · 67 of 67
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Actor
66 credits
Unit 234(2024)
Jules
Film
Rebel Ridge(2024)
Chief Sandy Burnne
Film
Doctor Odyssey(2024)
Captain Robert Massey
TV
A Little White Lie(2023)
T. Wasserman
Film
The Collective(2023)
Liam
Film
Book Club: The Next Chapter(2023)
Arthur
Film
High Heat(2022)
Ray
TV
High Heat(2022)
Ray
Film
Nash Bridges(2021)
Nash Bridges
Film
Kenan(2021)
Rick
TV
Vault(2019)
Gerry Ouimette
Film
Knives Out(2019)
Richard Drysdale
Film
Dragged Across Concrete(2018)
Chief Lt. Calvert
Film
Book Club(2018)
Arthur
Film
Brawl in Cell Block 99(2017)
Warden Tuggs
Film
Vengeance: A Love Story(2017)
Jay Kirkpatrick
Film
Sick Note(2017)
Kenny West
TV
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2(2017)
Ravager
Film
Blood & Oil(2015)
Hap Briggs
TV
Cold in July(2014)
Jim Bob
Film
Alex of Venice(2014)
Roger
Film
The Other Woman(2014)
Frank
Film
Django Unchained(2012)
Spencer "Big Daddy" Bennett
Film
Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star(2011)
Miles Deep
Film
Machete(2010)
Von
Film
When in Rome(2010)
Beth's Dad
Film
Eastbound & Down(2009)
Eduardo Sanchez (5 Episodes)
TV
Bastardi(2008)
Sante Patene
Film
I'll Be Back to Living Alone(2008)
Nico
Film
Long Flat Balls II(2008)
Admiral Burnett
Film
Other crew
1 creditAwards & Nominations
2 winsGolden Globe Award
- Won1985Best Actor – Television Series Drama — Don Johnson
More awards & festivals (1) — regional academies & film-festival prizes
Golden Globe Awards
- Won1985Golden Globe — Best Actor – Television Series Drama
Originals
Streaming originals this person worked on.
Representation
- Agent
Gersh Agency· Updated Jun 10, 2026
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Additional credits7Show
Non-headline appearances — talk-show, awards-show, panel, and archive-footage credits, kept separate from the main filmography.
- Late Night with Seth MeyersSelf - Guest (1 Episode) , Self (1 Episode) · 2014
- Jimmy Kimmel Live!Self - Guest (2 Episodes) , Self (1 Episode) · 2003
- Clive James' Postcard fromSelf · 1989
- LIVE with Kelly and MarkSelf - Guest (1 Episode) · 1988
- Live AidSelf · 1985
- People's Choice AwardsSelf - Host (2 Episodes) · 1975
- Watch What Happens LiveSelf - Guest (2 Episodes)
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