Don Johnson: ‘My daughter is the most gifted actress alive’
Actor Don Johnson opens up about ex-wife Melanie Griffith, his dating advice for famous daughter Dakota - and why Miami Vice still feels “like a dream.”
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Actor Don Johnson opens up about ex-wife Melanie Griffith, how Jamie Lee Curtis bosses him around and why Miami Vice still feels “like a dream”.
This is a big year for you. Miami Vice turned 35 and you’re 70 next month. You and your wife, Kelley Phleger, have been married 20 years. Your hit ’90s TV series Nash Bridges is getting a reboot, your new TV show Watchmen is airing and you have a movie out soon.
Damn. When you put it in a laundry list like that, it does sound pretty good. I certainly have seen highs and lows in my career and life, but I’m maybe the luckiest man alive. I get to do something I love for virtually a lifetime.
You grew up the son of a farmer and a hairdresser in the rural US Midwest. What told you this career was even possible?
It was more a calling than anything else. I got lucky with the people I surrounded myself with in the beginning. You don’t expect the executive director of the best theatre company in America to show up in Kansas to direct an operetta.
But he did, and I pestered him until he gave me an audition. From that day, it was on. Aside from the fact I wasn’t qualified for anything else...
In the ’80s, Miami Vice was a total cultural phenomenon. When did that become clear to you?
Even now it’s like a dream. In the beginning I just kept my head down and worked. I knew we were doing interesting stuff. [But] somewhere around the beginning of the second season I realised, “Oh wow, we’ve messed around and created quite a noise.”
Did you keep any of your character Sonny Crockett’s iconic wardrobe?
No. Once I finish a character, I do almost a ritual of tidying them up, signing out and moving on. Plus it would be 35 years old and probably in tatters by now.
Your new film Knives Out is a classic whodunit with a starry ensemble cast. What’s that like, bouncing lines off so many esteemed actors?
You hit the ball, it comes back with some kick and you’re expected to return it. You’re working with people who can deliver, who are showing you courtesy and respect.
And something magical starts to happen. It’s wonderful – you’re free in a way that’s indescribable. I think that’s why we do it.
Jamie Lee Curtis plays your wife. Had you met before?
We’ve known each other for... I don’t think she cares for me to tell you how long. But we’d never worked together. We stepped into those roles very easily because she started bossing me around immediately.
Speaking of wives, you and your ex Melanie Griffith remain close. What has kept that relationship positive?
It’s pretty simple: when you love your children and want to share your life with them, it’s foolish to denigrate or have any animosity with their mother. Children model you more than they listen to you.
They watch what you do and they do what you do. Just because you can’t be married to someone doesn’t mean you didn’t have love in the first place. It’s a matter of adjusting your point of view.
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How has it been to watch your actor daughter Dakota handle stardom and her high-profile romance [with Coldplay singer Chris Martin]?
In the beginning, I’d tell her how I handled things badly and to find a different method. But Dakota is intelligent, very well read and good at choosing material. I think she is one of the most gifted actresses alive today. Of course I’m her father, but I can also recognise talent when I see it.
Knives Out is in cinemas from November 28.