Making the media rounds ahead of the release of his latest movie, High Heat, which he stars in alongside Olga Kurylenko, Don Johnson sat down with Collider’s own Maggie Lovitt to promote the film, but not before dropping a tantalizing nugget about what might have been a defining moment in his career.
Johnson, of course, was one of the stars of the cult TV series Miami Vice, created by Michael Mann, playing the iconic role of Detective Sonny Crockett who was known for his distinctive fashion sense, and trademark Ray-Ban sunglasses. The problem for Johnson, however, was during the height of his fame and success on Miami Vice, he feared being typecast in the role forever. Such was the concern he had, Johnson has told Collider that he turned down the biggest role of his career for fear of being seen as the ‘slick hero’ for the rest of his life.
The biggest challenge was to break the stereotype of Sonny Crockett. To that end, during that time – I’ll tell you a story that I don’t think I’ve ever revealed to anyone – I was offered a movie that went on to become a very big movie. The character was a slick-dressing – it was a period piece – but he was a slick-dressing guy, and it was all about the bad guys and the FBI, and all that stuff, and at the time I said, “Okay, I’ve got to not do this if I want to have a career outside of the slicky boy hero type. I’ve got to not take this part,” even though I know it’s going to be pretty good, and I loved the director. He was a friend of mine. It was a Brian De Palma film, I’ll give you that much.
I turned it down, and I’ve struggled with that over the years, but I also think that it was the difference between me being identified forever as Sonny Crockett, even though it was a different film. It’s just kind of when you do something that’s similar, then you further get yourself put into a box of, “Oh, well this is who he is,” and it’s a challenging thing. So, I’ve been very fortunate in that I’ve been able to play a variety of different characters and the audience will follow me and go with me everywhere, and honestly, I think it comes down to the training and the preparation.
Given the timing of Miami Vice at its height, along with a little perusal of Brian De Palma‘s filmography, it’s safe to speculate that Johnson likely turned down the role of Eliot Ness in The Untouchables. De Palma has previously spoken of his desire to cast Johnson in the role, having been friendly with him through Melanie Griffith—who he had recently helped win a Golden Globe for her performance in Body Double—but this is the first time the man himself has outright referenced the potential casting.
That role instead went to a semi-famous Kevin Costner, who starred as Ness and broke into super-stardom in the role alongside Sean Connery, who won an Oscar for his performance as Jim Malone—despite his accent traveling back across the Atlantic to his native Scotland. Nonetheless, Johnson can still be happy with his career. The man remains an icon to millions for his work on South Beach, working with Costner on Tin Cup in 1996, and even today he is knocking it out of the park with his recent role in Rian Johnson‘s Knives Out winning widespread acclaim.
To see Johnson’s latest film High Heat, head to theaters on December 16—or stay in, avoid the cold weather, and check it out on digital, and on demand. Have a look at the trailer below. Look for our full conversation with Johnson soon.
