Christopher David Johnson (born November 29, 1955) is a Canadian actor best known for his role of Chuck Tchobanian on the dramatic television series '' Street Legal''.

Early life

Johnson was born and raised in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

. He attended

Stanstead College Stanstead College is an English-language independent boarding school in Stanstead, Quebec, Canada, for boys and girls in Grades 7 through 12. The school is located on a campus in Quebec's Eastern Townships – just north of the Canada–United S ...

, the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick, Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public un ...

and the Vancouver Playhouse Acting School.

Career

Johnson rose to popularity when he landed the leading role of Charles 'Chuck' Tchobanian on the dramatic television series '' Street Legal'' in 1987. The show went on to become one of the most successful TV series in Canadian history. It ran for eight years and Johnson received four consecutive

Gemini Gemini may refer to: Space * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac ** Gemini in Chinese astronomy * Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program * Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Northern ...

nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role. Following the success of ''Street Legal'', Johnson was cast as a regular on the family series ''

Mysterious Island ''The Mysterious Island'' (french: L'Île mystérieuse) is a novel by Jules Verne, published in 1875. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Jules Férat. The novel is a crossover sequel to Verne's fam ...

''. In 1998 he starred alongside

Ted Danson Edward Bridge "Ted" Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'', for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. H ...

Jennifer Jason Leigh Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough as Stacy Hamilton in ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982). She ...

and

Brian Dennehy Brian Manion Dennehy (; July 9, 1938 – April 15, 2020) was an American actor of stage, television, and film. He won two Tony Awards, an Olivier Award, and a Golden Globe, and received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Dennehy had roles in o ...

in the feature film ''

Thanks of a Grateful Nation ''Thanks of a Grateful Nation'' is a 1998 original miniseries about the Gulf War. Directed by Rod Holcomb, it stars Ted Danson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Brian Dennehy. Cast * Ted Danson as Jim Tuite * Jennifer Jason Leigh as Teri Small * Brian D ...

'', an examination of the aftermath of

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

and its effects on the men and women who served in the Gulf War. Johnson has guest starred on numerous TV series including ''

The Best Years ''The Best Years'' is a Canadian drama television series about a group of college students at Charles University, a fictional Ivy League school in Boston, Massachusetts. It stars Charity Shea as Samantha Best, an orphan who lived in the foster ...

'', '' Zoe Busiek: Wild Card'', ''

The Dresden Files ''The Dresden Files'' is a series of contemporary fantasy/ mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, '' Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was published in 2000 by Roc Books. The books are ...

'' and starred in several television movies including ''The Julie Posey Story'' (on

Lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...

), ''

The Man Who Saved Christmas ''The Man Who Saved Christmas'' is a film based on the true story about the efforts of toymaker Alfred Carlton Gilbert (portrayed by Jason Alexander) of the A. C. Gilbert Company to continue making toys during World War I. First broadcast on CBS ...

'' with

Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor, comedian, host and director. An Emmy and Tony winner, he is best known for his role as George Costanza in the television series ''Se ...

and

Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both '' The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' ...

(CBS) and '' Terminal Invasion'' (

Sci-Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. L ...

). He has been an occasional guest host of the current events program ''

As It Happens ''As It Happens'' is a Canadian interview show that airs on CBC Radio One in Canada and various public radio stations in the United States through Public Radio Exchange. Its 50th anniversary was celebrated on-air on November 16, 2018. It has bee ...

'' on

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of ...

. Johnson made his professional theatre debut with

Theatre New Brunswick Theatre New Brunswick is the only English language professional theatre company in New Brunswick, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean ...

where he starred in such productions as ''

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams. An adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", the play was written by him between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his p ...

'', ''

Misery Misery may refer to: Fiction * ''Misery'' (novel), by Stephen King * ''Misery'' (film), based on the novel * ''Misery'' (play), based on the novel * "Misery" (short story), by Anton Chekhov * "Misery" (''New Girl''), a television episode * ...

'', ''

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'' and in ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

'' as Captain Hook. He has performed for over thirty years in theatres across Canada and has appeared on the stages of prominent Canadian theatre companies. He has worked extensively at the

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one of a number of p ...

in Ottawa. At

Soulpepper Soulpepper is a theater company based in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest non-profit theater in the city. History Soulpepper was founded in 1998 by twelve Toronto artists aiming to produce lesser-known theatrical classics. Soulpepper has sinc ...

in Toronto, he won rave reviews for his performances in such productions as ''

The Way of the World ''The Way of the World'' is a play written by the English playwright William Congreve. It premiered in early March 1700 in the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. It is widely regarded as one of the best Restoration comedies and is stil ...

'', ''Jitters'', and ''The Play's the Thing'' for which he received a

Dora Award The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped esta ...

nomination. At the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

, Johnson played Captain Von Trapp in ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

''. Among his other noteworthy roles there, he also played Speed, the clownish servant in ''

Two Gentlemen of Verona ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first tentative steps in laying ...

''. In 2010, he made his Broadway debut as Bob in the musical '' Priscilla: Queen of the Desert''. In 2019, he appeared in the television series ''

Diggstown ''Diggstown'' (known as ''Midnight Sting'' in the UK), is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Michael Ritchie and written by Steven McKay, based on the 1978 novel ''The Diggstown Ringers'' by Leonard Wise. It stars James Wood ...

''.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, C. David 1955 births Living people Male actors from Montreal Anglophone Quebec people Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian male voice actors University of New Brunswick alumni Stanstead College alumni