DaJuan Johnson Talks ‘Bosch’ Season 3 and Reveals His Nerdy Side [Exclusive Interview]

Actor DaJuan Johnson has always been drawn to a good detective story, so playing Detective Pierce on Amazon’s Bosch is the perfect fit.

I recently had the chance to chat with Johnson about his role on Bosch, what’s to come on Season 3, and his love for all things supernatural.

For Johnson, being an actor was something he simply had to do. “You know, if we went really far back, my mom would say I’ve been causing a scene since I was very a little kid. That’s what my mom would say,” Johnson laughed.

“I would end up doing school plays and stuff like that or putting them on at home, but I really would say college was when I jumped head first into it. And then I came out here to Los Angeles, and I’ve been working steadily in the business since then.”

Johnson said he’s always wanted to be an actor, and he recalled his first time on stage.

“My first play was The Wizard of Oz, and I played the Scarecrow,” he remembered. “I loved it. There was nothing more I could do. I believe that was eighth grade. And then college came, and my mom said I couldn’t go to college for theater. And so I went for English, which I loved, and I had an emphasis on Shakespeare, and I was just like mom, I gotta do this.”

“It just become very apparent to me that people give their gifts,” Johnson said.

“Everybody heals the world in their way, and this was going to be the way that I was going to heal the world — was through my craft and through acting. I know that sounds cheesy, but that was really my thinking. You know how people can be going through intense pain, there could be like a big thing that happens in their life, and for like a brief twenty-two minute segment, they could be laughing by watching TV. Or a brief forty-eight minutes of an hour-long show they could like forget their world —  and just be sucked into this world for a little bit. And I always found that just very healing, to be honest.”

In addition to Bosch, Johnson has appeared on several popular shows including 24, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Bones, and Agent Carter.

“I really am drawn to kind of like, solve the murder or solve the mystery [shows]. And again when I was younger, when all the other kids were playing video games, playing Street Fighter or Mortal Combat, I was playing the choose your adventure games like Zelda or Final Fantasy. So this is like, I get to do this in real life, what I used to do on video games — and solving the crime, but in nicer clothes and a little more fun.”

Johnson also said that he really enjoys anything to do with the supernatural. “I’m a big super nerd, and I love comic books,” he revealed. “Anything with superheroes and supernatural and stuff like that too, so I’m looking to step over into that field as well.”

“The Vampire Diaries that just ended, The Originals, all that stuff, that’s right up my alley. I love anything that’s like an X-Men or Harry Potter [story]. I love the escape world. I love the magic world. And I just, I dig it. And I cannot confirm what I’m about to say, but there may or may not have been one single tear that rolled down my eye when The Vampire Diaries ended. I’m not sure,” Johnson laughed.

Johnson is hopeful he’ll have an opportunity to be a part of something like that soon.

“What kid didn’t want to grow up and be a superhero? You know what I mean? Or live in that supernatural world, and now being an actor and stepping into that fantasy role, we actually get to do that,” he said. “My team knows that is high on my priority list to jump into next.”

When it comes to his role as Detective Pierce on Bosch, Johnson works to bring authenticity to the role with every detail.

“My goal is always to bring honesty and truth to Pierce and to the scenes and to the work,” Johnson stated.

“I’m not a detective right? And so how do I constantly hold a gun the right way, or not pick up stuff when I got into a crime scene with just my bare hands, because that’s what DaJuan would do, and not what Detective Pierce would do. So I think those are the biggest challenges. Just really, really diving deep into the character and allowing Pierce to come out more, I think is something — I don’t want to say struggle with — but I am always aware of when I’m in that role.”

While Johnson wasn’t able to give much away in terms of what we can expect from Bosch Season 3, he did say he was surprised by where the story goes.

“Every season when I get the script ahead of time, I read them, and there’s always like this ‘wow moment’ that happens. So I’ve grown to expect a ‘wow moment,’ but this ‘wow moment’ I was not expecting!” Johnson exclaimed, laughing.

“I stopped, and it was almost at the end of one of the scripts, and I was like, wait, wait! I need more!”

“There are some of those really intense moments that do happen,” he continued. “We’re introduced to some new characters, and I think they’ve upped their game. I think the writers take it to a whole new level on this season.”

As for what it’s like on the set of Bosch, Johnson said he’s often teased for his lack of cinema trivia.

“They’re mean to me!” Johnson joked. “This is my third season working with Titus [Welliver], and he is nothing but awesome. And Paul Calderon who’s my partner for this year, he is — I’m a little bit of the young guy, which is funny because Pierce plays the rookie, and it transferred between action and cut as well. They became almost like big brothers to me, and I would always be teased, mostly because my cinema trivia is not as great as it should be. I’m not as well-versed in old movies as they would be like me to be,” he laughed.

“It all started with Spartacus, which everybody was like, ‘have you seen Spartacus?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I love that Starz show.’ And everybody just turned and looked at me and shook their heads. And I was like, ‘I guess you guys mean another Spartacus,'” Johnson remembered.

“It just went downhill from that, so I have a list of movies I have to watch before I go back on set!”

Johnson has a few projects coming up that he was excited to talk about as well. “This summer we have the ABC Downward Dog show that’s coming out that I have a stint in. I think if you love animals — I think this would be a fantastic show. It has great cast,” Johnson said.

“I also [have] a feature coming out, an indie feature later this year that is super fantastic. It’s called Unabridged. But I remember just crying a whole lot the entire time I was on set,” he laughed.

“We’re also starting shooting [Bosch] Season 4 at the end of July beginning of August, so we’ve only got a couple more months and then we’re back at it.”

Be sure to catch DaJuan Johnson on Bosch, when returns for Season 3 on Friday, April 21st to Amazon.

*Featured image credit: JSquared Photography

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