Kevin L. Johnson Reflects on ‘Ozark’ and Previews Upcoming Series ‘Florida Man’ [Interview]

Ozark’s Kevin L. Johnson has been a consistent part of the series since the beginning. 

Johnson plays the role of Sam Dermody, who we first meet as a real estate agent in Season 1. From there, his involvement with the Byrde family would end up making his life a lot more complicated.

As it turns out, though, Sam was only meant to be in a couple of episodes at first.

I recently spoke with Johnson about his work on Ozark, why it made sense for Sam to stick around beyond Season 1, and his upcoming role on Florida Man.

“When I got the audition it was only, at the time, supposed to be for maybe two, three episodes. But when I got on set, I just had a good feeling that they could keep Sam around for a little while. It made sense because he brings some lightheartedness to the show because it is a dark show,” Johnson said.

With Ozark now in its final season, I asked Johnson about his favorite scenes to film.

“I always go back to Season 1 where I confront Wendy and Marty about my inheritance money after my mom got hit by the garbage truck,” Johnson said.

“[Sam] is a little different in that scene. He was a little more aggressive because the line is, ‘Give me my fucking money.’ But, of course, Kevin has to put ‘please’ on the end. It’s not in the script but I just, something about telling Jason Bateman and Laura Linney to give me my fucking money, I just had to put a please on the end. And it just made perfect sense for Sam.”

Johnson also said working with Jason Bateman and Laura Linney was a highlight of being on the show. “It’s been a dream come true,” he said.

“Jason, he’s just got an eye for directing. He’s an actor’s director. He knows what he wants, but I always say he lets you play within the sandbox and have fun. Then getting to be in a scene with him, we didn’t have a ton of scenes in the show, but when we did it was really cool. Because sometimes he was directing the episode and you do the scene and then he would go back to Video Village, take a look at the playback, [then] come back. I mean, I don’t know how he does it. That would drive me crazy. That’s a lot of effort. But yeah, he was amazing to work with as a director and a scene partner.”

Johnson described acting opposite Laura Linney as “a master class.”

“Seeing how she would do something different each time, and the whole idea of less is more, which is what I love. I think she’s great at that. The camera just picks it up so easily with her,” he said. “I’d have to catch myself because I’d get lost in the scene sometimes, because I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I’m in a scene with Laura Linney.’ But also, you have to up your game because you’re going up against some powerhouses, so you’ve got to make sure to bring it.”

“It’s been great getting to work with the entire cast. I mean, a number of us on that show, this was our first big role. To get to see Julia [Garner], her career just skyrocket from Ozark has been really, really cool, and much deserved too because she’s just a powerhouse of an actor.”

“We’re just like a big family,” he said. “We would hang out sometimes after set. It’s a little bittersweet now that it’s over.”

Johnson’s next project is the upcoming series Florida Man. It just so happens that Jason Bateman is an executive producer on that series.

“That’s going to be a fun show. I think if you like Ozark, it’ll be right up your alley,” Johnson said. “There’s not a lot out there about it yet. It stars Edgar Ramírez and Abbey Lee. Edgar Ramírez plays an ex-cop who comes to Florida to find a mobster’s girlfriend, played by Abbey Lee, and craziness ensues.”

“The whole idea of Florida Man came from how they say, for example, ‘So and so was wrestling an alligator. Oh, that’s so Florida man.’ What they did, they kind of throw in news — like a newscast during the show [and incorporate it] into the show,” he continued. “It’s going to be cool. I think it’s going to be a dark comedy.”

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Ozark is currently streaming on Netflix.

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