Reginald VelJohnson
Biography
Reginald VelJohnson is an American actor who built a career largely out of playing police officers, most memorably as Al Powell in the Die Hard series and as Carl Winslow on the sitcom Family Matters. Born in Queens, New York City, he trained in theater at New York University and performed with Joseph Papp's Black/Hispanic Shakespeare Company before changing his name and taking small screen parts, among them a brief turn in Ghostbusters. His breakthrough came as Sergeant Powell in Die Hard (1988), a role he reprised in Die Hard 2 (1990). Other early films include Crocodile Dundee (1986), Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985) and Turner & Hooch (1989), and he starred in Family Matters from 1989 to 1998. He later did mostly voice and guest work, including Air Collision (2012).
74years old
Turns 75 on August 16in 279 days
- Born Queens
- Star sign: LeoThe sign runs July 23 to August 22
- Reginald Vel Johnson (birth name)Also credited as Reginald Johnson
Movie Career
- Films
- 19
- Career span
- 45 years1981 to 2026
Genres
First and latest
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Big break
VelJohnson got his breakthrough part as Sergeant Al Powell in the 1988 film Die Hard. Gene Hackman had been hired for the role but became unavailable, so producers chose a relatively unknown actor.
Early training
VelJohnson studied theater at New York University, where he worked with Joseph Papp's Black/Hispanic Shakespeare Company alongside Morgan Freeman and CCH Pounder.
About the name
Early in his acting career, Reginald Johnson became Reginald VelJohnson. He explained that he made the change because he wanted a name people would remember.
About the name
VelJohnson was credited under the stage name Ivory Ocean for his role as an ambulance driver in the 1985 film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.
Reginald VelJohnson movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Five actors appear in two of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Bruce Willis's page
Clyde Kusatsu's page
William Atherton's page
Bonnie Bedelia's page
Diane Delano's page
Box office
What Reginald VelJohnson's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$808 million
8 of the 19 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 19 films: 8 worldwide figure; 4 never in cinemas; 7 figure not found.
- 8Worldwide figure
- 4Never in cinemas
- 7Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 100% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$328M40.6% of the total
- 2$240M29.7% of the total
- 3$141M17.4% of the total
- 4$71M8.8% of the total
- 5$14M1.8% of the total
- 6$11M1.3% of the total
- 7$3.1M0.4% of the total
- 8$289K0.0% of the total
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.