Meet Johnny Ray Gill | Actor, Poet, Filmmaker, Activist, Rapper

We had the good fortune of connecting with Johnny Ray Gill and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Johnny Ray, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factors behind my success are my mother and the educators who believed in me and gave me the tools to build as an artist. I firmly rebuke this very American idea that we “do things on our own”… it’s a fallacy, and individualism has its roots in colonialism. I didn’t pick the strawberries I ate today, nor did I pave the road upon which I’ll drive when I get the opportunity to sit one day—I hope soon—and build with Ryan Coogler, so I always think of the community when I think about my success. My mom was the first person who helped me feel okay with living life as an artist. She didn’t judge or shame me for not wanting to be a lawyer or something more “traditional.” She traveled long distances to see my plays and invested in my development as a person and as a man by ensuring I was in programs like Upward Bound, M.E.S.A., and the Prospective Gents Club, which was one of the largest African-based Rites of Passage programs in America, when I was growing up in Portland. Similarly, the educators I had invested in me, and if it wasn’t for their tutelage, I wouldn’t have the tools as an actor and filmmaker. I wouldn’t have cultural awareness and history instilled in me, and it’s important to shout out educators, especially because they’re under attack in the quest to privatize and profiteer off education and our collective ignorance. I’m where I am because of my community, my mom, and my teachers.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m an artist, and my work is rooted in illuminating the depth and breadth of Black people. I’m most excited about the season 2 release of my hit Amazon series Cross and the release of my debut album, ‘Screenplays,’ which I believe will both be released later this year.

I got to where I am today through hard work, a rugged belief in myself, fearlessness, education, family, and the support of my community. I’m a Black man in America, so no, it hasn’t been easy. We’re a target, and racism and bigotry are real in Hollywood, as they are in all the systems that pull the levers of power in America.

Overcome? I’m just building with the tools I have and doing my best. I often think of the Ancestors—Brothers like Frederick Douglass, who taught himself to read and write without electricity and under threat of castration and lynching—so if he/they can persist, so can I. Therefore, the biggest lesson I’ve learned is to be fearless in being yourself and that knowledge is power. It’s how you carve a unique path. As Baldwin would say, “The place in which I’ll fit will not exist until I make it” and “You have to decide who you are and force the world to deal with you.”

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Shooooooot, if my bestie was visiting and we had unlimited funds and didn’t have to deal with this wild LA traffic and had real public transportation like other parts of the world then we gon hit:

The Nile in Inglewood
CAAM (California African American Museum)
A Lakers game
Bridge to Nowhere Hike
Coffee MCO (best coffee spot in the city)
Sunset Nursery to see some plants babies
Escala in Koreatown, that whole fish and Kimchi Rice is errythang
The Other Art Fair Los Angeles
King Taco (specifically the one on Pico & Alvarado, the best one 😉)
Lost in DTLA after doing DTLA Art Walk
EightyTwo
Thinkspace Art Gallery
Girl and the Goat
Employees Only
Slurpin Ramen

It’s a lot of dope stuff to do!! LOL

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Love that this is the first question! I spoke about my mom, my community, and my educators, but I’ll get more specific. Big shout-out to those who let me borrow money to help stave off poverty. We don’t talk nearly enough about the financial contributions folks make that buoy our success, especially in America, where wealth and opportunity are being hoarded by a minority.

Big shout-out to my bestie Patrick and my group chat, LOL, my brothers near and far who have encouraged, celebrated, and lifted me up through difficult times, heartbreak, triumph, and everything else the journey puts on the path.

Big shout-out to Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon, my Poetry as Performance professor at Temple, who convinced me to audition for my first play—August Wilson’s Jitney. Big shout-out to Jim Winker, my Shakespeare teacher during drama school at UCSD. He’s a big reason I didn’t drop out.

And a big shout-out to everyone who took the time to help me film a self-tape! Damn, the shit’s expensive, and it’s tough to find readers you can trust when everyone has so much going on in their lives dealing with the ills of America. It’s real tough out here, so thank you. 🙏🏾

Instagram: @JohnnyRayGill & @FirstFlockPictures

Twitter: https://x.com/JohnnyRayGill

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnnyRayGill

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@firstflockpictures

Other: https://www.instagram.com/crossonprime/?hl=en
https://www.amazon.com/Cross-Season-1/dp/B0D6X7ZZHC

Image Credits
Blue Sweater – Eric Williams Photography

Pink Shirt & Vest – Amanda Austin Photography

*Promo photos courtesy of either Cross, Underground, or Grand Crew
*Eloise Mumford is in the Cross promo shot with the knife
*Tony Shalhoub is in Braindead promo shot
*Nicole Byer is in the Grand Crew promo shots