Written By: Jayme Face

We caught up with DaJuan Johnson who can be seen as Detective Pierce on Amazon’s longest running drama Bosch. Season 3 is out now!

upfrontNY: Can you tell us about Bosch and your character Detective Pierce?

DaJuan Johnson: Yes, I can! Besides Bosch being super amazing it is based on Michael Connelly’s series of books, Bosch. This season we are focusing on his books The Black Echo and Darkness More than Night. I think you’ll be seeing a lot more of Detective Pierce this season. I got a promotion. The last two seasons, I was Officer Pierce and then I stepped up to Detective Pierce. I’m still a by the book guy. I like things to be a certain way, but I think you’ll see this season, I’m learning a different side of things, we’ll say.

 

upfrontNY: What else can we expect from this upcoming season all around?

DaJuan Johnson: You know what I would really say about this season, a lot of new characters are introduced. I think there are a lot of wow moments. Every season when I’m reading scripts I stop and put them down and say “Wow. I didn’t see that coming!”, but this season I have to say this is the best one yet. You walk away thinking did that really just happen?! So, in this season there are three big murders being focused on. One with a high-profile director involved, you have one with a certain serial killer and it’s just a lot going on this season. I think viewers are really going to be excited.

 

upfrontNY: Were you familiar with the books prior to getting the role?

DaJuan Johnson: I hadn’t read the books, but I was familiar with the books. I mean, who doesn’t know Michael Connelly, right? You know what I mean! He’s so awesome!  I actually had a chance to look over Lincoln Lawyer when it came out so I was very familiar with him, but I had no idea that Bosch and Mickey Haller they cross over at some point they’re cop brothers.  Anyway, we’re getting off topic, but I get fascinated by these types of things.

 

upfrontNY: How did you get into acting?

DaJuan Johnson: That’s a deep question. Well, if you ask my mother, she’ll tell you I’ve been causing a scene since I was eight years old. So, it was just something I have been doing, you know making my family watch me put on singing competitions or plays in the house or stuff like that. I’ve always been causing a scene, but I think my first acting bug was back in the eighth grade when I did my first play The Wizard of Oz and I played the Scarecrow. From there on it was just one of those things I knew I had to do it. I just had to be part of it.

 

upfrontNY: You have two sons, do you think they will follow in your footsteps?

DaJuan Johnson: No, I do have two sons and they are not following in my footsteps right now. They’re actually my humbling force in life. I have to tell you because I showed them a clip of me in Bosch and they didn’t believe it was Dad. It didn’t impress them at all. They were like that guy has a gun and Daddy doesn’t let us play with guns. No, but I’m acting. They didn’t believe it. They were just like can I go now? I was just like gosh, you know it’s really very humbling, my family. The cool thing is like now around town where we live in L.A. they have Bosch posters and billboards, stuff like that and I’ll point it out to them. “There’s the show I’m in!” So, now every time we drive by one they’ll say “Daddy is that your show?”, but I don’t think they’re putting it all together. They’re kind of just repeating what I say. I promise you I will be cool to them one day.

 

upfrontNY:  I also saw that you’re a composer, can you tell us more about that?

DaJuan Johnson:  You know, I’m going to be completely honest with you. I don’t know why that’s out there. It does say I’m a composer, but I don’t know, maybe I helped them pick out a song or something. That was a film I shot in Austin, it was fantastic, but I am not a composer. I don’t want to lie to you, someone else might then ask me about it. It makes me look cooler though.

 

upfrontNY: You have played a detective quite a few times, but what is your favorite genre to watch?

DaJuan Johnson: Oh, okay, so not why have I played so many detectives, but my favorite genre to watch. Okay, great question.  I’m only chuckling because I’m a big nerd. I love Sci-Fi anything that has to do with fantasy, has to do with like Harry Potter and Vampires or my favorite is the Marvel Universe right now. So, anything in that world is pretty freaking fantastic. I can sit and watch a marathon and before you know it, it’s dark outside because I just enjoy it so much. I mean what kid didn’t want to be a superhero growing up? Now we can be them.

 

upfrontNY: What superhero would you want to play, if you could play one?

DaJuan Johnson: Okay, so, in a very manly way I’ve always wanted to be Storm. I know she’s a girl, but in the sense in a man because when I was growing up, there wasn’t that many black superheroes. So, that was one of the ones I was like, this is what black little kids do. So, I always wanted to control the weather because I always thought that would be cool and it’s one of those things that has always been ingrained in me. But, I have to say either Storm or someone with a telekinetic power or telekinesis. I love those types of things.

 

upfrontNY: What do you like to do for fun besides obviously acting?

DaJuan Johnson: Right now, with my kids, I like to have a lot of fun with them and they take up a lot of time. That’s one of my big goals in life, to be an awesome dad. So, I try to be as much of an awesome dad as I can and be there, but when I am not being an awesome dad I am cooking right now. That’s a big thing for me, cooking. I just finished this ten-day cleanse where I was vegan for ten days and here we are on day 25 and I’m still pretty much vegan. I didn’t know how to get off. There was no exit strategy.

 

upfrontNY: What was the hardest part about becoming vegan? Was there anything that was really difficult for you to give up?

DaJuan Johnson: Yeah, Everything! One thing was meat, chicken, I love chicken. I love it! I love it! I love it! And a good steak is great and a good glass of wine with a steak is great. So, it was really hard to just kind of shift perspectives on what you’ve been eating your whole entire life. Now I have to actively think about what I’m eating and put into my body. It’s been challenging, I won’t lie, but it’s also been rewarding and I’m enjoying it. I can’t lie and say I don’t miss chicken.

 

upfrontNY:  Do you have a signature dish?

DaJuan Johnson: I’ll pick a holiday. I’m a big cooker, I love having friends and family over. And so, Thanksgiving is my holiday. Everybody comes over. This year we had a 33-person table in our backyard. I love doing all the fixings and the trimmings and things for Thanksgiving. That’s my thing and right now with the vegan lifestyle I am enjoying cooking and making anything with cauliflower in it. Buffalo cauliflower, it is amazing. I just made it for the first time Monday.  I was like, this is amazing and it takes the place of the wings that I want.

 

upfrontNY:  Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

DaJuan Johnson: Yeah. You know what I would like to say, this season, I think I mentioned it a little bit before, but this season is truly the best season I’ve seen of Bosch. It’s not just because I’m in it, I also watch it to go back and if I didn’t see this part or I don’t remember this. I think you know this is a binge watch worthy show.

 

upfrontNY: Keep us posted on what is to come!

DaJuan Johnson: Yes! I have a stint coming up on Downward Dog which is an ABC show coming out in May, I believe. And I have an indie film coming out called Unabridged, I believe this summer. We start season 4 of Bosch in July or August. We got picked up and we’re keeping going!