Cranston Johnson shares his recipe to success that led him to working on The CW’s adaptation of Naomi

Ava DuVernay has been working with the CW network to produce the latest comic book adaptation, DC Universe Naomi. Naomi takes place in smalltown Port Oswego which has been shaken by a supernatural event. The main character Naomi sets out to uncover its origins with some help from friends and acquaintances. Cranston Johnson, who plays Zumbado, the mysterious owner of a used car lot, shares his experience working on set and his recipe for success.

Cranston Johnson has been in the acting field a long time. You might recognize him for his more dark and mysterious characters. But Cranston actually says that he mainly played law enforcement roles in the beginning. “For the longest time, I felt like I was being placed in roles for law enforcement. I really started to play the cop a lot of the time. And when I got my first big role, which was on a show called Hap and Leonard, I played a detective,” he said.

“When I watch things, I tend to gravitate towards the bad guy or the guy that is perceived as mysterious or enigmatic.” Mysterious or enigmatic is exactly how Cranston would describe Zumbado. “But he may not be everything that we think he is initially when we see him, without letting too much out of the bag.”

Cranston called being on the set of Naomi a surreal experience. As a kid he wasn’t really into comic books. But since then, he has described the comic book universe as exciting and inspiring. “It’s so much bigger than me. And having Naomi be a young African American is very empowering. It just shows that anybody, especially people of color, that we don’t have to be in a box, that we can play different roles.”

And Cranston aspires to continue to show off his talents and work with different types of characters. He called himself a character actor who hasn’t been able to show his ability. “I don’t want to ever do the same type of genre or the same type of role,” he shared. “I haven’t been able to show that. When you get started, sometimes you’re playing very small roles that aren’t layered.” Cranston recalled working his way up from background actors with one line and even uncredited.

Cranston actually auditioned for Ava DuVernay before. He tried out for When They See Us. He said his audition went really well even though he didn’t get the role. “It’s like farming and agriculture…It’s all about planting your seeds in the industry,” he said, “When I left that audition back in 2018, I had a good feeling that either I was going to be working on that show or that this would open up the door for more opportunities for me.”

When asked about his future plans or projects, Cranston said that he is focusing on the current and Naomi. “Sometimes we can get tunnel vision and be so focused on the next job and trying to line up what we have going on next. The present passes us and we don’t even really get to live in that moment.”

Cranston parted with crucial advice for those who aspire to work in the entertainment industry. He shares that you must have perseverance, you must be an overall good person, and you must always be working on your craft. “To have all three of these things working in harmony, it’s inevitable that you can become a working actor. When will that happen? I can’t tell you that.”

Naomi is set to premieres on January 11, 2022 on The CW.