Don Johnson lived in poverty before he landed on “Miami Vice”: “I was afraid of losing everything”

Don Johnson achieved success overnight, even though it took years of struggle.

In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, the “Miami Vice” star said he lived “below the national poverty line” for years before becoming a Hollywood star.

“It leaves its mark. For years I was afraid of losing everything. With meditation I managed it,” Johnson told the station about her childhood in poverty.

Johnson was born in Flat Creek, Missouri, to a 16-year-old mother and 19-year-old father. He recalls his childhood as “interesting and idyllic,” but he says “the absence and abuse from his parents left him feeling abandoned.”

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He remembered his father as a “failed farmer” in Missouri, and the family moved to Wichita, Kansas, where his father started working at Boeing and quickly rose through the corporate ladder while his mother worked as a beautician.

“I got my work ethic from them,” Johnson recalled.

Despite his father's position at Boeing, he and his three younger siblings “lived in a small house with a single bathroom in a project that had originally been built as employee housing for Boeing. We were still pretty poor.”

In May, he told Parade: “I had a lot of challenges as a child – not physically, but emotionally and psychologically. I'm not going to go into a psychology session now (laughs), but I discovered later that that's what ignites the fire of creativity and that those challenges are the fuel.”

Johnson says he inherited his work ethic from his parents, but they struggled financially throughout his childhood. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

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Johnson's parents divorced when he was 11, and he initially lived with his mother, “but she was unable to handle a 12-year-old firebrand like me.”

“At some point I got into serious trouble and ended up in juvenile court. The judge said I would be better off with my father, so I moved in with him and he taught me to hunt and fish. Those times were magical,” the actor recalled.

“It leaves its mark. For years I was afraid of losing everything. With meditation I managed it.”

—Don Johnson

In his interview with Parade, Johnson recalled, “I was a wild thing, as you can imagine. (laughs) I was very resourceful. I got into a lot of trouble and got kicked out a few times. I graduated from Wichita South High School and that's where my life took a turn.”

He got into acting by accident after he was kicked off the football team for falling asleep in an economics class and had to take acting classes to make up credits. But his teacher saw something in him and cast him as Tony in West Side Story.

Johnson in the 1978 television movie “The Two-Five.” He said he struggled in Hollywood for years before finding success with “Miami Vice.” (J Globus/American Broadcasting Companies via Getty Images)

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“The moment I was on stage was like a drug. The audience showed me love that more than made up for what I didn't get at home,” Johnson told the Wall Street Journal.

Johnson won a partial scholarship to a summer program at the University of Kansas, which earned him a full scholarship to major in acting, but he dropped out of the program during his sophomore year to join the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.

He moved to Los Angeles in 1969 and landed roles in films such as The Harrad Experiment, where he met Tippi Hedren and Melanie Griffith, but he found it difficult to make a name for himself as an actor.

“[I] was cast in many forgettable roles, including five unsuccessful TV pilots. For 15 years I lived below the national poverty line,” he explained.

During his career in Hollywood, Johnson met Tippi Hedren and Melanie Griffith, his future partner and mother of his daughter Dakota. (Frank Edwards/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

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In 1983, when Johnson was 34 years old, he auditioned for “Miami Vice” and immediately felt a connection.

“I couldn't believe that someone had written down my thoughts, feelings and emotions. The role was meant for me,” he recalled. “The audition went so well that I was convinced it was a sure thing.”

But then came the disappointment. First the project was delayed, then it was brought forward. Months later, I landed the shoot of 'Cease Fire', an independent film in Miami. Just as I finished the film, Tony Yerkovich, the creator of 'Miami Vice', called from LA and offered me the role. I was upset about the way it went, but I jumped into the role immediately.”

“Miami Vice” ran for five seasons on NBC and earned Johnson an Emmy nomination in 1985.

Philip Michael Thomas as Detective Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs and Don Johnson as Detective James “Sonny” Crockett played the main roles in “Miami Vice”. (NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

“I mean, I'm a farm boy from Missouri. It was a dream.”

—Don Johnson

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“For the first year and a half, I thought, ‘I’m just going to focus here..' I tried pretty hard. I didn't want it to suddenly – poof – happen. It was about the end of the second season when I got my Emmy nomination and I realized, “Oh! Maybe there's something to this.”” Johnson told Parade about his sudden success.

“I mean, I'm a farm boy from Missouri. It was a dream,” he added.

Johnson's Hollywood career continued with his next hit series, “Nash Bridges,” which ran on CBS from 1996 to 2001.

He continued to work, adding films such as Machete (directed by Robert Rodriguez) and Django Unchained (directed by Quentin Tarantino) to his resume, as well as playing Jane Fonda's romantic interest in the Book Club films.

“I mean, I'm a farm boy from Missouri. It was a dream,” Johnson told Parade. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

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The 74-year-old will next play the police chief in the Netflix thriller “Rebel Ridge.”

When he's not working, he spends time with his wife, Kelley Phleger, and their children at their family home outside Hollywood.

“As for my family home in Flat Creek, it's still there. I bought it in 1999,” he told the WSJ. “I haven't been there since the pandemic started, but I'm looking forward to going there soon. I've learned to appreciate the good memories there, but also the painful ones.”