Teen Actors: The Next Generation
Jamie Johnston
Nina Mazza

Sixteen-year-old heartthrob, Jamie Johnston, a teen actor, not only rises to the occasion on set, but is vastly rising to the horizon of fame.

“TV’s Jamie Johnston” is his infamous nickname dubbed by his friends, and is also an accurate description of the young star’s past, present, and potential future.

With his irresistible charm, talent, and dedication to his roles, Jamie has recently been nominated for a Young Artist Award for his role as Peter on Degrassi: The Next Generation.  Last year he was nominated for the second year in a row for his role as Cliff on the American series, Wild Card (Zoe Busiek: Wild Card in Canada).  In 2004, he won the award for Best Supporting Actor in a movie for his portrayal of Cory in More that Meets the Eye: The Joan Brock Story. To prepare for his role, he met children with impaired vision and spent hours blindfolded to grasp the concept of other senses heightening with the inability to see. Jamie says that “it was a big experience” for him And adds the role was one of his favourites.

His distinct acting skills and ability to portray various personas has made him recognizable in many of his acting projects including his principal  roles as Deegan in Killer Instinct, Adam in YTV’s sci-fi phenomena Zixx: Level One, Clifford in Zoe Busiek: Wild Card, Cory in More than Meets the Eye: The Joan Brock Story, and his current role as Peter Stone on the Gemini nominated Canadian show, Degrassi: The Next Generation.

The blond, blue-eyed, acting prodigy has captured the hearts of fans worldwide, accumulating fan mail on a daily basis.

“It’s just cool to see people have an appreciation for my work.” he says. “Sometimes it is kind of awkward, ‘cause sometimes people are like ‘I love you, I love you’ it’s kind of weird.”  

Receiving letters varying from mere compliments to marriage proposals, Jamie has received awkward fan mail in the past. “One fan asked if I wore boxers or briefs. Then they wrote back asking for a pair to frame.” Jamie laughs, “What would you do in that situation?” 

Jamie attends Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts, a Catholic high school specializing in dramatic, visual, vocal, and performing arts. Taking part in spirit assemblies, he wows his classmates through guitar solos and hopes to perform a short play called Louis and Dave in the near future. His talent shines through in various school productions, including this year’s A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream, in which Jamie had the role of Demetrius.

Other than fan mail, and frequent television appearances, and winning awards, acting has not been an obstacle for teen normality for Jamie.

 “I go to parties, concerts, chill with people, and don’t get stopped on the street too often.”  

Balancing priorities does not distance him from his peers, “Hockey players play hockey three times a week. Dancers are practising practically everyday. I found the capability to multi task; take care of a lot of things at once.”

Jamie enjoys “normal” teen activities. “I love playing guitar, snowboarding is fun, just hanging out with friends, play hackysack a lot too. Just chilling basically.”

Season five of Degrassi: The Next Generation was filmed from May to November and didn’t absorb a huge amount  of Jamie’s time, “It’s a big ensemble cast, and none of the actors are in every day or every episode.”

 “Oh boy” was Jamie’s initial response to describing his portrayal of Peter on Degrassi: The Next Generation. Jamie assures us that there will be some changes with regard to Peter’s “unpredictable” persona in upcoming episodes in which we will see an unexpected side to his character.  He can relate to his character in regards to drama with girls at school, but finds it hard to relate to the show as a whole in his own life because the issues dealt with and demonstrated on the show are “really extreme.”

His developing character and occurrence of events while reading the script is as suspenseful to Jamie as it is to the fans.

“It’s really cool, it’s like watching the O.C, but instead of watching it, I’m reading it. It’s really cool because some of the stuff is written for me.”

Degrassi: The Next Generation has been one of Jamie’s favourite acting projects. “It’s kind of like joining a club. You go there, and there’s so many people my age; we can relate to each other, it’s a cool show to be on. I really enjoy it.”

On the show, the cast often engage in musical performances, including the bands, Downtown Sasquatch, and PMS. Jamie hopes that in future episodes, he will have the opportunity to play guitar.  

Jamie hopes to pursue acting as a career after graduating and also has an interest to direct movies. “That (directing) would be cool. Whenever we’re doing film projects at school, I like to direct. Basically anyone can be an actor, but having a vision and pulling it off is a challenge and is fun.”

Jamie is a Harry Potter fan, having read all six books, seen all four movies, and skipping school to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on the premiere date.  “I can’t really relate to him. I’m not the chosen one; I can’t save the world, I wish I could though, that would be so cool.”

Jamie is an inspiration to adolescents, a prime example of chasing your dreams, and demonstrating that you don’t have to be an adult in society to achieve your goals. “Well if you don’t try, then there’s no chance that you’ll be able to do it. Try - be confident in yourself, and you’ll be able to do it. And if you can’t, try something else.”