Trivia

He was offered the role of James Bond in Dr. No (1962) but turned it down.

He died only one day before his Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951), Julius Caesar (1970) and Treasure Island (1990) co-star Christopher Lee.

According to several sources, Johnson was at least considered for the part of "James Bond" in Dr. No (1962). Some say he was actually offered the part but turned it down because he did not want to sign a multi-picture contract. Nonetheless, he did play a very Bondian version of British detective Bulldog Drummond in two late sixties films, Deadlier Than the Male (1967) and Some Girls Do (1969).

He died in the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea.

Gave a full length commentary for The Haunting (1963) DVD. (August 2003)

Founder of United British Artists (1983 - 1987).

16 years prior to playing Bulldog Drummond in Deadlier Than the Male (1967), he'd had a small part in Calling Bulldog Drummond (1951).

M-G-M were pleased with Johnson's work in Never So Few (1959) and signed him to a multi-picture deal, hoping to build him into a new star. They insisted that a role be written into the screenplay of King of Kings (1961) for him, although the film was about to start shooting. Johnson's role - as a character not mentioned in the Bible - took up nearly an hour of screen time, and was then deleted in its entirety before the film reached cinemas.

He has two roles in common with his Breaking the Code (1996) co-star Derek Jacobi: (1) Johnson played King Claudius of Denmark in Hamlet (1970) while Jacobi played him in Hamlet (1996) and (2) Johnson played the Roman Emperor Claudius in The Lost Island (1975) while Jacobi played him in I, Claudius (1976).

Attended Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, UK.

He was educated at Parkfield and Felsted Schools.

In 1969 he founded Pagent Entertainments Ltd to produce plays the first being a production of Brief Lives at the Criterion Theatre in London.

In between his second and third marriages he spent 11 years with Françoise Pascal.

Father-in-law of Will Parnell.

He was considered for the roles of Dr. Hans Fallada, Dr. Bukovsky, Sir Percy Heseltine and Dr. Armstrong in Lifeforce (1985).

He filmed scenes for King of Kings (1961) but they were deleted before the movie's release.

Father of Sorel Johnson and renowned board game designer Jervis Johnson (who created modern classics like Blood Bowl or Space Hulk) (b. 1959) with Sheila Sweet, Jennifer Johnson with Marie-Louise Nordlund, and Nicholas Johnson (b. 1976) with Françoise Pascal.

Son of Frances Louisa Olive Tweed and Keith Holcombe Johnson.