Born in Lambeth, London, in November 1973, Harris studied acting at Morley College. He started his career on the stage in London's fringe theatre scene before landing his breakthrough role in the feature film London to Brighton.
Four years later, Meadows cast Harris in This is England '86 and for his portrayal of Lol's abusive father Mick he received both BAFTA Television, and Royal Television Society Award nominations for his performance. The following year he reprised the role of Mick in This Is England '88, with the show winning the BAFTA TV Award for Best Mini-Series.
Harris continued a run of award-winning projects with a leading role in the BBC drama The Fades, which won a BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Series.
In the 2012 Universal Pictures cinema film Snow White and the Huntsman starring Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth. In which he played one of the eight dwarves alongside Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, and Ian McShane.
Another feature film followed, Welcome to the Punch, with James McAvoy, Mark Strong, Peter Mullan and Andrea Riseborough. This was released internationally in 2013.
The Independent described Harris as "One of Britain's finest and toughest actors".
In 2015, Harris played in the Sky Atlantic/Pivot 12-part drama Fortitude alongside Sir Michael Gambon, Stanley Tucci, and Christopher Eccleston. Shot on location in Iceland and London, it aired on both sides of the Atlantic in January 2015. His first starring role in a feature film was as American Platoon Sergeant Noah Frater in the feature film Monsters: Dark Continent, the sequel to the Gareth Edwards film Monsters.
2015 also saw Harris return as Mick in This Is England '90, the final instalment of the successful series. He also starred as DCI John Hind, opposite Anne-Marie Duff in From Darkness, a new four-part drama for BBC1, including filming on location in Manchester and Scotland.
In February 2016, filming began on Harris' debut as a screenwriter with the 2017 feature film Jawbone. He co-produced the film and starred alongside Ray Winstone, Ian McShane and Michael Smiley, with Paul Weller composing and recording an original soundtrack. Former professional boxer Barry McGuigan and his son, Shane McGuigan, served as boxing consultants and prepared Harris for his role as Jimmy McCabe.
The production was backed by BBC Films and released in cinemas in May 2017, with Harris receiving a BAFTA Film Awards 'Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer' nomination for his work on the film, as well as winning two National Film Awards for 'Best Action' and 'Best Breakthrough Performance'. Harris also received a Writers Guild of Great Britain 'Best Debut Screenplay' Award nomination.and BIFA Award Nominations for 'Best Actor' and 'Best Debut Screenplay'
In 2018 Harris returned to the television screens to play Agamemnon in the BBC / Netflix series Troy: Fall of a City. Filming took place on location in Cape Town, South Africa.
In the same year, he also made his debut behind the camera, directing the music video for the Paul Weller single "Gravity". Also in 2019, Harris is cast as Franklin Scrooge in a BBC adaptation of A Christmas Carol, alongside Guy Pearce, Andy Serkis and Stephen Graham.
In 2019, Johnny appeared as Agamemnon in the BBC Netflix Drama series Troy: Fall of a City and also as Franklin Scrooge in the BBC, Fox TV adaptation of A Christmas Carol alongside Guy Pearce, Andy Serkis and Stephen Graham. The show was exec produced by Tom Hardy and Ridley Scott.
In 2020, Johnny stars as Bruno Bernardi in the third and final season of the Netflix drama series Medici Season 3 (2019). Filming took place in Rome and Tuscany.
In 2020, Johnny will also play Charlie Rowley in the highly anticipated new BBC Drama Series The Salisbury Poisonings. A mini-series based on the tragic real life events of 2018.
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