Michael Johnston wants out of LA – and he’s fallen in love with London (EXCLUSIVE)
He never wanted to be famous, but a standout role in one of this year’s biggest films has put Michael Johnston – and his sexuality – firmly in the public eye
By Darren Scott
Fog rolls across the floor. A figure looms from the darkness, hands reaching out from behind a broken door. A man with darkened eyes and the nails to match emerges from the shadows, but this is no nightmare – this is the face of actor Michael Johnston. Hollywood’s newest heartthrob is literally living his dream on the set of his cover shoot as winner of The Film Award at the Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards 2026, in partnership with M&S and electrified by Polestar.
Johnston makes a worthy award recipient after his career skyrocketed following the phenomenal success of Obsession – the indie horror flick made on an extremely modest $750k budget that’s gone on to gross over $500m, breaking box-office records to become the most profitable film of the year, if not ever.
Shot over two years ago, before opening at the Toronto International Film Festival a year later, a bidding war for the movie ensued, and it was another year before the public got to see it. “I knew it was a special project, that I loved the script, that we were doing a really good job, but you can’t have those expectations as an actor,” Johnston says of its sleeper journey to success, as we sit down to chat at the shoot location, north London’s MetalCraft Studios.
Today, Johnston is a very busy man. “Now, there’s talk of the Oscars campaign, which is mind-blowing. It feels like a once-in-a-lifetime moment, because my goal, of course, is to be in more successful films,” he laughs, “but I don’t think it’ll ever quite be like that again. I’m so glad to be having this moment now. I’m 30. I got to live some life. I got to face rejection. I got some experience, and now I’m so ready. I’m ready to do this. It’s amazing.”
Mummy dearest
He’s loving life in London – his first time here – the food, the shops and, most importantly, the people. “I like the people a lot better here,” he chuckles. “They’re just more real.” So much so that we might be seeing a lot more of him in the future. “I’m seriously fantasising about having a place here one day. I really do love it. I’m kind of itching to move, I don’t want to live in LA anymore…”
The as-yet-untitled fourth instalment in The Mummy franchise brings him to the UK to film his first blockbuster. Not only is he loving the work, but he’s loving the work ethic.
“Everyone’s really dedicated to their job!” he says, somewhat incredulously. “The kind of disrespect that I see in the workplace in Los Angeles with people shouting at each other – that just doesn’t happen here. There’s plenty of good English humour and dry sarcasm. I love how the English shit-talk; I think it’s amazing. But there’s just something that’s more respectful here and I’m loving it. I’m in heaven.”
He describes Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz as “class acts”, but says he won’t be playing their son, as much of the internet has assumed.
“It’s a new character, but the film is just returning to its original formula. It’s just like that first film,” which he says he watched 30 times as a child. “It’s going to give the fans exactly what they want. Rick and Evie are back. We’re going on an adventure again. It’s so exciting. The film rips. It just goes immediately. It’s truly an action film. It’s fight scenes and chase scenes and running through the streets. I can’t believe it! I’m working with stunt guys and I’m like, ‘Wait, you’re gonna let me do this?’ So I’m taking boxing lessons and doing all these things. It’s going to be honest to the original film.
“I was sceptical when I heard about the project, but then when I saw that it’s Radio Silence [Productions], who’ve done the Ready or Not films and the last few Scream movies, I was really excited because they just have this young, fresh energy. They want it to be really fun. They don’t want it to be really expositional. They just want it to go, go, go. My first thought reading the script was, ‘Oh my God, the fans are going to love this.’”
Game boy
As a gamer in his teens – ultimately the gateway to where we find him today – unlocking a bonus feature on acting in video games showed him what was possible. Voiceover work – easily done remotely – followed. At 18, fresh out of high school, he moved to LA via Chicago and “stumbled” into on-camera work, unplanned. A long-running role as gay character Corey Bryant in Teen Wolf gave him his big break, followed by indie film Slash.
“And of course, of course, I’m playing these gay roles… and I wasn’t really out yet. The initial reaction from some of my family was, ‘Oh no.’ I had an aunt who was like, ‘Oh God, they’re gonna convert you.’ It’s funny because it’s like, ‘Oh, she was right,’” he laughs before correcting himself. “That’s so wrong, it’s not true. I always knew. I always knew.”
This is an excerpt of a feature appearing in Attitude’s November/December 2026 issue.