Anthony Johnson

Acting

Anthony Johnson

Born 1966-01-31 · Compton, California, USA

Anthony Johnson (February 1, 1966 – September 6, 2021), sometimes credited as A. J. Johnson, was an American actor and comedian. He was best known for his role as "Ezal” in the 1995 comedy film Friday. Born in Compton, California, his father Eddie Smith was a stuntman and a co-founder of the Black Stuntmen's Association. Johnson had credited his father for helping him enter the film industry, by getting him to work in film productions. He had also credited the comedian Robin Harris for helping him earlier on in his career as a stand-up comedian and giving him another chance even when he was jeered for his bad performance. Johnson began acting in his early twenties. In 1990, he landed a starring role as E.Z.E. in House Party, after which he started doing stand-up in bars in Los Angeles. He later appeared in Lethal Weapon 3 as a drug dealer and in Menace II Society. His biggest role was in the 1995 comedy Friday, as Ezal, a crackhead and thief. He also appeared in Panther, The Players Club, B*A*P*S, I Got the Hook-Up, Def Jam's How to Be a Player and Repos, and in rap videos: in Dr. Dre's "Dre Day" (1992), he played Sleazy-E, a parody of Eazy-E, and he appeared again as Sleazy-E in the video for Eazy-E's "Real Muthaphuckkin G's" (1993), this time being assaulted.

Acting credits

Lethal Weapon 3 poster
6.7

Riggs and Murtaugh pursue a former officer who uses his knowledge of police procedure and policies to steal and sell confiscated guns and ammunition to local street gangs.

Lethal Weapon 3

1992

Friday poster
7.1

Craig and Smokey are two guys in Los Angeles hanging out on their porch on a Friday afternoon, smoking and drinking, looking for something to do.

Friday

1995

House Party poster
6.4

Young Kid has been invited to a party at his friend Play's house. But after a fight at school, Kid's father grounds him. None the less, Kid sneaks out when his father falls asleep. But Kid doesn't know that three of the thugs at school have decided to give him a lesson in behavior.

House Party

1990

Menace II Society poster
7.5

A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.

Menace II Society

1993

Panther poster
6.3

In this sprawling, fictionalized history of the Black Panthers, 1960s Oakland becomes a war zone as the Panthers battle for the right to exist.

Panther

1995

The Great White Hype poster
5.2

When the champ's promoter, Rev. Sultan, decides something new is needed to boost the marketability of the boxing matches, he searches and finds the only man to ever beat the champ. The problem is that he isn't a boxer anymore and he's white. However, once Rev. Sultan convinces him to fight, he goes into heavy training while the confident champ takes it easy and falls out of shape.

The Great White Hype

1996

The Players Club poster
6.4

Single mother Diana struggles to provide for her child and pay for her college education. When she meets two dancers from a nearby gentlemen's club, Diana's convinced there's fast money to be made stripping.

The Players Club

1998

House Party 3 poster
5.3

Hip Hop duo Kid & Play return in the second follow-up to their 1990 screen debut House Party. Kid (Christopher "Kid" Reid) is taking the plunge and marrying his girlfriend Veda (Angela Means), while his friend Play (Christopher Martin) is dipping his toes into the music business, managing a roughneck female rap act called Sex as a Weapon. Play books the ladies for a concert with heavy-hitting pr

House Party 3

1994

Boosters LA poster
NR

James and his best friend Lisa struggle to stay one step ahead of the law while heading their boosting operation through the clothing racks of LA.

Boosters LA

2022

O poster
5.9

Even though he's the only black student at the elite Palmetto Grove Academy, star basketball player Odin James has the adoration of all, including the team's coach and the Dean's beautiful daughter Desi. Odin's troubled friend Hugo, the coach's son, deeply resentful of his father's preference of Odin on and off the court, plots a diabolical scheme to sow the seed of mistrust between O and Desi, setting in motion a disturbing chain of events which erupts into a firestorm of breathtaking intensity.

O

2001

B.A.P.S poster
5.4

Two wannabe Black American princesses aim to marry rich men, who will pay for their world's first combination hair salon and soul food restaurant.

B.A.P.S

1997

Baller Blockin' poster
6.6

A flashback to the early life of the narrator/ protagonist 'Tanuk' (Juvenile) shows life in the Magnolia projects in New Orleans. He bears witness to his father's demise at the hands of local gangster Garr over a debt of $2000. Fast forward to the year 2000. Beatrice (Birdman aka Baby or #1 stunna) along with Tanuk, Chopper (B.G) and Teke (Turk) meet with representatives of a drug cartel and purchase a large batch of cocaine. We then see scenes of everyday business in Magnolia with Iceberg Shorty (Lil Wayne) selling some drugs.

Baller Blockin'

2000

Sweet Oranges poster
10.0

Down on their luck, buddies Jamal and Kenny decide that the only way they can pluck themselves out of poverty during the summer is to sell oranges from a local kiosk. The new venture seems to be the perfect solution to their financial woes except for one tiny problem: It's hard to keep your mind on business when you're surrounded by beautiful babes.

Sweet Oranges

2004

5K1 poster
NR

Two best friends have to choose between life in the streets and loyalty when they are indicted with the help of an informant that causes everyone to be a suspect to the Boss.

5K1

2018

Hot Boyz poster
4.9

Injustice begets a criminal. Kool is an artist without prospects, a black belt in karate, and in love with LaShawna, poised and college bound. One night she witnesses a stabbing and discovers the victim is a cop as he dies in her arms. She's jailed for murder by the infamous Ramparts Division of the LAPD. Kool wants to prove her innocence, and Tully, the cynical detective in charge, ignores LaShawna's case but uses Kool to break up an incipient crime operation. She's in danger because the guilty parties fear that the officer talked before he died. While in jail awaiting a hearing and legal help, she's beaten to death by a rogue cop. Kool vows revenge: the Hot Boyz are born.

Hot Boyz

2000

I Got the Hook-Up poster
5.5

Two broke buddies feel lucky when they come upon a truckload of cellular phones and begin selling them out of the back of their van. Trouble arises though, when the phones develop faults. The two friends then not only have to deal with unsatisfied customers but also the FBI.

I Got the Hook-Up

1998

Sweet Hideaway poster
7.0

Trying to avoid jail time from credit card fraud, Price, at the advice of his cousin, hides out at a college fraternity. There's only one thing his cousin didn't tell him... the entire frat house is GAY! Price has to pretend he is also gay in order to stay hidden. Mayhem and comedy explode as several members find Price attractive while Price struggles for his sanity. However, Price discovers a life lesson he never thought possible in the mistaken identity comedy from Raw Dawg Films.

Sweet Hideaway

2003

Repos poster
5.0

Two repo men must retrieve a stolen truck that contains a criminal's stash of diamonds.

Repos

2006

I Got the Hook Up 2 poster
5.6

After best friends Black and Blue's restaurant is shut down, Black needs to find some cash -- fast. He thinks his luck has turned when Blue's son, Fatboy, and his best friend, Spyda,, bring him a stash of stolen cellphones, and Black decides to sell them on the streets. There's only one problem: The boxes with the phones also contain the Colombian cartel's stash of Molly, which Spyda decides to sell.

I Got the Hook Up 2

2019

Hittin' It! poster
2.8

When Morris and Malik's "uncle" lets them use his ultra-hip Miami beach house they think they have it made...until Malik's cousin E arrives and steals their thunder, throwing the biggest party the beach has ever seen, inevitably leaving the house trashed.

Hittin' It!

2004

On the Edge poster
3.3

Dakota Smith is an ex-cop and former private eye with a proclivity for community service. When a young basketball player entangles himself with drug dealers, he turns to Dak for help. Eventually goons are sent to kill the hoopster, but they hit the family of Rex Stevens by mistake. Frustrated by the incompetent and crooked police, the trio of Smith, Stevens, and their friend Frank Harris then battle the drug dealers for control of the streets. Also the heroes must tangle with Felix, a stealthy and ruthless hitman.

On the Edge

2002

Woo poster
4.3

Woo is a woman in control of her world. She is smart, self-confident, sophisticated and snarky. And she doesn't have any trouble attracting members of the opposite sex. But for some reason no one ever sticks around. Woo meets Tim, a paralegal who is her complete opposite. They shouldn't click. However, Woo and Tim begin to bond when a series of weird and stressful calamities hits them while they are on their first date.

Woo

1998

How to Be a Player poster
5.6

Dray is a young playboy whose only objective in life seems to be to have sex with as many girls as he can without getting caught by his girlfriend Lisa. Dray's sister Jenny and her friend Katrina plan to show him that the way he lives is wrong and organize a party in Malibu, inviting all of his girlfriends.

How to Be a Player

1997

Recognize poster
NR

Derrill Davis aka Dee Dee lives the life as a professional used car salesman by day and one of Atlanta's most deadly and feared undercover street gangsters by night. He hooks up partner oneway Boobe aka Ray and does a string of crimes that involve robbing, kidnapping and the killing of well-known drug dealers.

Recognize

2012