Thomas Q. Jones as Omar in TV series “Johnson”
While some inroads have been made, it’s still not often viewers see a Black man on a therapist’s couch in television and film.
That’s why Thomas Q. Jones, former NFL running back turned actor/producer, sees his character Omar Johnson in TV dramedy Johnson as both an anomaly and an opportunity. In a salient story arc, Omar voluntarily seeks professional help to address his anger issues so he won’t lose joint custody of his teenage son. At every turn, his therapists and other patients seemed stunned that this was not a court-ordered decision, but one he made on his own.
“The therapy conversation on the show is very important. It’s taboo, definitely, in the Black community where most of the time it’s relying on either a friend or church as therapy. For Black men especially, we wanted to show that it is OK to go to therapy. It’s OK to go for some help and talk through some of your issues and conflicts despite it maybe not being something that’s popular,” Jones says.
“But I think the world is changing. Vulnerability is a lot more acceptable now, especially for men, than it used to be. Which is very important, because we’re human; we have feelings.”
Jones views Johnson, which is in its second season on Bounce TV, as a way to bust down a myriad of misperceptions. Created by and co-starring Deji LaRay (Bosch, Greenleaf) and executive-produced by Cedric the Entertainer and Eric Rhone, the series follows four Black men—lifelong friends who share the same last name but who have different essences, energies, occupations and perspectives and through whose storylines the show tackles topics including mental health , microaggressions and racism.
“There’s a lot of negative stereotypes out there about Black men and being absent fathers, and a lot of those stereotypes are perpetuated through the media. So it was important for me to portray a Black man who is there for his family, and to put a bright light on the fathers who are there and who take care of their children and families,” Jones says.
“That’s what Johnson is—a show that’s trying to break stereotypes and showcase Black men in a light that we are never really seen on TV because it’s easier to make money off of us by showing us as negative. Showing us in the streets, drugs, not being present fathers. But that’s not the majority of Black men. The majority of Black men are like the guys on Johnson.
“The beautiful thing about the show is that it’s told from a Black male POV but it’s also told from a human perspective. Regardless of what culture you come from, nationality, background, you can watch this show and relate to these characters, who just happen to be Black. Life imitates art so people will watch a show or hear a song on the radio and depending on where they are in their life it could be the one thing that sways them in one direction or another, based on what narrative is reinforced,” he says. .
Feedback, Jones notes, has been positive and deeply personal.
“There’s a lot of men that have reached out on social media and said, ‘Hey, that’s my exact situation, thank you so much for telling my story.’ One guy actually was super distraught because my character triggered his life. He hadn’t seen his daughter in two years. He had broken up with the mother of his child and she took his daughter and didn’t tell him where she was. And so there’s a lot of men who go through this type of withdrawal from their children and it ruins their lives and the value of their lives, and it also ruins the lives of the child because the child has a whole other half of their existence. can’t connect to.”
Hollywood has been a welcome second act for Jones, who retired from the NFL after 12 seasons including stints with the Chicago Bears and New York Jets, and headed to LA in 2014 after a venture with actor Clifton Powell piqued his interest. He quickly got the acting bug, parlaying his talent into roles on projects including BET’s Being Mary Jane, Netflix’s
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Even more enticing than the camera has been the ability to connect with his emotions. “It wasn’t necessarily about me becoming a successful actor, it was more so about me understanding how to use acting and deal with any traumatic events throughout my lifetime that I could pour into those characters to become a release,” he says.
“My acting coach is one of the most important coaches of my life because he trained me how to be human again as opposed to football, where you can’t show weakness. It’s almost like you’re in the wild. You either eat or you’re going to be eaten. It’s a very extreme existence being an NFL player. Not just on the field but the environment, the locker room, the type of energy that’s consistently around you on a day-to-day basis,” he says. “And if you can’t match that energy, you can’t be there. It’s just the nature of the game.”
While the stakes are as high in Hollywood as they are on the field, Jones is embracing his current career path. “I’ve been able to evolve as a person, evolve as a man and understand that it’s OK to be human, it’s OK to be vulnerable and it’s OK to speak your truth,” he says. “Acting became therapy and allowed me to learn and grow.”
Hollywood & Mind is a recurring column that lives at the intersection of entertainment and well-being, and features interviews with musicians, actors, athletes and other cultural influencers who are amplifying conversation and action around mental health.
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