Ashley Suzanne Johnson (born August 9, 1983) is an American television, film and voice actress. Her work includes roles such as Chrissy Seaver on Growing Pains, Mary Beth Caldwell in The Help, Amber Ahmed on The Killing, Margaret in Much Ado About Nothing and FBI special agent Patterson on the NBC series Blindspot, with voice-work as Gretchen Grundler on Recess, Terra on Teen Titans, Jinmay on Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!, teenage Gwen Tennyson in Ben 10, Ellie in The Last of Us and its sequel, Gortys in Tales from the Borderlands, Shiseru in Naruto: Shippuden and Tulip Olsen and Lake on Infinity Train. She is also a cast member on Critical Role.
Johnson is a two-time BAFTA Award winner for her performance as Ellie in The Last of Us and The Last of Us: Left Behind.
Early life[]
Johnson was born in Camarillo, California, on August 9, 1983, the youngest child of independent film producer Nancy (née Spruiell) and exploration ship captain Cliff Johnson. She is of Danish, Irish, Native American, Norwegian, Scottish and Swedish descent. She has two older siblings. Her father started a new job nine days after she was born, subsequently moving the family to Franklin, Michigan. She studied violin and piano at the International School of Music.
Career[]
Johnson's career began at age six, when she played the role of Chrissy Seaver on the sitcom Growing Pains from 1990 to 1992. The character's age was accelerated from a toddler between seasons for plotting purposes. By the time she was 12, Johnson had been in the casts of eight TV series. She later reprised her role as Chrissy in The Growing Pains Movie and Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers. In the one season series Phenom (1993–94), she played the mischievous younger sister of a rising teenage tennis star. She appeared in the 1994 sitcom All-American Girl, which also lasted for only one season. She played DJ's overbearing girlfriend Lisa in the Roseanne episode "The Blaming of the Shrew". During the 1995–96 ABC lineup, she played Gracie Wallace in the sitcom Maybe This Time. She played Alex Marshall in the 2000 comedy What Women Want. In 2008, she became a regular on the drama Dirt as Sharlee Cates. In 2009, Johnson appeared in "Omega", the first-season finale of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse.
In 2012, she appeared in The Avengers (also directed by Whedon) as Beth, the waitress who is saved by Captain America. She was intended to appear in future films as his newest love interest (as implied in a brief scene in the film), but that plan was shelved and instead actress Emily VanCamp's Sharon Carter character became involved with Rogers. Although her role was minor, the Blu-ray edition of The Avengers contains some deleted scenes that expand her role in the movie and further her interactions with Rogers.
As a voice actress, she voiced Sean in the U.S. version of The First Snow of Winter in 1998, Gretchen Grundler on Recess, Terra in the second and fifth seasons of Teen Titans Jinmay on Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! and Gwen Tennyson on Ben 10: Alien Force and in future variations of the Ben 10 franchise.
She co-starred in the PlayStation-exclusive The Last of Us as the character Ellie, which was released to critical acclaim and commercial success. She subsequently won a video game BAFTA for Best Performer and a VGX Award for Best Voice Actress for her role in the game. On March 12, 2015, Johnson won another BAFTA for Best Performer for the same role in the game's downloadable content, The Last of Us: Left Behind. She reprises the role in The Last of Us Part II.
Johnson appears in several Geek & Sundry shows, including playing occult specialist Morgan on the web series Spooked on Hulu, playing Alhambra and Dead of Winter on the board gaming web series TableTop, and playing Pike Trickfoot and Yasha Nydoorin in Critical Role.
From 2015 to 2020, she played FBI forensic specialist Patterson in the NBC drama series Blindspot.
In 2015, Johnson voiced Petra the Warrior in Minecraft: Story Mode by Telltale Games and Mojang.
In 2016, Johnson voiced Tulip Olsen in the pilot for Infinity Train and reprised the role for the series in 2019, additionally voicing Lake and the Steward.
As of 2020, Johnson was made President of the Critical Role Foundation.
Personal life[]
Johnson enjoys singing and playing the cello, guitar, piano and violin. Her role as Ellie in The Last of Us Part II also included acoustic guitar covers of "Future Days" by Pearl Jam, "Take On Me" by A-ha and "Through the Valley" by Shawn James. Since 2012, Johnson has been in a relationship with American poet, singer and writer Brian W. Foster, who hosts the Critical Role aftershow Talks Machina. In December 2018, she and Foster announced their engagement. Her older sister, Haylie Johnson, is also an actress known for her role as Haylie on Kids Incorporated and is married to musician Jonny Lang. In her spare time, she co-runs the photography company Infinity Pictures with production assistant Mila Shah. In April 2000, Johnson's father was diagnosed with liver cancer and lung cancer, which claimed his life later that year. At the time of his death, Johnson's father was also suffering from Hepatitis C.
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Lionheart | Nicole Gaultier | |
| 1995 | Nine Months | Shannon Dwyer | |
| 1997 | I Will Some Wishing | Ashly Andrews | |
| 1998 | Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 | Josie Hemphill | |
| The First Snow of Winter | Sean McDuck (voice) | Short film U.S. version | |
| 1999 | Anywhere but Here | Sarah | |
| 2000 | What Women Want | Alex Marshall | |
| 2001 | Recess: School's Out | Gretchen Grundler (voice) | |
| Recess Christmas | Gretchen Grundler (voice) | Direct-to-video | |
| Rustin | Lee Wolford | ||
| 2003 | The Failures | Lilly Kyle | |
| Recess: All Growed Down | |||
| Recess: Taking the 5th Grade | Gretchen Grundler (voice) | Direct-to-video | |
| 2004 | Killer Diller | Angie | |
| King of the Corner | Elena Spivak | ||
| 2005 | Nearing Grace | Merna Ash | |
| 2006 | Fast Food Nation | Amber | |
| Grad Night | Student | ||
| 2007 | The Brothers Solomon | Patricia | |
| 2008 | Columbus Day | Alana | |
| Otis | Riley Lawson | ||
| 2009 | Spread | Eva | |
| 2011 | The Help | Mary Beth Caldwell | |
| 2012 | The Avengers | Beth | |
| Much Ado About Nothing | Margaret | ||
| 2015 | When Marnie Was There | Emily / Miyoko (voices) | English dub |
| 2016 | Punching Henry | Danielle |
Television[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990–1992 | Growing Pains | Chrissy Seaver | Main role (seasons 6–7) |
| 1992 | Kids Incorporated | Girl in audience | Uncredited Episode: "The Boy of La Mancha" |
| 1993 | Men Don't Tell | Cindy | Television film |
| The Town Santa Forgot | Granddaughter (voice) | Television special | |
| 1993–1994 | Phenom | Mary Margaret Doolan | Main role |
| 1994 | All-American Girl | Casey Emmerson | Main role |
| 1995 | Annie: A Royal Adventure! | Annie Warbucks | Television film |
| Roseanne | Lisa | Episode: "The Blaming of the Shrew" | |
| What a Cartoon! | Mina (voice) | Episode: "Mina and the Count: Interlude with a Vampire" | |
| 1995–1996 | Maybe This Time | Gracie Wallace | Main role |
| 1996–1999 | Jumanji | Peter Shepherd / Robo-Peter (voices) | 40 episodes |
| 1997 | Moloney | Kate Moloney | 3 episodes |
| Wings | Rebecca | Episode: "Ms. Write" | |
| 1997–2001 | Recess | Gretchen Grundler (voice) | 129 episodes |
| 1998 | ER | Dana Ellis | 2 episodes |
| Kelly Kelly | Maureen Kelly | Main role | |
| 2000 | The Growing Pains Movie | Chrissy Seaver | Television film |
| 2001 | What About Joan | Jody Bradford | Episode: "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Joan" |
| 2002 | Ally McBeal | Serena Feldman | Episode: "Heart and Soul" |
| The Guardian | Betsy Fortunato | Episode: "Sacrifice" | |
| Lloyd in Space | Violet (voice) | 4 episodes | |
| Providence | Daphne Wallace | 3 episodes | |
| Roswell | Eileen Burrows | 2 episodes | |
| Touched by an Angel | Natalie Tate | Episode: "Bring On the Rain" | |
| 2003–2004 | Married to the Kellys | Shari | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers | Chrissy Seaver | Television film |
| 2004–2006 | Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! | Jinmay (voice) | 12 episodes |
| Teen Titans | Terra (voice) | 7 episodes | |
| 2004–2010 | King of the Hill | Emily / Jamie (voices) | 7 episodes |
| 2005 | The X's | Kimla (voice) | Episode: "License to Slumber/Three Days of the Coin Op" |
| 2006 | Lilo & Stitch: The Series | Gretchen Grundler (voice) | Episode: "Lax: Experiment 285" |
| 2007 | Heartland | Rebecca Colton | Episode: "Mother & Child Reunion" |
| Monk | Susie the Maid | Episode: "Mr. Monk Is at Your Service" | |
| 2007, 2014 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Dreama Little / brothel girl | 2 episodes |
| 2008 | Dirt | Sharlee Cates | Recurring role (season 2) |
| The Mentalist | Clara Tennant | Episode: "Seeing Red" | |
| The Middleman | Eleanor Draper | Episode: "The Ectoplasmic Panhellenic Investigation" | |
| Raising the Bar | Elise Denton | Episode: "Hang Time" | |
| 2008–2010 | Ben 10: Alien Force | Gwen Tennyson / Cicely (voices) | 45 episodes |
| 2009 | Cold Case | Graces Stearns (1966) | Episode: "The Crossing" |
| Dollhouse | Wendy / Caroline / Hayden Leeds | 2 episodes | |
| 2010 | Funny or Die Presents | Girlfriend | 1 episode |
| Lie to Me | Valerie | Episode: "Beat the Devil" | |
| 2010–2018 | Drunk History | Various | 3 episodes |
| 2010–2012 | Ben 10: Ultimate Alien | Gwen Tennyson (voice) | 52 episodes |
| 2011 | In Plain Sight | Sarah Collins / Sarah Peterschwim | Episode: "Something A-mish" |
| 2011–2012 | The Killing | Amber Ahmed | Recurring role (seasons 1); special guest (season 2) |
| 2011–2013 | Pound Puppies | Amelia / Toyo / Gina / Giblet / Kid #1 (voices) | 6 episodes |
| 2012 | Drop Dead Diva | Veronica Kramer | Episode: "Road Trip" |
| Private Practice | Kelly | Episode: "The Time Has Come" | |
| 2012–2014 | Ben 10: Omniverse | Gwen Tennyson (voice) | 21 episodes |
| 2013 | Masters of Sex | Flora Banks | Episode: "Fallout" |
| 2013–2019 | Teen Titans Go! | Terra (voice) | 6 episodes |
| 2014 | Garfunkel and Oates | Jane | Episode: "Speechless" |
| 2015 | Naruto: Shippuden | Shiseru (voice) | 6 episodes English dub |
| Stalker | Stephanie Beekman | Episode: "My Hero" | |
| 2015–2017 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Renet (voice) | 6 episodes |
| 2015–2020 | Blindspot | Patterson | Main role |
| 2019–2020 | Infinity Train | Tulip Olsen / Lake / the Steward (voices) | 20 episodes |
Video games[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Teen Titans | Terra | |
| 2008 | Ben 10: Alien Force | Gwen Tennyson | |
| 2009 | Ben 10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks | Gwen Tennyson | |
| 2010 | Ben 10 Alien Force: The Rise of Hex | Gwen Tennyson | |
| Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: Cosmic Destruction | Gwen Tennyson | ||
| 2011 | Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion | Gwen Tennyson | |
| 2013 | Marvel Heroes | Spider-Woman | Uncredited |
| The Last of Us | Ellie | Also motion capture VGX Award for Best Voice Actress 2013 BAFTA Games Award for Best Performer | |
| 2014 | The Last of Us: Left Behind | Ellie | Also motion capture 2014 BAFTA Games Award for Best Performer |
| Infamous First Light | Jenny | ||
| Tales from the Borderlands | Gortys / Hyperion System Voice | "Hyperion System Voice" is credited as "Additional Voices" | |
| Final Fantasy Explorers | Additional voices | English version | |
| 2015 | Skylanders: SuperChargers | Gadfly Glades Collector | |
| Lego Dimensions | Terra | Uncredited | |
| Minecraft: Story Mode | Petra | ||
| 2016 | The Witness | Additional voices | |
| Lego Marvel's Avengers | Beth the Waitress | ||
| 2018 | Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire | Narrator / Pike Trickfoot / Ydwin | |
| 2020 | The Last of Us Part II | Ellie | Also motion capture Nominated for Best Performance at The Game Awards 2020 |
Web series[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013, 2015 | Tabletop | Herself | 2 episodes |
| 2015–present | Critical Role | Pike Trickfoot (campaign 1) / Yasha Nydoorin (campaign 2) | Cast member RPG web series |