 Johnson first became involved in show business in 1965, as an actor playing the sheriff's deputy in the Spanish "spaghetti western" "Brandy", directed by Jose Luis Borau.He spent ten years of his youth in Spain, where he worked as a movie extra in films such as Franklin Schaffner's "Nicholas and Alexandra" and David Lean's "Dr. Zhivago".His early experiences led to small acting roles in the European western "Ride and Kill" and the 1964 drama "The Thin Red Line".