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In the beginning, I didn’t know how to navigate through that, or to that destination. How did that interest in comedy manifest when you first got into the industry? Mainly when I was outside of New York City, for some reason. Not to mention, when I was a kid, people said I resembled Eddie Murphy. When I saw Delirious - it was probably Delirious, but Raw put the nail in the coffin - I wanted to be like Eddie Murphy. But as a child, coming from where I came from - I grew up in the ’80s - my first introduction to comedy was Eddie Murphy. I always knew I wanted to be on television. How far back did you know you wanted to work in comedy? Johnson recently spoke about his famous meme, the difference between playing a gangster in a comedic and dramatic context, and how he feels about being typecast in these roles. But his comedic niche is that of the gangster who pivots between being terrifying and baffling from line to line, and who delivers deeply silly lines with the untouchable swagger of someone whom no one in their life dares to question.
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Johnson has played against type in comedies too, most notably in Chris Rock’s 2014 movie Top Five and Tracy Morgan’s TBS show The Last O.G. Most recently, he made an appearance in the second episode of Hulu’s This Fool, playing an aging gangster who tries to rally his gang to rekindle an old beef but is only able to marshal his elderly, confused grandfather. He currently plays Drew on Showtime’s Flatbush Misdemeanors, a multidimensional hustler who constantly torments the show’s protagonists Kevin and Dan. He popped up as a whimsical drug dealer in the 2015 movie Staten Island Summer, where he acted alongside SNL veterans like Colin Jost, Cecily Strong, and Fred Armisen. Beginning with a 2006 guest stint playing a Suge Knight–like figure on Entourage, Johnson has animated several variations of drug dealers and gangsters for comic effect. The comedic elements of Wee-Bey’s persona have served as a blueprint for a number of the roles Johnson has played since. He’s even become the source of an iconic reaction meme used online to signify bewilderment, shock, and confusion.

In one famous interrogation scene from season one, he nonchalantly takes the rap for multiple murders committed by fellow gang members, demanding nothing in exchange from the police but a “pit sandwich and some potato salad.” On several occasions, his hardened persona is juxtaposed against his unlikely love for tropical fish.

It’s this unflinching commitment and self-seriousness that make him an unlikely source of comic relief throughout the series. Photo-Illustration: Showtime/HBO Max/HuluĪs Roland “Wee-Bey” Brice on The Wire, the character he’s best known for playing, Hassan Johnson is the true embodiment of the expression “ride or die.” As the most loyal member of Avon Barksdale’s criminal enterprise, he scraps, kills, and ultimately goes to jail for life to ensure the greater good of the operation.
