Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Endangered Species’ Michael Johnston

Michael Johnston is a rising young star who has quickly made a name for himself with the diverse characters he’s brought to life in projects like Zak Storm, Slash, and Teen Wolf.

This May, he’s taking audiences on an adventure of a lifetime in M.J. Bassett’s Endangered Species. The action-packed film follows an American family who travels to the vast African wilderness of Kenya hoping for a dream vacation filled with excitement, bonding, and a chance to fix the growing rifts within their family. But when their safari vehicle is attacked by a rhino protecting her calf, the family is left stranded miles from help and their dream vacation turns into a fight for survival.

Michael shines as Noah, a star athlete trying to find his place in the world.

Pop Culturalist had the pleasure of speaking with Michael about Endangered Species, what it was like filming completely outdoors, and Noah’s journey in the film. Plus, we chatted about his budding music career and new single “Make It Easy“.

PC: Tell us about Endangered Species and your character in the film.
Michael: Endangered Species is a family drama, crazy adventure, survival story. It’s about a dysfunctional American family that takes a trip to Africa. The dad decides that they’re going to save a little money and go on a safari without a guide, which turns out to not be the best idea. I play a character named Noah, who’s trying to figure things out. He’s struggling with his relationship with his dad because he doesn’t quite understand or support him fully in his sexuality. He’s pressuring him to stay on the sports team, which he doesn’t have much interest in being a part of.

PC: Throughout your career, you’ve done a fantastic job choosing the projects that you go out for. What was it about this script and that stood out to you?
Michael: Oh man. It was in the middle of COVID. This was the first movie that I got in a year because everything was shut down. We shot in Kenya, and I’d never been to Africa before so immediately I was like, “Well, I have to go.” I didn’t regret it. It was absolutely beautiful to see all of those animals and to work with MJ [Bassett] and the whole cast. We had a blast. I’ll never forget all the things that I saw and learned while I was there.

PC: Like you were just saying, this is the first project that you worked on since the industry shut down due to COVID. Did that bring a new level of appreciation heading onto set?
Michael: Absolutely. We had to follow COVID protocols and everything, but the good thing is that we were out in the wildness, so we weren’t around a lot of people. Once we had our bubble of people, it was a bit easier. I went from being inside my apartment pretty much every day, not driving anywhere, to going on these incredible drives through the wilderness of Africa and seeing all these animals. It certainly made me appreciate how beautiful this planet is—that’s one of the themes of the movie. Also, we touch upon the fact that there’s an illegal wildlife trade going on and people are actually hurting nature. I’m glad we can raise some awareness for that. It’s important for us to protect endangered species. I learned so much. Every day, my mouth was agape with all the things that I’ve never seen or heard before.

PC: Noah has a beautiful transformation throughout the film. How did you prepare to tackle his journey? How similar or different are you to him?
Michael: I certainly can relate to Noah, because I know what it’s like to have people have an idea of how they want your life to go, but you want to explore your own thing. It comes with being an actor and moving out to California, not having any idea what I’m doing. I’m glad that I got to tell that story. I’m glad that story wasn’t necessarily that my character is gay; he just happens to be gay, and he has a mostly supportive family around him.

At the end of the day, when you look at the relationship between the father and the son in the film, I don’t think the father has a strong issue with his son. I feel like every parent just has an idea of how they want their kid to be, and when your life is on the line, you see what’s really important. It’s a nice arc, and I can definitely draw from some experiences to play that role.

PC: Great answer. How did you and Philip [Winchester] approach that dynamic?
Michael: Luckily, we got to shoot mostly in order. I feel like it came really naturally. Philip is a pro; he’s very experienced. We just chatted and got to know each other; we didn’t really talk that much about it. We wanted it to be fresh when we were doing scenes. I’m really happy with the way that it turned out. It was wonderful working with Philip and the rest of the cast.

PC: Like you were saying earlier, you shot this film entirely outdoors. What was that experience like? Did that bring any challenges?
Michael: Oh yeah. It was hot and the drives oftentimes to get to the location were very long. We had a lot of very long days, but it was worth it. There’s no green screen in the movie—everything you see is real, except, of course, when the animals are attacking us. I got food poisoning while I was there…that was pretty tough. I pretty much worked almost every day, so there wasn’t a lot of downtime. We were going to have to go with it. We’re out there. We’re sweating. We’re supposed to be uncomfortable in the film, so I used that. You don’t see what happens after they scream “cut”, but you can use your imagination. It was pretty rough, but it was fun. It was an experience, and it was easy to act in that environment because it was all so real.

Another thing I like to share is that early in the movie, we’re trying to find animals. We’re looking like, “Where are they?” But in reality, there were so many animals everywhere that it was hard to get a shot where there weren’t any animals on screen. I thought that was really funny.

PC: That’s super cool. With the film out now, what do you hope audiences take away?
Michael: I hope that audiences can watch the movie and get a little glimpse into how beautiful Africa, nature, and these animals are. It’s nice to raise some awareness about the illegal wildlife trade going on. There are people out there who are trying to do something about it. They’re putting their lives on the line, so appreciate them. Hopefully, someone watches the film and feels compelled to do something about it. I hope it spreads awareness.

PC: In addition to acting, you also recently started releasing your own original music. Can you tell us a little bit about your latest single, “Make It Easy”, and the inspiration behind it?
Michael: I’m really excited. I have some new music coming out, and I can’t wait to share it. I don’t have a date yet, but it will be really, really, really soon. I do have two songs out, and my latest song, “Make It Easy”, is a good breakup song. It’s a friendship breakup. A lot of people think that that was a romantic one, but it wasn’t; it’s about a friendship breakup. I’m always working on music in my downtime when I’m not acting on screen. I’m so excited to share that with everyone. So, stay tuned and follow my Instagram, @TheMichaelJohnston. I’ll be posting about that and other upcoming projects.

PC: Actor-musicians have often said that when they’re releasing their own music, they have to tap into a different side of their vulnerability. Do you feel similarly? What have you learned from releasing your own music that you’ve been able to apply to your acting career?
Michael: That’s a good question. I can’t speak for every songwriter out there, but for me, a lot of my songs feel like I’m writing in a diary and then I’m singing it. There’s a lot of vulnerability there, but it’s also nice to not be too specific, so that a lot of people can listen to it and take different things away from it. That’s what I strive for in my music. To be honest, I’m pretty new with my music career. I’m not with a label. I’m just figuring out my sound still, which is why I’m so excited for this new music I have coming out. It’s a bit more adult than my previous songs. I can’t wait to share it.

I love doing both music and acting. What I love about music is that it’s mine. I get to write it and I get to sing it and I get to do it the way I want to do it. It’s my vision. It’s really nice. It’s a nice supplement to my acting work because I draw from my experiences in my acting, but it’s not necessarily my story. Doing it all is a great way to stay sane, especially during these crazy times we live in, because when I’m here working at home, it’s better to pull out my guitar and work on music than maybe play video games. Everything in moderation, right? [laughs]

To keep up with Michael, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Check out Endangered Species in theaters and anywhere you rent movies today!

Photo Credit: Andrew M. Gleason