Clark Johnson

Born: September 1954
Where: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

The actor and director made is big screen breakthrough helming the action thriller S.W.A.T starring Samuel L Jackson and Colin Farrell.

Drawing on his experience as a director of TV series such as NYPD Blue, Law & Order and Nikita, the movie recounted the bid by a drugs kingpin to break out of jail.

The brother of jazz singer Molly Johnson, Johnson grew up in Canada and attended Montreal's Concordia University, where he shone at college football.

After failing to get onto the books of the Toronto Argonauts and a handful of other football teams in the '80s, Johnson went to work in film in Toronto.

He was a driver for Lee Majors, a special-effects assistant on David Cronenberg films, and a stuntman before landing acting gigs on Canadian TV productions.

He went on to take directing jobs on The West Wing, NYPD Blue, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Third Watch, following the predetermined style of each show.

His movie about the civil rights movement, Boycott, won a Peabody Award and he helmed the pilot episodes of The Wire and the Emmy-winning The Shield.