Friday, February 17, 2012

JOHNNY HARRIS: TOUGH GUY - HAS A SOFT SIDE FOR THE SOCIAL MEDIA AND FANS

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Former amateur champion boxer and award winning actor Johnny Harris has had his share of tough guy roles (This is England), and now he's taking his toughness and applying it to being a "badass dwarf" in Snow White and the Huntsman, according to Goji Collective.  Harris will be starring as "Quert" the dwarf in SWATH.

Goji recently interviewed Harris (Read full interview here) where he discusses his career and SWATH.  One interesting tid bit Harris talks about is his "rapport" with the fans through social networking. 

Years ago, if fans wanted to possibly hear from their favorite actor, singer etc... you had to write to an address that was supposed to be to a publicist or to a fan club and hopefully, the autographed photo or letter you received actually came from the star him or herself.  

Unfortunately, it has been noted years later that publicists and Lord knows who else, were penning those autographed photos you thought were signed by the star.  Now fans can actually talk to the stars themselves through social media and sometimes receive immediate responses.  It makes fans feel special to know that the star cares enough to respond back.  

Any fan of Kristen Stewart knows she has no social media accounts, but when she said "hi" to fans through actor Peter Facinelli's (@peterfacinelli) Twitter account along with Robert Pattinson, it was as if she spoke to you personally.  It meant to world to Twilight fans even though it was through someone else's account.

But there are plenty of stars who have their own accounts.  Yes, it can be risky because there is always some knucklehead who wants to spoil it for others.  However, stars can see that there is more good than bad and having an account could be a positive experience.

Twitter is the most immediate and intimate of the social networks because it allows fans and stars to reach out and give praises, opinions etc... directly to each other.  It also helps the stars gauge their audiences likes and dislikes. 

Harris talks about how he uses his Twitter account to reach his fans. Goji writes:

Perhaps it’s Johnny’s willingness to build a rapport between himself and his audience that helps in creating characters that really get under the viewer’s skin. During his days working in fringe theatre, Johnny’s keenness to hear what his audience thought of his performance prompted him to hide in the gents' toilets for hours at a time. “I was advised by an older actor that if I wanted a true reaction to the play and performance I should go hide in the theatre toilet cubicle and listen to the audience immediately after the play,” he laughs. “So I'd dash around to the loo straight after the curtain call and get myself comfy. It wasn't always easy listening, but I learned a lot.”

Today, Johnny continues to gauge his audience’s response and appreciates the value of social media. He enjoys a strong following on Twitter, which allowed him to receive an immediate response when The Fades recently premièred on BBC America. “The beauty of social media is that you can see the public response as it happens now,” he says. “[It's] an immediate reaction directly from the viewing public, which is an interesting alternative to a journalist's opinion.”

For Johnny, the word on the street can be as valuable as that of any seasoned critic. “I follow a few good journalists that I like,” he says. “There's a lot to be said for editorial journalism, but it was lovely to see the immediate reaction of the public for both This Is England '86 and '88, and The Fades, because they really seemed to be pulled in by the stories and characters.” 


With a huge soon-to-be blockbuster coming out, we are pretty sure Harris will be hearing from plenty of fans real soon.

Fans can follow Harris's Twitter account at @mrjohnnyharris  and maybe you can be lucky to get a tweet or two from Harris himself.

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