Born in Baton Rouge, raised in Atlanta, this Southern Belle has been acting ever since could conceptualize what the artform was. And now, Artrece Johnson has found her biggest break in the role of Faye Williams in Peacock’s brand new, star studded series, ‘Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist’. The series premiered on September 5, 2024 on the streaming platform, introducing Artrece to millions, alongside Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Samuel L. Jackson, Terrence Howard and a slew of other big names. Allow us to give you a real introduction to the actress, in our Artrece Johnson interview.
In her role as Faye, Artrece stars as Kevin Hart’s character’s wife. His name: Chicken Man.
Get all the info from the actress below, in our full Artrece Johnson interview…
Parlé Mag: So let’s start from the beginning. I know you grew up in Baton Rouge, talk to me about growing up and what led to you wanting to be an actress?
Artrece Johnson: Well, I was born in Baton Rouge, but I grew up in Atlanta. I think I was first introduced to acting at the age of four–The Barney Show. I really wanted to be on it! I didn’t know it was acting at the time. I just was like, those kids look like they’re having fun, and that’s what I’m trying to do, too. So I really wanted to be on that show. And then the following year in kindergarten, my teacher was like, “Hey, did you want to do a play?” And I was like, “What is that? What’s a play?”
And she was just like, “you get on stage, you talk, you dance or something.” And I was like, “sure, yeah.” I did it and every theater artist can attest to this. When you get on stage, there is this energy it’s such a strong pull. And in that moment at five, I was like, whatever this is, I have to do this for the rest of my life! So I knew at four, and that is how it started. I did community theater, I did plays, short films, anything I could get my hands on. When I went to college, I studied theater. But when I left is when I actually started taking it serious. So in 2016, I started taking film and TV seriously.
Parlé Mag: When you think about that journey, I know you were doing survival jobs and you were just trying to get to where you are today, what kept you going?
Artrece Johnson: My faith and my family, honestly, my faith and my family are probably the biggest foundation for me. Definitely my faith because every artist knows it can get rough. This is a very hard business to break into. You’re up against so many things, so many things that are kind of out of your control. So just having a strong faith, just being able to lean into that and lean on having faith that it’ll work out someday. It’s a crazy gamble, but when you really want something in this life, you’ll stop at nothing. When you really believe that it’s meant for you when it feels like it’s your purpose, you know what I’m saying? So that, and just when the days were hard, because I had a lot of hard days when I was ready to quit! My family would just be like, you got to try again. You gotta get up, you got to try again. There were so many times when I lived in New York, I was so ready to go home so many times because I hate being cold. And I was just like, ‘yeah, I’m going to come home.’ And my mom would be like, ‘and do what? Come home and do what?’
I would be like, ‘fine, I’ll just stay here.’ So I stayed and I think it paid off!
Parlé Mag: Certainly did. So Faye Williams, tell me about her.
Artrece Johnson: Faye Williams is Chicken Man’s wife. She’s a lovely woman, very caring, very kind, very much a go-getter. She’s a devout Christian. She’s a mother of three beautiful kids. I would say that she is the person who keeps Chicken grounded, I would say. She’s also the root of her family. She’s very big on family, just trying to keep a sane home and everybody in order. I will say she’s a quiet storm though. You don’t see her coming. For sure. And that’s all I’m going to say because I want you to watch it and I want everyone else to watch it. And I love a surprise, so I don’t want to ruin the surprise.
Parlé Mag: What was your favorite part about playing her?
Artrece Johnson: I think my favorite part about playing her was that I was able to learn. I feel like I healed a little part of myself in playing her, which I didn’t actually think I would have at first. When I first approached her, I just was like, yeah, I don’t know why she would do that. I was judging her so badly and you can’t play a character when you judge them. And so it took me a long time to really fully understand and get into her because at first I was just like, you have to let go of this judgment. And then when I let go of the judgment, I realized we had so many similarities and I was just like, wow, we are alike, it was healing to play her. I think that is actually my favorite part. I love that she’s a mystery. I love that you don’t know her moves. I think that’s probably my favorite part, those parts.
Parlé Mag: Okay! Now you’re on set with all these amazingly talented actors and actresses, what was the biggest tip you got? What was the biggest lesson you learned just being around them?
Artrece Johnson: Take your time was probably the through line. Just by even just watching. Kevin and Taraji both told me–I would act as if we were in real time, and they would both be like, ‘no, you can take your time, take your time’. And I’d be like, oh, okay. Literally, because I’m like, but aren’t they waiting? So I’m trying to act. And they were like, no, they’re going to chop it up, cut it up, speed it up, and it’s going to be all fine in post. And they were absolutely right because I went to the premiere and it looked amazing. And so yeah, I learned to take my time. And also just watching Don (Cheadle) and Sam (Jackson), they take their moments, which is my favorite thing to do is really, but sometimes we’re taught in class as actors if it’s tv, you got to speed it up, but no, on this set it was like, yeah, no, if you have a moment, take it. And I love that. So watching them was like a masterclass, honestly. There’s so many tips. I learned so much from all of them.
Parlé Mag: What do you hope people get from the series and why do you hope they watch?
Artrece Johnson: I hope people see themselves. It’s all about healing. Part of my mission is to do art that heals me while also healing my audience. So I hope people see themselves and they heal from it. I hope they love it. I hope they laugh. I hope they are surprised. I love a good surprise. So I hope they really enjoy it. I hope that it’s something that could be added to the cult classics. So yeah, that’s what I hope.
Parlé Mag: Now, last question. Can you even think about what’s next? Are you even there or are you just in the moment right next?
Artrece Johnson: I am very much in the moment. I do have a few things on the horizon. Obviously nothing I can talk about, but hopefully soon they’ll be releasing some information and then I’ll be happy to share with the world. But as far as just living in the moment, I’m just trying to take in all this because a lot of this is so new for me and I’m very grateful. So I’ve been also just trying to take that in as much as I can.
Parlé Mag: Okay. I appreciation time. I look forward to watching the series.
Artrece Johnson: Yeah, it’s amazing. I saw it last night. I watched a lot of TV and I loved it. It is amazing. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen. It’s nothing I’ve ever seen. It’s very different. I know there’s a lot of shows and stuff, but this is like nothing you’ve ever seen and it’s Black.
Parlé Mag: I will definitely check it out. Thank you for the time!
Artrece Johnson: Yes, thank you so much for having me.
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