Jesse Johnson on playing John Wilkes Booth in Nat Geo’s ‘Killing Lincoln’

There are villains, and then there’s John Wilkes Booth.

Perhaps the most famous assassin in history, Booth has often been relegated to footnote status when describing the final days of President Abraham Lincoln’s life. Students grow up knowing the chapter headings: a theater, a bullet, a country in mourning, an assassin on the run.

But in recent years, thanks to Bill O’Reilly’s bestseller Killing Lincoln, Booth has received further exploration. The assassination plot that ended with Lincoln’s death has now been filmed for an original TV movie on National Geographic. Narrated by Tom Hanks and starring Billy Campbell and Jesse Johnson, the docudrama premieres Sunday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m.

Johnson won the part of Booth after striking up a friendship with the project’s screenwriter Erik Jendresen. “While I was in Spain shooting a television show, (Jendresen) called me and said, ‘Read these two books,’” Johnson said recently during a phone interview. “They were about John Wilkes Booth. And I went, ‘Okay.’ And I knew he probably had something up his sleeve.”

The actor, who had been filming a TV series in Spain, flew back to the United States and auditioned for the producers. Shortly after, he won the part and his real research began. He had three weeks to prepare his character, and any historical notes where he drew blanks, Johnson would ask Jendresen for some help. “Eric Jendresen, the writer, he is an encyclopedia on all things Civil War, Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth,” he said. “So any questions that my research didn’t answer, I had a direct line to the man with the answers.”

The character provided Johnson the chance to dig deep into the heart of one of America’s most popular villains. “He comes from a family of actors. He was raised on Shakespeare and all the great classic texts. And so that clued me in that he (was) very eloquent, well spoken and knew how to command the English language to express what he wanted and also to get what he wanted and bend people to his will. There are numerous accounts of him being (a) very magnanimous and magnetic personality, on top of being extraordinarily famous. In 19th-century theater, he was a matinee idol. And so I used my imagination to figure out … how I would be if I were in those situations and if I was living in that era, in that time. And explored some dark, seldom visited parts of myself to … achieve the effect of being an assassin.”

The project is National Geographic’s first foray into docudrama, and it also presents a unique format. Every few minutes, the drama stops and Tom Hanks offers some helpful historic narration. “We knew from the get-go that this was potentially something that was going to redefine how a feature film with a narrative component was going to be made,” Johnson said. “I like to call it a historical TV event or TV movie event, because it really is a feature film that it goes from one intense thrilling moment to the next to the next, and then it has these narrative breaks in it that allow you to catch up on information that you need, so that all of the action that’s occurring on stage is so telling and dramatic and interesting to watch.”

Johnson said that watching Killing Lincoln is not like being in school watching a documentary about the Civil War. He characterized it changing the traditional narrative structure, offering both dramatic elements and a wealth of information.

The actual scene of the assassination was dealt with very delicately, Johnson added. “There was a gravity about that situation that was palpable,” he said. “Everybody was meticulous in their attention to detail and making sure that we respected that moment.”

For the bilingual actor, who has had success both in the United States and Spain, Killing Lincoln is one of his most high-profile jobs to date. He said he’s hoping to have some projects lined up in the coming months, including a possible theater production in the fall and TV pilots that are “getting some traction.”

“I’m just starting to sort of take off, and I can hope and expect that there will be more in the very near future,” he said.

Johnson said that he imagines on Sunday night he’ll be watching the TV movie with family and friends, but he expects them to offer honest opinions. “Everybody in my family, they are entitled to their opinion and to like it or not like it,” he said. “I’d rather leave them be to formulate their own opinion and not put on a face if they enjoy it or dislike it or whatever.”

When watching it on Sunday night (although he’s seen the movie a few times), the experience will be a chance to look back on a project that helped his career and transformed his knowledge of American history.

“I learned so much about the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln, and especially about this man, John Wilkes Booth, who was so much more of a full-fleshed, living, breathing human being, three-dimensional character, than has been portrayed in the history books and through word of mouth throughout the event,” he said. ” I really appreciate and honor the fact that we have an opportunity to tell a story here that’s seldom told. … Knowing that you’re part of something special is always such a rewarding feeling as an actor and as an artist. It’s creating something that’s really going to, you know, hopefully draw people’s attention and give them a different perspective that they wouldn’t otherwise have.”

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Killing Lincoln airs Sunday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. on National Geographic. Click here for more information.