VelJohnson was born Reginald Johnson in New York City, in the borough of Queens. His mother Eva was a nurse’s aide, while his father Dan was a hospital attendant.[1] His father left the family, which included Reginald's brother Barry,[2] when Johnson was 13 years old. Their mother subsequently married John Reilly,[3] and Johnson attended Benjamin N. Cardozo High School.[4]
He obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater from New York University, where he had a chance to work with Joseph Papp's Black/Hispanic Shakespeare Company, in which Morgan Freeman and CCH Pounder were among his fellow actors.[5][6] Early in his acting career, he changed his name from Reginald Johnson to Reginald VelJohnson. He later said he changed the spelling of his birth name "because I wanted a name people would remember".[7]
VelJohnson had his breakthrough role[5] as Sgt. Al Powell in the 1988 film Die Hard. VelJohnson was hired after Gene Hackman, originally hired to play the role, became unavailable, and producers decided to hire a relatively unknown actor for the part.[9] He came from New York to California to film it for nine months, which was so long that he ended up residing in California permanently thereafter.[8][10] He later reprised the character in the 1990 sequel Die Hard 2.[8] VelJohnson again portrayed Sgt. Powell in the GameCube video game titled Die Hard: Vendetta in 2002.
In 2021, VelJohnson voiced Principal Winslow in the animated adaptation of the comic Invincible. In both the comic and the television series, the main character attends a high school named after the actor, and the character itself is named after his previous role of Carl Winslow from Family Matters.[14] VelJohnson also voices several minor characters in the series. He later reprised his role as David Sutton on Disney's Turner & Hooch.
In January 2023, VelJohnson began appearing in advertisements for Progressive as "TV Dad," a parody of his previous Carl Winslow role.[15]
As of 2009, VelJohnson had homes in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Los Angeles, and resided primarily in Oceanside, New York. He has never married and has no children.[9]
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