Johnny Ray Gill

Johnny Ray Gill is a critically acclaimed actor, filmmaker, rapper, poet, and activist whose work spans prestige television, cinema, music, and socially charged storytelling. Season two of his hit Amazon thriller Cross, created by Ben Watkins and based on James Patterson’s bestselling Alex Cross novels, premieres February 11, 2026. Gill returns as Bobby Trey, the morally complex ex–DC detective from Shreveport driven by money, vengeance, and the reclamation of his family’s land stolen by the American power structure.

Gill will also release Screenplays, his debut rap album. Its lead single, “Green Shoe Music,” is a haunting tribute to the victims of the Robb Elementary shooting in Uvalde, Texas — told through the voice of the green Converse shoes worn by Maite Rodriguez, brought to life through Gill’s cinematic lyricism.

In 2025, Gill won the inaugural Climate Pitch Competition at the Micheaux Film Festival for Laying Pipe, a high-stakes geopolitical climate thriller where a Nigerian oil queen and an American petroleum tycoon clash over the world’s last offshore reserves… until they realize they’re being watched, tested, and given one final chance to save the future. His other project, For Coloreds Only, won Best Short at the NY Midnight Screenplay Challenge, became a finalist in three additional competitions, and continues to generate industry interest.

Gill is beloved for his soul-stirring turn as Kerwin in Sundance’s Rectify — a performance praised by The New Yorker (“a quiet marvel”) and Vulture (“there may never be a show like Rectify again”). Audiences also remember him as Sam in WGN’s Underground, the autistic man trapped inside America’s original sin.

His comedic brilliance is on full display as Gustav, the eccentric conspiracy savant on CBS’s Braindead, and as the fan-favorite Sex Henry on NBC’s Grand Crew, where he turns up the heat opposite Nicole Byer. Video-game fans worldwide know Gill as the iconic voice of Hog Rider in Supercell’s Clash of Clans commercials — a role celebrated with tens of millions of views and fan letters from kids who grew up with the character.

In features, Gill starred on Apple TV’s Rollers as Rufus Paisley, a failing musician and closeted alcoholic fighting to save his family’s music venue. On network TV, he appeared opposite Kathy Bates in NBC’s Harry’s Law as Damien Winslow, — his first role, booked on only his third audition after earning his MFA in Theatre from UCSD/La Jolla Playhouse. Additional credits include Snowfall, True Blood, Chicago P.D., NCIS, United States of Al, and more.

As an award-winning writer/director/producer under his banner First Flock Pictures, Gill has released six short films. His debut, My Turtle’s Name Is Dudley, won the Grand Prize at Hayden Films/HollyShorts. His viral short The Purge: The Morning After — starring Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph — was hailed by Short of the Week as “all killer… Gill shows a knack for comedic tone and timing.” Pas de Restes, a whimsical commentary on food waste was named one of the Top 10 shorts on SundanceTV and won Best Short at the Portland and Green Lens Environmental Festivals. DVD & Chill screened at BlackStar Film Festival and Philadelphia’s iconic Roots Picnic after winning Best Drama at FlickFairs. W.A.L.L.D. (Women Against Limp Lifeless Dick) screened at the Austin Film Festival and won four Best Comedy awards.

Gill is also a plant lover, urban gardener, activist, and dedicated freedom fighter. His mission is to create deeply personal, politically alive, spiritually rooted stories that elevate the African diaspora and illuminate the fullness of marginalized lives. His work honors his ancestors and aims to leave behind a legacy of liberation, joy, critical thought, and planetary stewardship — because, as he says, “nothing is possible if Earth kills everybody.”

P.S. Johnny Ray would like to remind the world:
He’s not related to New Edition’s Johnny Gill.... Nope, that’s not his dad.

And also: vote in your fucking primaries — elections with the least turnout and greatest impact on your daily life.

Socials: Instagram & Twitter — @JohnnyRayGill