Cranston Johnson On Why Denzel Washington Is His Biggest Inspiration - Exclusive

Thanks to appearances in shows such as "Hap and Leonard," "Filthy Rich," and "Truth Be Told," Cranston Johnson has steadily been building a fanbase in recent years. Plus, the actor is currently appearing on our screens as Zumbado in The CW's "Naomi," the network's latest superhero title adapted from a DC comic book, and viewers are going to be more than a little intrigued by his latest role.

Discussing Zumbado in an exclusive interview, Johnson told Looper , "He's this enigma that people seem to think that they know about his history and they know about his past, as evidenced by Naomi and Nathan, speaking of a reputation that he has in the town of Port Oswego for being a crook, as a car salesman he's kind of ripping off the local town." He continued, "All these things are just kind of hearsay — we don't really know if any of this is factual. There's this ominous presence about him that he is a bad evil guy ... a lot of negative energy around him, so people like to avoid him and they are very uncomfortable in his presence."

Looper dug a little deeper to find out why Denzel Washington has been an important inspiration to Johnson's career so far.

Cranston Johnson opened up to Looper about his career aspirations and inspirations, and one name immediately came to mind for the "Naomi" star. "Denzel Washington probably is my biggest inspiration," Johnson told us. "Before acting, and even when I started acting about 10 or 11 years ago, he's somebody that I've always looked to as a bar and as an inspiration." 

While Washington's work has inspired Johnson's career thus far, the actor would also love the chance to collaborate with the actor/director at some point in the future. "Working with him, whether he was directing or whether I got to work across from him as an actor, I think would be just like a bucket list type situation for me, it would really be special," Johnson explained. "I enjoy his work." Hopefully, Johnson will get the chance to work with Washington in the not-too-distant future.

New episodes of "Naomi" air Tuesday nights on The CW and are available to stream on the website and app the next day.