“The Last of Us” voice actor Ashley Johnson got her start in Hollywood as a child actor, playing the role of Chrissy Seaver on the final two seasons of ABC‘s sitcom “Growing Pains” from 1990 to 1992. On a recent episode of her “Weird Kids” podcast, Johnson revealed she was once nearly abducted by a fan after a live taping of the show (via People).
“It was in the first year I was on, and we had only done a couple of film nights,” Johnson said. “So, I hadn’t done that many yet and at that time, all of the cast sort of had trailers and they were like old camper trailers. They’re not like the fancy trailers that they are now. They were great. We would exit our trailers before the shoot and the audience that would be walking in, you would walk by the audience before you would walk into the studio.”
Johnson said the studio was not equipped with metal detectors and other security measures that are now common practice in Hollywood. The studio audience would only be “within five feet” of the actors when they were entering the set, for example.
“Somebody had written in and said that, ‘I am coming to set and I am going to bring a gun and I am going to murder some of the cast,’” Johnson continued. “So, I’m walking with my mom and then I just remember some guy hops out of the line and he grabs me and grabs me up and starts booking it. And all I remember is like, there was security that somehow got on him after some time.”
Security apprehended the fan and Johnson remembered “flying around in the air” during the struggle to set her free. The would-be kidnapper had a gun on him, the actor recalled.
“I was clueless as to what was happening, but I was very upset and they were talking to me about it after. And they were like, ‘Are you okay?’ And I just said, ‘I just think I’m gonna be in trouble,’” Johnson said. “Because I think I was such a polite kid at the time. I think he was running with me and running away. I was like, ‘Who are you, sir? What is your name? I was very pleased to meet you.’ But he was packing. They got him. This was the thing. He was high on something. It wasn’t meth, but it was something — like, he was so strong.”
Johnson made her television debut on “Growing Pains” and continued on the small screen with roles on short-lived series such as “Phenom” and “Maybe This Time.” She pivoted to voice acting at a young age with a role on the “Jumanji” animated series, which included 40 episodes, and she’d continue with this work throughout her career. She is the voice of Ellise in “The Last of Us” video game franchise, which won her two BAFTA Games Awards.
Following “Growing Pains,” Johnson reprised her role of Chrissy Seaver in the 2000 movie “The Growing Pains Movie” and the 2004 follow-up “Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers.”
