By Cameron Lee
December 3, 2024
It’s been a landmark year for Northwest School of the Arts grad Phillip Johnson Richardson. The multi-talented actor and singer/rapper sits in the dressing room of the Shubert Theatre, home of the Broadway musical production, Hell’s Kitchen, while we chat about his ascension and upbringing in Charlotte. It’s the second Broadway show Richardson has booked in the last two years, coming off his role as Tinman in the revival of the seven-time Tony-winning production, The Wiz. Variety praised his portrayal as “a standout” performance with a “liquid, riffy take” on the classic song, “What Would I Do if I Could Feel,” and a “joint-swiveling way” with his dance. Richardson, who also played Benny in the Apple TV series, Little Voice (created by Grammy and Tony Award-winning singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles), appeared in episodes of The Last O.G. and Chicago P.D. prior to his Broadway roles. While his recent gigs have undoubtedly propelled his career as an actor, Richardson still has bigger aspirations.
“You take a minute of gratitude, take a minute of recognition, but then you keep pushing…you don’t want to get stuck. I’m doing the shit that I grew up doing, for sure, but let’s keep going, because I have so much more I want to do,” Richardson said.
As a recording artist, Richardson goes by the moniker Phil., and his recent singles “down2me,” ‘Thinking bout you,” and “2nd Chance,” flaunt a sleek and enchanting R&B/hip-hop sound that definitely distinguishes his talents as a versatile actor and a budding musical artist.
“Teenage Black kids doing this acting program”
Richardson grew up in the University Area, and his mom, who studied African American Studies at UNC Charlotte, brought him to the Afro American Culture Center (Little Rock A.M.E. Zion Church in Uptown, which eventually became the Harvey B. Gantt Center) on Saturdays. The center housed two theaters and offered community classes in music, dance, theatre, and visual arts. He was introduced to the acting program by Sultan Omar El-Amin and performed in a production of The Wiz, which he and his mom were both big fans of growing up.
“It was a bunch of like younger teenage Black kids doing this acting program. And I was like, ‘this shit is kind of fly.’ Like, I kind of f*ck with these people…So I was like, all right, let me do this,” Richardson said.
His biological father passed away when he was 10 years old, and he needed a creative outlet beyond sports, which he actively played up until he caught the acting bug.
“I had a lot of trauma that I didn’t really know where to put, because I’m 12 years old. But I get to like, outwardly perform and not get in trouble for trying to be a class clown. I get to actually be celebrated for this,” Richardson said. “I was kind of lost. And so anything that brought me joy, you know, subconsciously, you’re kind of like, I want to stick with this. I want to do this.”
Northwest School of the Arts
Richardson convinced his mom to let him audition at the Charlotte arts magnet school, Northwest School of the Arts, following his eighth grade year. His theatre teacher was the renowned Corey Mitchell, the first-ever recipient of a Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre Education. Mitchell taught at Northwest School of the Arts for 20 years and trained Grammy Award-winning actress and singer Eva Noblezada and Mean Girls superstar Reneé Rapp, among many others.
Northwest was a place Richardson felt settled, being alongside fellow performers and creatives in the city that were mostly minorities.
“It was a huge community of, like, Black people at that school, which I didn’t realize, until I got a little older, that is a privilege, because the arts is– specifically the theatre space– super duper white.”
He was one of the few students who performed in every musical directed by Mitchell and he credits a lot of his success to Mitchell’s teachings and guidance. Looking back, Richardson reflected on how truly fortunate he was, attending a public arts school that taught him acting, dancing, and singing without yearly tuition.
“Everybody else, they pay for voice lessons, they pay for dance classes, they pay for acting classes outside of school. It was a part of my curriculum, and through that, I got opportunities to perform,” Richardson said.
It wasn’t until he was 16 that Richardson definitively knew he wanted to be an actor. Following a school production of The Color Purple, he was overwhelmed with emotion during the curtain call, and affirmed to himself that he wanted to act for the rest of his life.
The Grueling Life of an Actor, and his love of Music
After graduating from Northwest School of the Arts, Richardson decided to attend University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music to fully focus on theatre. The experience was a bit of a culture shock at first, being outside of his comfort zone, hundreds of miles away from home in the other Queen City, where there were a lot less students he could relate to.
“It was just something I had to sort of get used to. And also it made me change my frame of thought…so I think I learned a lot,” he said. “I think part of college is just learning about who you are as a person and sort of like, what you want to be and, not just the education part of it, but how you like to move in the world.”
College is also where he started experimenting with music after a friend asked if he would like to record a verse in his dorm room studio; Richardson fell in love with it immediately. He and his friend started making music regularly, which led to Richardson booking more professional studio time. It was an escape from his primary focus and purpose at school that turned into a deeper obsession. Throughout his time in college, Richardson would also audition for various acting roles and hit up open calls.
“I mean, being an actor, period, is hard because you get told no more than you’re told yes. Until you hit that stride, until you hit that point where everyone wants you,” he said.
Richardson humbly admits that he wasn’t ready for a full-time acting career, and the college experience definitely helped mold him into the professional he is today. After graduating, he landed his first major television role on the Apple TV series, Little Voice (2019), but the series was cancelled after one season. For Richardson, it was still a valuable experience being on the set of a major television production in New York City backed by Sara Bareilles and Hollywood tycoon, J.J. Abrams.
“I think up until that point, the longest I was on a set was like a week. I was on set every day for three months (for Little Voice). Like, they feed you and shit like that. Like this is the most money I ever made in my life, you know, I’m not from money. So, I was like, “I’m balling, can nobody tell me nothing.”
Following lockdown in 2020, Richardson didn’t book another role until May 2021 when he shot an episode of The Last O.G., the comedy series created by Jordan Peele, starring Tracy Morgan. While the pandemic allowed him the freedom to work more on his music, the acting jobs were scarce.
“I was learning a lot, and then, because of the pandemic, there wasn’t a lot happening. So I was getting told no, and it felt a lot harder than it actually was…It was just hard.”
The Wiz and Hell’s Kitchen
Richardson moved back to Charlotte in early 2021, returning to a city that had grown immensely in his time away. In late 2022, while living with family in Northern California, working a “regular job,” he had heard about auditions for the Broadway revival of The Wiz. Already knowing the director and one of the producers, Johnson auditioned and then was called back to sing again, before booking the role as Tinman.
A tour of the production kicked off in the fall of 2023, and the Broadway revival opened at the Marquis Theatre this year on April 17 and concluded on August 18 after over 160 performances.
While the role as Tinman was a full-circle moment and huge career accomplishment for Richardson, he has learned from previous experiences to stay grounded.
Y’all ain’t ready!!! Can’t wait to welcome @philsgoodmusic to the HK Fam as Knuck starting October 22. But first, meet the man behind the bucket 👋🥁 pic.twitter.com/eotmD7dVVU
— HELL’S KITCHEN: Alicia Keys’ Hit Broadway Musical (@HellsKitchenBwy) October 11, 2024
“I try not to get too crazy excited about things. I try not to get too down about things. I try as much as I can to be level headed,” Richardson said. “I was happy, obviously, but it was also like, I have a year I know I am gonna have work, which is the longest I’ve ever had consistent work. So that was also kind of a nice thing to know.”
It was announced in October by multiple publications that Richardson will be playing the role of Knuck in the jukebox musical, Hell’s Kitchen, which is loosely based on the life and upbringing of Grammy Award-winner, Alicia Keys. The role offers a much different side of Richardson’s acting repertoire.
“It’s very much more grounded in real people, the role is really cool. I get to kind of be a version of myself; like a way cooler, relaxed version of myself, versus, like The Wiz, where I had to sort of perform and show up in that way [as Tinman].”
Phil.
Richardson is also driven to turn up his music career in the coming year, using the momentum of two Broadway shows. He wants fans of his acting to funnel into his world of music, and plans to release a single every six to eight weeks in 2025.
With his two creative worlds interweaving, Richardson seems to have a clear vision of how to steer his talents, but he’s also prepared for the unexpected. Comfortable with how far he’s come as an actor, Richardson still has an abundance of creative energy to share with the world.
“Know what you want to focus on and know that may change at any moment. There’s not one way to get to this,” he said. “If something feels right to you, that doesn’t feel right to somebody else, cool, nobody’s the same. So do what feels right for you. If it’s for you, it’s for you.”
Follow Phillip Johnson Richardson on Instagram and check out his latest single, “whiskey neat.” Richardson performs in the Broadway musical, Hell’s Kitchen, at Shubert Theatre through May 2025.
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