Johnny Smith (Dead Zone)

Johnny Smith
Christopher Walken portraying Johnny Smith
First appearance	"Wheel of Fortune (Part 1)"
Created by	Stephen King Michael Piller
Portrayed by	Christopher Walken (film) Anthony Michael Hall (TV series) Evan Smith (9) Kai-Read Friedman
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Psychic detective Former schoolteacher
Family	John Smith (grandfather, deceased) Herbert Smith (father, thought deceased, but found alive in Series finale) Vera Smith (mother, deceased) J. J. Bannerman (son)

John "Johnny" Smith is a fictional character and the protagonist of Stephen King's 1979 novel The Dead Zone. He is portrayed by Christopher Walken in the film adaptation and Anthony Michael Hall in the USA Network television series.Paste Magazine has ranked Johnny Smith the sixth out of eight creepiest Christopher Walken performances.

In the novel, Johnny Smith is an English teacher in New England, the only slight mar in his past being a fall on an ice rink when he was six years old in 1953 which he barely even remembered as an adult. After a date with his girlfriend Sarah to a county fair, he is caught in a car crash which sends him into a coma for four and a half years until May 17, 1975. When he regains consciousness, Johnny and his doctors swiftly discover that, apparently due to seemingly minor brain damage sustained while he was in his coma, a long-dormant part of his brain relating to touch has been reactivated, granting him the ability to touch people and objects and learn something about their pasts or futures.

While he initially desires to use these powers for good, such as to warn a woman that her kitchen is on fire, Johnny eventually denies their existence, the only exception being when he is contacted by a sheriff seeking assistance in tracking a serial killer. After finding the killer, Johnny goes into semi-retirement once again, taking a job as a private tutor when he finds himself unable to return to his old teaching job on the grounds that he is 'too controversial' to be an educator.

During a political rally, he shakes hands with candidate Greg Stillson and foresees an apocalyptic future that would take place if Stillson won the election. Although reluctant to resort to murder, Johnny's hand is forced when he discovers that he has developed a tumor as a result of his accident, leaving him with a short time to live. With no hope of gathering evidence to expose Stillson's threat in the time left to him, Johnny instead attempts to shoot him at a press conference. Although Stillson survives and Johnny is killed by his security force, Stillson's reaction to the attack and trying to use a child as a shield ruins his political career. Johnny reassures himself of this by grabbing Stillson's leg briefly before he dies.