HEARTBREAK AND HOPE
For actor Samuel Johnson, 2017 was a year like no other.
It was the year a brother and sister defined the change-making power of love. In his passionate support of his sister Connie Johnson, and her tireless fundraising to find a cure for the cancer she’d battled for much of her life, Samuel Johnson lived the name of the charity they co-founded: Love Your Sister. Together, the siblings turned Connie’s terminal prognosis into a beacon of hope, with Love Your Sister raising more than $7 million for breast-cancer research in four years. The devoted mum died at age 40 on Sept. 8, with husband Mike, sons Willoughby, 11, and Hamilton, 10, and her brother by her side. Yet even at the last, she was dreaming up ways to help others—in May, her Big Heart Project, which saw donated five-cent coins piled into a giant heart in Canberra, raised more than $2 million. The actor, 39, who in April won the coveted Gold Logie, calls Connie’s Big Heart Project the “triumph” of 2017, as he tells WHO’S Karina Machado in an exclusive reflection on his year of professional highs and personal loss.
BIGGEST AWKWARD OF THE YEAR
Logies night. It’s not every day you get bumrushed by Molly [Meldrum, who Johnson played in the 2017 TV miniseries Molly]. Admittedly it’s happened before, but being live on national television, Gold Logie in one hand, with my speech in pieces on the floor, this one takes the mantle. I’m a bit deaf and Molly’s a chronic mumbler, so I don’t think either of us really knew what was going on! I just remember looking at Carrie [Bickmore] and Waleed [Aly] in the crowd, only to find them looking as bewildered as me. I was told later it went for eight minutes. At the end of the day, I’m proud to have been a mute bystander during arguably TV’S most awkward moment. I will forever remember it as the night Molly did himself one too many favours. And I drink less now.
MOST IMPORTANT JOB
Organising Connie’s public memorial. I relished the chance to conduct Connie’s final public symphony. I wasn’t grieving, I was too obsessed with
making everything perfect. I knew one thing only. It wouldn’t be an hour of mourning or celebration, rather it would be an exploration. My sole goal was to have every human in that church walk away with a richer understanding of Connie the person, beyond the public facade and the neat pigeonholes. She didn’t want to be glorified, or known as an inspiration, she wanted to be remembered as a mum, so we showcased her as a family member, rather than as a fundraiser or advocate. It was extraordinary. Carrie’s speech was incredible, and Connie’s husband Mike showed himself to be a better public speaker than I can ever hope to be. It was magic. (It can be viewed at ‘loveyoursistertv’ on Youtube).
MOST TERRIFYING MOMENT
I’m sitting next to Magda Szubanski [at Government House] and you’re telling me I’m Victorian of the Year? WTAF? Me and Carrie agree, Magda is the obvious choice for Australian of the Year this year. [Same-sex marriage] was the year’s most important conversation and Magda threw herself on the line in stunning fashion. Genuine leadership, from the heart. Historic stuff. I had a panic attack after they announced my name, and blubbered through it somehow.
HARDEST APPEARANCE
I faced the task of monetising my sister’s cancer for five years, which felt yuck, but to monetise her death felt way worse, even though it was in
line with Connie’s wishes. There was only one place to turn. The safest place on Australian television. At the desk with Carrie, Waleed and the gang [on Network Ten’s The Project]. My entire family were a state away, at Connie’s wake, but as the frontman for Love Your Sister I had to go fly the flag. I was proud to but I didn’t realise how hard it would be, being away from my entire family on that day. Carrie nursed me through it with such compassion, as always, and we sold over $1 million worth of Connie Cottonsocks [a fundraising initiative Johnson launched after Connie’s death] off the back of it! The hardest, but definitely most rewarding media experience I’ve ever had, not just this year.
BIGGEST BACKFLIP
I can’t believe I became that wanker this year [in July, Johnson appeared on ABC-TV’S portrait show Anh’s Brush With Fame]. I’ve done a good job avoiding this portrait malarky over the years but I finally said yes to a dreaded “sitting.” Because it was Anh Do asking, and I’d been a fan since forever. I told him way more than I planned, which only confirmed him for me as a master of the canvas and the art of conversation.
TRIUMPH OF THE YEAR
Connie’s Big Heart Project.