Explainers

Is Luca leaving SWAT? What happened to Kenny Johnson? Fans want answers over character’s absence


Actor Kenny Johnson
Kenny Johnson plays Officer Dominique Luca on SWAT. Pic credit: @thekennethjohnson/Instagram

Dominique Luca was absent again from last night’s episode of SWAT, titled Sea Legs, because he was receiving treatment for hip and back problems.

Towards the end of the show, Chris Alonso (Lina Esco) inquired about Luca (Kenny Johnson) and Jim Street (Alex Russel) assured her that Luca would be back soon because he was “indestructible.”

However, David “Deacon” Kay (Jay Harrington) said it is easy to take a hit and bounce back when you are younger but once you hit 35 years of age it gets harder and harder to return from physical injuries. Victor Tan (David Lim) teased Deacon, wondering whether he was now “old man Deacon.”

But Deacon went on to explain that little aches and pain we laughed off when we were younger become more difficult to recover from as we age. Victor said he believed Deacon still has decades of youthful health and vigor ahead. But looking somber, Deacon said there was an expiration date for everyone on their physically challenging job.

Deacon’s comments left Victor and Jim in a pensive mood.

Since then fans have been wondering whether the locker room conversation between the SWAT members was the show dropping a hint that actor Kenny Johnson, who portrays Luca, is leaving SWAT.

Many fans speculated whether Johnson’s absence from the show could be due to real-life health issues, or possibly because of a scheduling conflict meaning he might the filming elsewhere.

Is Luca returning to the show?

The reason for Johnson’s absence as Luca on SWAT has not officially been revealed, however there have been no reports of him suffering ill health. Just four days ago he posted a photo on Instagram of himself looking happy with his daughter Angelica.

According to IMDb, Johnson has two screen projects in the works — the horror films Howl, which is currently in post-production, and Don’t Look There, which is in pre-production, so he may currently be working on one of those.

One suspicious Twitter user guessed he may even be one of the hidden stars on the current season of The Masked Singer.

In good news for fans, the official Twitter handle run by the show’s writers — SWATWritersRoom — posted a message that suggested Luca will be coming back at some point and is only missing temporarily. They wrote that he was “still hurt”, adding, “Can’t wait to get him back!”

They later posted a follow-up, saying, “Wishing Luca speedy recovery!”

The team’s original message received a flood of responses from fans clamoring to know more, and asking for Johnson’s quick return to the show.

Who is Luca on SWAT?

Dominque Luca, portrayed by actor Kenny Johnson, is a friendly and easygoing SWAT officer on Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson Jr.’s (Shemar Moore’s) team. He is from a family of SWAT officers: His grandfather, Jack Luca, was one of the first LAPD SWAT team leaders in the 1970s.

Luca is a mechanic and the driver of the SWAT transport truck, Black Betty. He owns a retired K-9 dog named Duke. Chris gave Duke to Luca as a pet.

Luca revealed in an earlier episode of the show that he is dyslexic. Street was forced to take him in for some time after he got kicked out of his apartment by his girlfriend.

Luca told his teammates in Season 3, Episode 2, titled Bad Faith, that he wanted to invest in a Guatemalan food truck business. He asked his teammates to pitch in, but they said they did not have the funds. They eventually pitched in on episode 5, titled The LBC.

Who is actor Kenny Johnson?

Actor Kenny Johnson was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on July 13, 1963. Johnson is dyslexic but he has worked hard to overcome the disability. He sometimes gets someone to read his scripts to him.

He attended Central Connecticut University where he played football. He worked for modeling agencies, including Wilhelmina and Ford Models, before he took up acting.

He is known for playing Detective Curtis Lemansky on The Shield. He appeared in other several TV series, playing roles such as U.S. Marshal Max Clayton in Dexter, Caleb Calhoun in Bates Motel (2014-2017), Tommy Welch in Chicago Fire (2914-2015), Herman Kozik in Sons of Anarchy (2009-2011), and Danny Voss in Secret and Lies (2016).

He is married to Cathleen Oveson and they have one child together.

You can find him here on Twitter. You can also find him here on Instagram.

SWAT airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on CBS.

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Lynn
Lynn
4 years ago

One of my favorite shows. Never miss it or Seal Team, Blue Bloods and several others on CBS. Am bummed about Hawaii 5 0

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