The enormous success of Curry Barker’s indie horror Obsession sent its lead actor Michael Johnston into the stratosphere. Working with a budget of just $750,000, the film went on to become one of the biggest box office success stories of the year. With rave reviews, people have turned their attention to the lead star.

Johnston stars as Bear, the film’s ‘protagonist’, who inadvertently casts a spell on his long-time crush, Inde Navarrette’s Nikki, by snapping a wishing toy called the ‘One Wish Willow’. His wish? For Nikki to love him more than anything else in the world.

This naturally leads to horrific disaster, as the film explores consent, toxic masculinity and the blurred lines between fantasy and obsession. Johnston has been lauded for his performance, with Bear being seen as a deeply critical portrayal of ‘Nice Guy’ syndrome.

Although he reached mainstream success through Obsession, Johnston has been working in Hollywood for years, taking on queer roles along the way. He has starred as Neil, the queer-questioning lead, in indie comedy Slash and had a recurring role as gay character Cory in the MTV programme Teen Wolf. 

Hearing the positive impact his Teen Wolf character had on LGBTQ+ viewers, Johnston told Fr Conventions, “It gave me the confidence to come out, or it just made me feel really good about myself. I really didn’t ever think that it could have that kind of impact.”

Alongside his live-action performances, Johnston has been a prominent voice actor working in both television and video games. He has provided the English-language dub for titles including Nagi-Asu: A Lull in the Sea, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and Akuma Kun. Most notably, he voices young Nathan Summers on the Disney+ series X-Men ’97, continuing the franchise’s long-standing resonance with the LGBTQ+ community through its exploration of acceptance, identity and marginalisation.

As for what’s next, Michael Johnston has gone from Obsession, the soon-to-be horror classic, to potentially joining one of the genre’s most beloved franchises. The actor is reportedly in talks to star in the long-awaited fourth entry in The Mummy franchise for Universal Pictures. Johnston would appear alongside series leads Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz in the horror-adventure film.

Furthermore, speaking with the I’ve Never Said This Before podcast about his future aspirations, the actor said, “I definitely am looking forward to playing a really intentional queer role, story that’s really meaningful”.