Chicago Fire’s Kenny Johnson celebrates his birthday
Chicago Fire alum Kenny Johnson celebrates his birthday today, so we’re celebrating his Fire character Tommy Welch and telling you where he is now.
Today we’re saying happy birthday to Chicago Fire actor Kenny Johnson, who was a recurring guest star as firefighter Tommy Welch.
Welch’s tenure at Firehouse 51 was awkward at best. He was introduced in the Chicago Fire season 2 episode “One More Shot” and left in the season 3 installment “Red Rag The Bull.” But over those seven episodes, he was involved in quite a few memorable moments.
That’s because Welch wasn’t just another addition to the firehouse. He was closely aligned with Chief Pat Pridgen (Matthew Del Negro), and Pridgen tried to use Welch to turn the house against Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer) after Casey slept with Pridgen’s ex-wife Beth (Bree Williamson).
But unlike Pridgen, Welch eventually came to his senses, although it took a well-placed fire call to make it happen.
Just before Welch could sign Pridgen’s statement setting up Casey, he was called out to a fire where Casey saved Welch’s life—and Tommy Welch turned sides, getting himself relieved of duty in the process. Watch this clip of Pridgen having a showdown with Casey, and you’ll see Welch among the rest of Firehouse 51:
Tommy Welch may have been an antagonist for Chicago Fire, but Kenny Johnson is one of those actors that every TV fan is happy to see turn up. Chances are you’ve seen him on several shows both before and after his visit to One Chicago.
Just in recent history, he appeared in the second season of ABC‘s Secrets & Lies (which starred Chicago Fire alum Charlie Barnett and Chicago Med actress Mekia Cox). His other credits include Bates Motel, Sons of Anarchy, Dexter, and Burn Notice. He’s played good guys, bad guys and all kinds of characters, and every time he’s great at it.
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Currently, he’s traded firefighting for crimefighting. Kenny Johnson is now a series regular on CBS‘s SWAT, which will start its second season this fall (and ironically competed against Chicago Fire this past season!). Check out a clip of him in action as Dominique Luca below:
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Join us in wishing Kenny Johnson a happy birthday in the comments and on Twitter! For more on what Chicago Fire actors are doing now, follow the Chicago Fire category at One Chicago Center.