Meet Anne Johnstonbrown

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Anne Johnstonbrown. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Anne below.

Anne, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

At a young age, my parents discovered that I could sing, and before I knew it, we became an Osmond-style singing group. For years, we traveled the country performing gospel music, and although it would have been convenient for me to pursue a music career, I decided to prove to the world that my life’s purpose was in something other than music. So, I majored in a subject that no one could have predicted: physics. However, after earning my first degree, I realized that, although the sciences came easy to me, they really didn’t fulfill me. So, in my late 20s, I decided to pursue acting, and my purpose was realized!

I went back to school, got my Bachelor’s Degree and started touring the country, working with some wonderful actors and building my professional resume. I eventually went back to school, earned my Master’s Degree and started teaching at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles. From there came audiobook production, for which I earned the Audible Audiobook Producer of the Year Award (2013), and eventually I rounded it all off with a bout of filmmaking, book-writing and podcast production. (Wow, it sounds like a lot when you put it all on a list. Maybe that’s why I’m so exhausted!)

Anyway, it has been a ride, for sure, and not always easy, but I can definitely say that I found my purpose in life—one that was on MY terms and not determined by those around me or by societal pressures.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I started my acting career over 35 years ago, and many exciting things occurred throughout those years, from show openings to celebrity events and many others. But if I were to identify the most exciting aspect of my career, it would have to be the events that occurred during the last ten years.

Most of my career was centered in Los Angeles, much of which is surrounded by homeless encampments. For years, I looked past the homeless; I knew that if I looked directly at them, I would feel compelled to help. Then, one day, I altered my gaze, and the rest was history.

I started working with a man by the name of Paul Avila, founder of Pauly’s Project. He and his son became the source of my inspiration. They encouraged me to get involved, and I quickly learned that when you’re working on Skid Row, you don’t get famous and there are no spotlights. There are just people with tragic backgrounds and stories that are often never told. So, one day, I decided to tell one of those stories.

I wrote a novel, titled “My Name’s Lyman,” which I subsequently turned into a play. The play became a musical, followed by a series of short films. I realized, then, that acting was just a conduit to my true purpose:

The reason I am here is to change people’s minds about the homeless and, hopefully, one day, eliminate homelessness forever.

Many of the people who have read my book or seen my shows have told me that their view of the homeless completely changed as a result of Lyman. Their testimonies have both humbled and liberated me in a way that my acting career never did, nor ever could. It’s fitting that Lyman came at the end of my career. I have so much history upon which I built the Lyman franchise, and without my experiences, I would never have had the senses necessary to adequately tell the story.

Several years ago, I wrote the feature screenplay, which won the Grand Prize at the Hollywood Film Festival in 2023. My dream is to eventually get the movie produced. However, should that never happen, everything that Lyman has already achieved has been so rewarding and worthwhile. I hope that you and your readers will take a look at Lyman and be inspired to look at the homeless in a new and different way, because…

Every homeless person has a story.

And every homeless person’s story is worthy of being told.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1. Pain – Actors rely on their past to sympathize with their characters. We call it “substitution.” I never thought, when I was a kid, that I would “use” my pain to my advantage later in life. Genetically, I was predisposed to depression, and I always tried to will it away. But as an actor, I have learned to appreciate every emotion I’ve ever felt because it helps me identify better with my characters.

2. Thirst for knowledge – The worst thing you can do as an actor is reject the wisdom of those who’ve gone before you! I used to be terribly stubborn and unwilling to change my opinion or process based on the advice of others, even those who were far more experienced than I. One day, I realized that I needed knowledge, training and advice if I ever planned to find success in this business. It was only then that I started see the fruits of my labor.

3. Community – I always tell my students that networking is everything in this business! I’ve been so blessed over the years to have a wonderful community around me. Some came naturally in the form of friends and family. Others had to be procured via workshops, classes and theatre groups. You can’t do this alone. The community is where you learn and hone your skills. My community was The MoHos, a sketch comedy group founded by comedian Fred Willard. I learned so much from Fred and the other members. My advice: find a community you can bond with, and then play, react, listen and learn!

What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?

In December of 2022, I was violently robbed in the parking lot of the grocery store where I live in Las Vegas. It was the most traumatic thing that ever happened to me. That night, I developed Adult Onset Tourette Syndrome. I would spasm violently without warning. Most of the time, the spasms were due to recurring flashbacks from the incident. It got so bad that I felt like I couldn’t be seen in public. After about a year of the spasms, I felt like it was going to be my way of life forever, and that prospect was intolerable to me.

As a Christian, I prayed. My family prayed. We were all affected by this. Then, one day, I realized that part of the problem was giving into it. I decided to start pursuing new projects, one of which was resurrecting a book that I had initially published 20 years ago. As a children’s book, the theme was light and fun and held my interest, so much so that I began to psychologically move away from the tragedy of 2022. Indeed, 2025 has already proved to be the most healing and hopeful of my life. I no longer live as a victim; I now just live!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ajbprods.com
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-92031832