A Growing Pains actress is opening up about a terrifying incident from her early days on the show, when a crazed fan tried to abduct her.
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On a recent episode of her Weird Kids podcast, Ashley Johnson, who played Chrissy Seaver during the final two seasons of the beloved sitcom from 1990 to 1992, revealed that a fan nearly abducted her after a live taping.
“It was in the first year I was on, and we had only done a couple of film nights,” the 42-year-old told co-host Taliesin Jaffe. “So, I hadn’t done that many yet, and at that time, all of the cast sort of had trailers, and they were like old camper trailers. They’re not like the fancy trailers that they are now. They were great. We would exit our trailers before the shoot, and the audience that would be walking in, you would walk by the audience before you would walk into the studio.”
“And this was gonna get a little dark, but somebody had written in and said that, ‘I am coming to set and I am going to bring a gun, and I am going to murder some of the cast,’ “ the Last of Us voice actor continued.
‘Growing Pains’ Actress Recalls Armed Fan Abducting Her: ‘Guy Hops Out of the Line and He Grabs Me’
At the time, the studio lacked the metal detectors and security measures common in Hollywood today. Johnson explained that audience members could get within five feet of the actors as they entered the set.
“So, I’m walking with my mom, and then I just remember some guy hops out of the line and he grabs me and grabs me up and starts booking it,” she recalled. “And all I remember is like, there was security that somehow got on him after some time.”
Johnson also recalled the chaos of the moment, describing herself as “flying through the air” as security struggled to restrain the intruder. She noted that the would-be kidnapper was armed with a gun.
“I was clueless as to what was happening, but I was very upset, and they were talking to me about it after. And they were like, ‘Are you okay?’ And I just said, ‘I just think I’m gonna be in trouble.’ “
Johnson said the crazed fan managed to get away with one of her shoes, adding, “But it wasn’t my shoe. It belonged to wardrobe.”
Ashley Johnson Claims She Wasn’t Scared During Attempted Abduction
While most kids would scream, Johnson’s primary concern at the time was apparently proper etiquette. She admits she wasn’t even scared during the attempted heist: “Because I think I was such a polite kid at the time. I think he was running with me and running away. I was like, ‘Who are you, sir? What is your name? I was very pleased to meet you.’ ”
“But he was packing,” she added. “They got him. This was the thing. He was high on something. It wasn’t meth, but it was something… like, he was so strong.”
Per IMDb, Johnson began her TV career on Growing Pains. She later appeared in short-lived series like Phenom and Maybe This Time. Johnson transitioned to voice acting early on, notably in the Jumanji animated series. She went on to voice Ellie in The Last of Us video game franchise, earning two BAFTA Games Awards. She also reprised her role as Chrissy Seaver in The Growing Pains Movie (2000) and Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers (2004).