# Johnny Whitworth
**Johnny Whitworth** (birth name Jonathan Lance Whitworth) is an American actor born in 1975 in [Charleston, South Carolina](https://www.edgepedia.org/charleston-south-carolina), known for roles in *Empire Records* (1995), [Francis Ford Coppola](https://www.edgepedia.org/francis-ford-coppola)'s *The Rainmaker* (1997), *Limitless* (2011), *Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance* (2011), and as Cage Wallace in the second season of [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw) series *The 100*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926615/) • [2](https://www.kinostar.com/filmverleih-filme/still-here/text/STILL%20HERE%20-%20Production%20Notes_EN.pdf) He has appeared in more than 50 film and television projects and is a lifetime member of the Actors Studio.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926615/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1975, Charleston, South Carolina; birth name Jonathan Lance Whitworth[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/johnny-whitworth/) • [4](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/johnny-whitworth/3000337120/) |
| Breakthrough | Donny Ray Black, a young leukemia victim, in Coppola's *The Rainmaker* (1997)[2](https://www.kinostar.com/filmverleih-filme/still-here/text/STILL%20HERE%20-%20Production%20Notes_EN.pdf) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/johnny_whitworth) |
| Signature film roles | A.J. in *Empire Records* (1995); Vernon in *Limitless* (2011); Ray Carrigan, the villain Blackout, in *Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance* (2011)[2](https://www.kinostar.com/filmverleih-filme/still-here/text/STILL%20HERE%20-%20Production%20Notes_EN.pdf) • [6](https://www.movieinsider.com/p1241/johnny-whitworth) |
| Notable television | Cage Wallace on *The 100* (10 episodes, 2014–2015); recurring roles on *CSI: Miami*, *Blindspot*, and *Colony*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926615/) • [7](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/johnny-whitworth-47533.php) |
| Producing | Associate producer of *Still Here* (2020), in which he also played journalist Christian Baker[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926615/) |
| Training | Lifetime member of the Actors Studio[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926615/) |
## Early life
Whitworth was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and decided he wanted to be an actor at the age of six.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/johnny-whitworth/) • [8](https://www.myfanbase.de/the-100/interviews/?pid=20812) After his parents divorced, he lived with his father in Texas, and at 15 he moved from Dallas to Los Angeles to pursue acting professionally.[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926615/bio/) In 1991 he won YM magazine's initial "Young and Modern Man" contest.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/johnny_whitworth)
## 1990s film and television
Whitworth's screen career began with a guest appearance in the pilot of the short-lived ABC sitcom *Phenom* and a recurring role as a boyfriend of Julia Salinger ([Neve Campbell](https://www.edgepedia.org/neve-campbell)) on Fox's *Party of Five* in 1994.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/johnny-whitworth/) His feature film debut came in the 1995 comedy *Bye Bye, Love*, as a youth who works at [McDonald's](https://www.edgepedia.org/mcdonalds), and the same year he played A.J., a would-be artist working at a record store, in *Empire Records*.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/johnny-whitworth/) *Empire Records* later attained cult status.[7](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/johnny-whitworth-47533.php) At a 90s Con reunion panel in 2025, Whitworth appeared alongside castmates [Robin Tunney](https://www.edgepedia.org/robin-tunney), Ethan Embry, and Maxwell Caulfield ahead of the film's 30th anniversary.[10](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/making-empire-records-party-every-164137079.html)
**The Rainmaker.** Reportedly, Whitworth turned down a number of roles to avoid typecasting as the boyfriend or the heartthrob, choosing instead a grittier part as an orphaned teenager in [Martin Donovan](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-donovan)'s *Someone Is Waiting* (1997).[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/johnny-whitworth/) His breakthrough came as Donny Ray Black, a young man dying of leukemia whose condition could have been avoided, in Francis Ford Coppola's 1997 adaptation of [John Grisham](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-grisham)'s *The Rainmaker*.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/johnny-whitworth/) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926615/bio/) On Rotten Tomatoes' scale it remains his highest-rated film at 82 percent.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/johnny_whitworth)
Through the rest of the decade he appeared in films including *Hell's Kitchen* (1999) and *Out in Fifty* (1999), and made uncredited appearances as a lead singer in *In God's Hands* and as the voice of "gum boy" in *Can't Hardly Wait* (1998).[11](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/whitworth-johnny-1975) His episodic television work in this period included *NYPD Blue*, *Providence*, and [Robert Altman](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-altman)'s *Gun* anthology.[11](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/whitworth-johnny-1975)
## 2000s: character work
The 2000s brought a steady run of supporting film roles: Tron in *Shadow Hours* (2000), Max Raimi in *Valentine* (2001), Sweeney in *The Anarchist Cookbook* (2002), Marty Weinberg in *Kiss the Bride* (2002), and Silver George in *Factory Girl* (2006).[11](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/whitworth-johnny-1975) On television he appeared in *The Shield*, *Cold Case*, *Numb3rs*, and *Without a Trace*.[11](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/whitworth-johnny-1975) In 2007 he played Darden in the Western *3:10 to Yuma*, the highest-Metascore film of his career at 76, and Griffin Cavenaugh in *Pathology* (2008).[12](https://www.metacritic.com/person/johnny-whitworth/) In 2009 he played Scotch in the action film *Gamer*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926615/)
## 2010s: *Limitless*, *Ghost Rider*, and *The 100*
In 2011 Whitworth appeared in two wide releases. In the thriller *Limitless* he played Vernon, appearing alongside [Bradley Cooper](https://www.edgepedia.org/bradley-cooper) and [Robert De Niro](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-de-niro).[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926615/bio/) In the Marvel film *Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance* he played Ray Carrigan, the villain known as Blackout, opposite [Nicolas Cage](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicolas-cage).[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926615/bio/) • [6](https://www.movieinsider.com/p1241/johnny-whitworth)
**Cage Wallace on *The 100*.** Whitworth joined The CW's post-apocalyptic series *The 100* in its second season as Cage Wallace, appearing in 10 episodes from 2014 to 2015.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926615/) He received the role by offer rather than audition: series developer Jason Rothenberg wanted Cage to be a multilevel, multifaceted character who was anything but a typical villain, and thought Whitworth could bring him to life.[8](https://www.myfanbase.de/the-100/interviews/?pid=20812) In the show, Cage is the son of Mount Weather's president Dante Wallace ([Raymond J. Barry](https://www.edgepedia.org/raymond-j-barry)), serves as the mountain's head of security, and runs the "Cerberus" project that converts Grounders into Reapers using drugs; he eventually overthrows his father and becomes President of Mount Weather before being killed by Lincoln.[8](https://www.myfanbase.de/the-100/interviews/?pid=20812) • [13](https://the100.fandom.com/wiki/Cage_Wallace) Whitworth said acting with Barry was always a remarkable experience, and that audiences "loved to hate" the character while some viewers understood the difficulties Cage was going through.[8](https://www.myfanbase.de/the-100/interviews/?pid=20812) • [14](https://starrymag.com/johnny-whitworth-bad-hurt/)
He followed with recurring television work as Markos and "Ruggedly Handsome Man" on *Blindspot* and as Solomon in *Colony*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926615/) In film, he played Kent Kendall, a [Gulf War](https://www.edgepedia.org/gulf-war) veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder, in the family drama *Bad Hurt* (2015), set among a middle-class family in [Staten Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/staten-island) in 1999.[14](https://starrymag.com/johnny-whitworth-bad-hurt/)
## Producing and recent work
Whitworth has worked behind the camera as well. He was co-producer of *Valley of the Sun* (2011), associate producer of *Zephyr Springs* (2013), and associate producer of the crime drama *Still Here* (2020), in which he starred as journalist Christian Baker, a reporter drawn into the search for a missing twelve-year-old girl in New York City.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926615/) • [2](https://www.kinostar.com/filmverleih-filme/still-here/text/STILL%20HERE%20-%20Production%20Notes_EN.pdf) More recent credits include *The Darkness of the Road* (2021), *The A-Frame* (2024), and *Good Grief* (2024).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926615/)
## References
1. [Johnny Whitworth, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926615/)
2. [Still Here production notes, Kinostar](https://www.kinostar.com/filmverleih-filme/still-here/text/STILL%20HERE%20-%20Production%20Notes_EN.pdf)
3. [Johnny Whitworth, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/johnny-whitworth/)
4. [Johnny Whitworth, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/johnny-whitworth/3000337120/)
5. [Johnny Whitworth, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/johnny_whitworth)
6. [Johnny Whitworth Film Credits, Movie Insider](https://www.movieinsider.com/p1241/johnny-whitworth)
7. [Johnny Whitworth Biography, The Famous People](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/johnny-whitworth-47533.php)
8. [Interview with Johnny Whitworth, myFanbase (2015)](https://www.myfanbase.de/the-100/interviews/?pid=20812)
9. [Johnny Whitworth Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926615/bio/)
10. [Making "Empire Records" Was 'a Party Every Day', Yahoo Entertainment (2025)](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/making-empire-records-party-every-164137079.html)
11. [Whitworth, Johnny 1975–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/whitworth-johnny-1975)
12. [Johnny Whitworth, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/johnny-whitworth/)
13. [Cage Wallace, The 100 Wiki](https://the100.fandom.com/wiki/Cage_Wallace)
14. [Johnny Whitworth – Bad Hurt, StarryMag (2016)](https://starrymag.com/johnny-whitworth-bad-hurt/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Wh to W*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license