The Shield Finale Scoop!
by Daniel R. Coleridge

TV Guide
June 15 2004

Last week on FX’s The Shield, Lem freaked out and pulled an
unbelievable stunt. Cracking under pressure, he burnt up most of the
Strike Team’s “retirement fund” — aka their stolen Armenian
money-train loot — in the furnace! Admit it: You thought Vic Mackey
(Michael Chiklis) and Co. might whack him Sopranos-style, right then
and there. Well, in tonight’s season finale at 10 pm/ET, Shield fans
will learn Lem’s fate after the guys fought over that cash. Can’t
wait? Read our revealing interview with Kenny Johnson, who plays Lem.
Spoiler alert: If you don’t want any hints, better stop reading
now…

TV Guide Online: Just curious. What is Lem’s actual name?
Kenny Johnson: [Chuckles] Curtis “Lemonhead” Lemanski. The real story
is Shawn Ryan, the creator, has a bald head. Back when he wrote for
Angel, he wore these lemon-scented ice packs in the writers’ room to
keep his head cool. So they called him Lemonhead, and he gave his
nickname to my character on The Shield.

TVGO: Strange! So why did Lem suddenly go nuts and torch the moolah?
Johnson: The money is evil. It’s destroying the team and making Lem
sick. There’s a lot of guilt involved because people all around us
are dying. On top of that, they’re closing in on the four of us.
Aceveda and Dutch are suspicious, plus the Armenians know our names.
That’s why Lem has a bleeding ulcer, where he’s starting to puke up
blood. He’s internalizing stuff. My character was never about the
money, unlike Shane, who’s selfish and full of BS.

TVGO: It’s weird that Vic and Shane left Lem and Ronnie to transport
the money in their van.
Johnson: Exactly, man! So Lem’s thinking, “If the Armenians or the
police are surveilling us and I get stopped, I’m the one with the
money, so I’m screwed!” So he made a choice in the moment.

TVGO: It’s a huge betrayal, though. Without revealing too much, have
you worried that Lem will be killed or somehow written off?
Johnson: When the finale script came out, people read the script and
thought I was going. [CCH Pounder] called me and asked, “How do you
feel? If they wrote that about me, I’d be on the phone asking what’s
gonna happen!” After a few days, I got calls from Shawn Ryan and FX.
They told me, “You’re okay. You’re not leaving the show or going
anywhere.” I played it off like I wasn’t worried for a whole weekend,
but I was!

TVGO: Phew! How do you feel about Lem emerging as the Strike Team’s
conscience?
Johnson: I’ve always asked that Lem have his own voice and a point of
view, so he wasn’t always just going along with Vic Mackey. Shawn
wanted to slowly build up to Lem standing up for himself. So it’s
great for me.

TVGO: Switching gears. Besides The Shield and Pensacola: Wings of
Gold, there are lesser known gigs here on your résumé — like Red Shoe
Diaries! Oh, really?
Johnson: [Laughs] It was one of their classier episodes. I played the
pool boy who hooks up with this Italian maid. Ally Sheedy and her
rich husband spy on us, so they can live out their sexual fantasies!

TVGO: Wow, your career’s come a long way. Did that role require any
nudity? It was late-night cable, after all.
Johnson: I wasn’t naked in that. But you did see my naked backside in
The Shield’s “Co-Pilot” episode last season, where the gay cop,
Julian, saw me drop my towel in the locker room. He was checking me
out. I also did a movie with Jennifer Tilly called At Home with the
Webbers where I was naked, except for leather chaps. Oh, and I was in
Lambada: The Forbidden Dance. People still make jokes about that
one… It was a cool dance, just a bad movie.