Reginald VelJohnson has spent four decades playing the decent man in uniform, first beside Bruce Willis and then at the head of a sitcom household. It is a small, steady thing he does well, and the films have mostly asked for nothing more.
Fi1m perspective
Early in Onslaught (2026), Adam Wingard puts Reginald VelJohnson in the same building as Michael Biehn and waits for the audience to notice. VelJohnson is Josiah, one of the men who will spend the night in and around the place under siege, and the casting is doing most of the work: here is the policeman from Die Hard, here is the soldier from The Terminator, please feel at home. We did, for a moment, and then we felt a little sorry for him, because a film that hires an actor to remind you of another film has decided in advance not to find out what else he can do.
What he can do is fairly specific. He is warm without being soft, and he makes decency look like a choice a man makes every morning rather than a quality he was issued with. That was Al Powell in Die Hard (1988), whose pairing with Bruce Willis is still the thing most people remember him for, and it carried him almost directly into Carl Winslow, the father and police officer at the centre of Family Matters (1989–1998), opposite Jo Marie Payton for the whole run. The same year the sitcom began he was a detective alongside Tom Hanks in Turner & Hooch (1989), and he came back briefly as Powell for Die Hard 2 (1990). By then it was settled: he was the sensible man with a badge.
He has noticed this himself, and put it more cheerfully than we would: "as long as they are paying me, I will play a cop until the day I die." Before the badge there were small parts in Ghostbusters (1984) and Crocodile Dundee (1986). Since the sitcom ended the work has been mostly guest television and voice roles, among them Principal Winslow in Invincible (2021–), a name that winks at the old character. The usual complaint is that two roles account for the career. It is true, and it is not much of a charge; the two roles are good ones, and the man in them has never once seemed to be pretending.
We scored Die Hard 89 and spent our words on Willis's vulnerability and Alan Rickman's composure. Powell does not get a sentence, which is roughly his lot. Someone should give him a part that needs him rather than one that recognises him. Until then he will play a cop, and we will be pleased to see him, and everyone will keep their side of the arrangement.
Biography
Reginald VelJohnson is an American actor. He trained at New York University, where he earned a BFA in theatre.
He is known for his role as Sgt. Al Powell in Die Hard (1988) and its sequel Die Hard 2 (1990). VelJohnson portrayed Carl Winslow in the sitcom Family Matters (1989–1998), appearing in every episode. His other credits include Ghostbusters (1984), Crocodile Dundee (1986) and Turner & Hooch (1989).
