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This page is about the real-world actor. For the character from the "Liam's Quest" one-shots, see Ashley Johnson (character).

Ashley Johnson is an actress, voice actress, a member of the main cast of Critical Role, and the president of the Critical Role Foundation. She plays Fearne Calloway in Campaign Three.

In previous campaigns, Ashley played Pike Trickfoot and Yasha Nydoorin. She was also the Dungeon Master for "The Nautilus Ark: A Johnson Corp Odyssey" (Sx60).

Critical Role Productions[]

Pre-stream[]

The first campaign of Critical Role was Ashley's first time playing a pen-and-paper RPG. She was one of the last players to join the game, and with few options left, she chose to be a gnome cleric because she thought it would be funny and interesting. She quickly realized just how valuable a character she was when the first battle began.

On her first appearance on Critical Role, "Attack on the Duergar Warcamp" (1x04), her first and second dice rolls were both natural 20s. Her third dice roll was a natural 1.

Main campaigns[]

AshleyPCs

Fan art of Ashley's Exandria characters, by Aviv Or.[art 2]

After "Enter Vasselheim" (1x16), Ashley had to leave Los Angeles, California to live in New York City, as she was starring in NBC's live-action series Blindspot. Ashley continued to play via Skype when possible, and she returned to LA several times during Blindspot's production hiatus, allowing her to return to Critical Role in person. Once production on Blindspot ended, Ashley was back permanently as of "The Cathedral" (2x86).

During the times when Ashley was not available to play, Pike's absence from the story was usually explained as her staying to work on rebuilding the temple of Sarenrae in Vasselheim or helping to fortify Whitestone. Her appearing out of nowhere to join the group for one or two episodes was explained by Pike using a divine projection to be with the rest of Vox Machina, although she physically remained in Vasselheim. Yasha's absences were justified by the character being more of a loner who does not like large groups, but will join up with the party on occasion, and eventually by her being mind-controlled by Obann.

Critical Role Foundation[]

Ashley became president of the Critical Role Foundation when it launched in September 2020. She frequently gives updates on current fundraising campaigns at the start of Critical Role episodes.

Player characters[]

See also: Player characters played by Ashley Johnson

Main campaigns[]

One-shots and miniseries[]

Games played as Dungeon Master[]

Other works[]

→ See also: Ashley's IMDb profile

ExandriaUnlimited AshleyJohnson ByHeirlumePhotography

Photograph of Ashley Johnson, by Heirlume Photography.[art 15]

Movies and television[]

Ashley became known as a child actress in the early 90s with her role as Chrissy Seaver on the sitcom Growing Pains. By the time she was 12, she had played in eight TV series. She appeared in the NBC drama series Blindspot from 2015 to 2020, as FBI forensic specialist Patterson.

In 2012, Ashley appeared in The Avengers as Beth, a waitress who is saved by Captain America. She was intended to appear in future films as his newest love interest, but the idea was shelved.

Voice acting[]

Some of Ashley's well-known voice acting roles are Gretchen Grundler in Recess, Peter Shepherd in Jumanji (the animated series), Terra in Teen Titans, Gwen Tennyson in the Ben 10 franchise, and Tulip Olsen in Infinity Train. She provided the voice and motion capture for Ellie Williams in the video game The Last of Us and its sequel, for which she won two BAFTA awards for Best Performer and a VGX Award for Best Voice Actress, and received several nominations. She is also the voice of Pike Trickfoot in The Legend of Vox Machina animated series and will voice Yasha Nydoorin in the still in production Mighty Nein animated series. She will be the voice of Purple in the upcoming animated series Among Us based on the video game of the same name.

Personal life[]

Ashley and Brian W. Foster began dating in 2012 and announced their engagement in December 2018.[1] They lived together with their two dogs, Henry and Bullock. Previously, Ashley also had had another dog, Sully, who passed away in 2018.

In May 2023, it was reported that Johnson separated from Foster.[2][3][4] In October 2023, Ashley and six other women, two of which are current Critical Role employees, brought a civil suit against Foster alleging domestic violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, sexual battery and assault, and stalking.[5][6][7]

Trivia[]

Ashley Johnson

Ashley Johnson at a photoshoot for a 2016 panel discussion for Blindspot at Paleylive NY, cropped from a larger image.[art 16]

  • Ashley's player characters from the first two main campaigns both had their hair turned white due to a significant event, and they both gained wings due to their accomplishments.
  • When asked which other Campaign One character she would rather play as, Ashley said either Vax'ildan or Grog Strongjaw.[8]
  • Ashley appeared as an NPC in "Critical Role EXTRA – Liam's Quest!" (Sx12), played by Liam O'Brien. She acted similarly to her character Pike, healing the party and sporting a pair of feathered wings.
  • One of Sam Riegel's recurring sponsor bits features Ashley as the main character, Gale.
  • Ashley's chosen drink for her Between the Sheets interview was a junglebird.
  • In 2020, Ashley appeared in her first time in costume for Halloween on the show. She was dressed as Henry Crabgrass. Subsequently, she has dressed as Travis Willingham (2021), Emma Frost (2022), and Pippin (2023).
  • Ashley was the last member of the main cast to take on the role of Dungeon Master. Her first one-shot was unlocked as a stretch goal for the Kickstarter campaign of The Legend of Vox Machina.
  • Ashley always wanted to be an astronaut.[9]
  • Ashley can play the guitar, piano, violin, and cello. She is also a singer. She has a Soundcloud page where she posts song covers.
  • Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cast of Critical Role had to record their lines for The Legend of Vox Machina at home. Ashley built her recording studio inside of a closet.[10]
  • To promote Exandria Unlimited Prime, several cast members took over the Critical Role instagram account for a day. Ashley took over on June 19, 2021. A fan-made compilation of her instagram stories has been uploaded on Youtube.
  • When asked which one of her Critical Role characters are her favorite, she said it's too hard to choose. However, she likes playing Fearne Calloway because it's so much fun to play somebody who doesn't have a filter. Also, Yasha Nydoorin has a special place in her heart that is different from her other characters and she really liked playing Damian Vadoma with the Darrington Brigade. [11]
  • On Talks Machina, the host Brian Wayne Foster liked to "#ThankMyGuests" with names that were either mispronounced or sounded close to their names. Here are the names for Ashley Johnson:
  • Ashley Jenkins
  • Arshley Jenkins
  • Hashleaf Godson
  • Ad-Free Johnson
  • Crash Thee Datsun
  • Ask Me to Prom, Son
  • Ellie BAFTA Won
  • Trashly Jenkins
  • YASH-O-LEE
  • Yass Queen Get Some
  • Yasha is a Boss, Son!
  • Naturally Blocks Sun

External links[]

References[]

Art:

  1. Photograph of Ashley Johnson for Variety, by Robyn Von Swank (source). This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
  2. Fan art of Ashley's Exandria characters, by Aviv Or (source). Used with permission.
  3. Official portrait by Hannah Friederichs
  4. Official portrait by Hannah Friederichs
  5. Official portrait by Hannah Friederichs
  6. Official portrait by Kendra Wells
  7. Official portrait by Hugo Cardenas
  8. Official portrait by Tori
  9. Official portrait by Aviv Or
  10. Official portrait by Nikoreru
  11. Official portrait by Hannah Friederichs
  12. Official portrait by Lizzart
  13. Official portrait by Shaun Ellis
  14. Official portrait by Hannah Friederichs
  15. Photograph of Ashley Johnson, by Heirlume Photography (source). This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
  16. Sotoodeh, Sarah. Jaimie Alexander shows off her incredibly sculpted back in a bold crimson dress for PaleyLive in New York City on Daily Mail. Published April 12, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
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