Don Johnson Shares Secret to Staying So Handsome at 74: 'Marry Right! A Bad Marriage Will Age You' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Don Johnson.Photo:Ari + Louise

Ari + Louise

Four decades after his iconic seriesMiami Vicedebuted,Don Johnsonis still having amoment.

The actor, 74, is currently starring in two consecutive projects: the hit Netflix filmRebel Ridge, and ABC’s new seriesDoctor Odyssey.He’s looking as fit as he ever did. His secret?

“Marry right!” he tells PEOPLE with a laugh. “A bad marriage will age you.”

Of course, thedad of six, who’s been married to Kelley Phleger since 1999, says the only other way to look and feel young is to just keep moving.

“You have to exercise, and do it a lot,” he says. “How do you think I got six kids?” He jokes, “That I know of, anyway!”

Johnson has had those celebrity looks, but for a period in the ’80s, he also became a (reluctant) style star, when the pastel linen suit and loafers without socks look that he sported onMiami Vicesuddenly became the defacto wardrobe for hip dudes everywhere.

Don Johnson in Miami Vice.Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

In a 1985 PEOPLE cover story, he revealed that he didn’t love all the Detective James “Sonny” Crockett carbon copies.

“Here’s the only look I ever liked and felt individual in, and now every guy, his brother and his dog are wearing it,” he said. (He also revealed his secret for maintaining a perpetual two-day stubble: “I shave with a sideburn trimmer.")

These days, Johnson doesn’t care about clothes or stubble — he’s just glad he’s “still on the menu.”

“My goal back then was to not be Sonny Crockett forever,” he says of trying to navigate the popularity of the hit show. “I had seen the peril of the actors who were too identifiable with their character. I felt like I had to separate myself from Sonny so people could eventually see me as other characters.”

Of course, he saw plenty of ups and downs in the decades sinceMiami Viceended in 1989, after five seasons.

“I’ve had career lulls where I wasn’t sure I would ever get a job again,” he says.

“I’ve always said you go through these stages as an actor: ‘Who’s Don Johnson?’ Then, ‘Get me Don Johnson!’ Then, ‘Get me a Don Johnsontype!’ Then, ‘Get me ayoungerDon Johnson!’ And finally it’s back to ‘Who’s Don Johnson?’” again.”

He shrugs and laughs. “That’s just the way it goes.”

For more on Don Johnson, pick up this week’s issue ofPEOPLEon stands now.

source: people.com