‘DWTS’ OG Pro Kym Johnson-Herjavec: ‘Hunting Housewives’ Is ‘Real Housewives’ Meets ‘Survivor’
Q&A
Australian beauty Kym Johnson waltzed her way onto the ballroom floor — and into viewers’ hearts — on Dancing With the Stars as a pro back in Season 3 of the dance reality competition series. Over the years, she competed in 15 seasons of the show, taking home the coveted Mirrorball trophy twice. Her first win was with Donny Osmond in Season 9; her bookend was earned with football player Hines Ward in Season 12.
In Season 20, Johnson was paired with Shark Tank star Robert Herjavec. The two continued to tango off-screen and wed in 2016. Johnson Herjavec last competed on the show in Season 24 with Mr. T.
Now, Johnson-Herjavec is taking on a new role in the Lifetime movie Hunting Housewives. She plays Joli Symons, a woman hoping to have a fun getaway with her girlfriends. After their small plane crashes in the wilderness, the women must use their skills — and what’s in their purses — to survive. Hunting Housewives also stars DWTS alumna Denise Richards and Nene Leakes as well as Melyssa Ford. TV Insider chatted with Johnson-Herjavec about becoming an actress and if she’ll revisit DWTS like she did last season for the emotional tribute to late judge Len Goodman.
You started on DWTS in Season 3 in a pre-streaming, pre-social media world. You and the other OG pros became instant celebrities. What was it like being in that golden age of the show?
Kym Johnson Herjavec: It was the best. I used to pinch myself that I was a part of it all. I know it’s so crazy — especially back then, as you said, when it was in those early years. I’m not sure we even realized how big it was. We were just going with it.
The show’s getting back to basics now in many ways .
Yes. I loved last season. [Hosts] Julianne [Hough] and Alfonso [Ribeiro] are amazing. It does feel like it did back in the heyday.
There are pros today who grew up watching the show. Some may have wanted to become a pro dancer because stardom can come along with the job. But the OG pro dancers had fame thrust upon you.
It’s so true when you think about it like that. We’d all come from the competitive dance world and it was about the work, not the fame. That’s why it was so special.
How did your role in Hunting Housewives come about?
My husband [Robert Herjavec, Shark Tank] and I had moved to Canada about four years ago. I worked with a production company on a movie called Love Alaska. It was a small role, and I sort of dipped my toe into acting. I found that I really missed performing. [Acting] is very different from performing on Dancing With the Stars, but the producers approached me. I hadn’t done any acting before so I was nervous to do it. I had some acting lessons. I didn’t want to go in without being prepared. That’s the dancer in me. I got an acting coach and found that I really loved it! It’s very different, obviously, to dancing.
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The cast includes some familiar faces. Both Denise and Nene had been competitors on DWTS.
Yes. I thought, “Wow, this is going to be so great because I know them so well.” We already had a great connection. We shot a lot of it out in the woods, not in a studio, which was good in that I’m used to being a live performer. Being out in the elements felt like doing a live performance.
How does it feel to take on this challenge?
I’ve really enjoyed it, making this pivot in my career and getting back into things more creatively. It’s been a great challenge. I think, in a way, I’d put limits on myself. What I’m realizing is that it’s never too late if you put the work in. I’m very fortunate to have done Dancing With the Stars, which has helped me get these opportunities. As a dancer, I’m used to rehearsing and rehearsing and making sure [my routine] is rehearsed. I went into the same approach with acting. I knew my script back to front. I knew everyone’s lines. But I was told do not get married to them because they might change the night before, and [acting] is all about reacting to whom you’re working with. I learned not only from Denise but also Nene and Melyssa. Denise and Nene had come into my world, and now, I’ve come into theirs.
What can you tell me about the story?
The plot is funny, and [the scenario we’re in] could possibly happen.
Is there a double-meaning to the title? Are the housewives both hunting for something and being hunted?
We are being hunted. We’re sent on this ultimate girls trip that goes horribly wrong. Our husbands are not what we think. The question becomes, how are we going to survive and fight for our lives in the woods? As we’re doing this, we learn a lot about each other and ourselves. We learn about what we actually want, and we may want something different out of life.
Is there anything that can prepare you for a role like this?
I had done Celebrity Survivor in Australia before I’d come over to America to dance with Jerry Springer [in Season 3 of DWTS]. I think that’s how I might have gotten this job. The casting director said, “I saw footage of you on YouTube doing Survivor and I saw you in the elements. I think you’d be great for this role.”
How did you do on Celebrity Survivor?
I voted myself off. I had had it. I was good at the challenges, and I threw myself into it, but at one point we had a sort of a mini-cyclone and torrential rain. On the third night, I just said to the rest of my team, “If we lose the next challenge and one of us has to go, you can vote for me [to go].” And that’s exactly what happened. So this show is almost like the Real Housewives meets Survivor.
Your characters have to survive partially based on what’s in their handbags.
[Wryly] Yes, pills and booze.
What are the must-haves that you keep in your bag?
I always keep a [lip balm] and a sanitizer especially as I have kids. I have to say I am nothing like my character. The role I play — Joli — doesn’t like her husband. I love mine so we’re very different there. Joli does like the finer things in life, but she’s realizing she wants more out of life. She loves her girlfriends, [and] she’s got a very funny personality.
What else is keeping you busy?
I’m working with a production company in Canada. I’m working on development and production, and we have a couple of movies that we’re developing right now. I love Christmas movies. White Christmas is my favorite. I want to bring those big dance Christmas movies back. We’re working on that right now, which is great because at Dancing With the Stars, you get to be so creative. When I was on the show as a dance pro, I came up with [ideas for] the costumes, props, and the sets. It was so creative. So I feel like I’m using what I did back then in a different way. I’m really learning a lot, and this has been a great transition.
Nene’s hilarious and Denise has done comedy, too. Are there elements of humor in Hunting Housewives?
Yes. It is a pretty serious film, but it’s also funny. There are funny moments along with the danger. I think viewers will laugh along with us. We’re obviously not happy to be in the situation we’re in, but it’s funny watching us survive and figuring things out for ourselves. Nene and I had the best time. She knows how to deliver a line. She’s got such a great personality. Our time on Dancing With the Stars helps make it all a bit more natural. I love Denise as well.
It was so great that you and other OG pros came back for the tribute to the late Len Goodman last season. The dance everyone did to “Moon River,” one of his favorite songs, was beautiful.
Thank you. Oh my gosh. When the show called me and said what they were doing to honor Len, of course, I said yes, I’ll be there. We all loved him so much. It was so sad, but it was also such a beautiful tribute. We all wanted to be there. I loved it. We all reminisced about Len, the good times, and the good old days. We were welling up every time we did the dance. It was emotional being back there in the ballroom. Seeing Len’s [empty] chair at the end and Carrie Ann [Inaba] and Bruno [Tonioli] looking at each other. It was really great being back in the ballroom.
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If the show were to reach out and invite you back as either a guest judge or coach or to do another dance, are you open for any of that?
I would never say no. Never say never. I love the show. It’s part of who I am. I have moved from being on the show in America to being a judge on the show in Australia. Then, I went back to the American one. I filled in one night for Erin Andrews as co-host. I feel like I’ve done a bit of everything with the show.
What else is keeping you busy in addition to Hunting Housewives?
I have a cabaret show that I’m going to do in Palm Springs. I sing, and I’ll have some Dancing With the Stars stories, but it’s mostly about my journey coming from Australia and ending up in Hollywood. Working on the show has been fun. I love cabaret, and I love to tells stories. There will be some dance in my act, too.
Hunting Housewives, Movie Premiere, Saturday, March 9, 8/7c, Lifetime
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