The actor revealed how the conversation with her daughter went down
Don Johnson has opened up about the moment he told his daughter Dakota that she wouldn’t be able to “stay on the payroll” anymore after deciding not to attend college to instead pursue an acting career.
The actor, 71, appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers and revealed the one rule he has for all of his five children.
“We have a rule in the family that, you know, if you stay in school, you get to stay on the payroll. So, you go to college, you get to stay on the payroll,” Don explained.
“Toward the end of high school, I went to [Dakota] and I said, ‘So, do you want to go visit some colleges?’ Or something like that. And she was like, ‘Oh, no. I’m not going to college.’
He continued: “I went, ‘OK, you know what that means? You won’t be on the payroll anymore.'”
Don then asked his eldest daughter how she was “going to manage,” to which Dakota replied: “Don’t you worry about it”. When Don asked for details, she kept mum, but to his delight, it was later revealed that Melanie Griffiths‘ daughter had been cast in The Social Network three weeks after their conversation.
Dakota with parents Don Johnson and Melanie Griffiths
“And the rest is, shall we say, cinema history,” Don said.
“She doesn’t really call me for advice,” the Knives Out star revealed. “She calls me to say, ‘Gosh, I would see you, but I’ve got three pictures that I’m shooting at the same time.'”
Indeed, Dakota’s first major film role was in 2010’s The Social Network, and since then she has appeared in over 20 films. The star is currently dating Chris Martin and the couple recently moved into a Malibu mansion together.
