Shaun Johnston, the actor behind Grandpa Jack on Heartland, reflects on nearly 20 years on the ranch

I was thinking about Shaun Johnston the other day. It’s kind of wild he’s been Jack for almost twenty years. He just fits. Rugged, quiet, never pushing it. Half the time he barely has to move and the whole scene settles.

That Season 9 moment where Jack says goodbye to Paint… I still think about it. Shaun mentioned once he usually makes notes before filming, but that day he didn’t. He didn’t need to. You can see it on his face. It doesn’t feel like acting. It just feels like loss.

It’s also funny hearing him talk about the early years. Every time renewal season came around, he’d get anxious and assume it might be the end. Looking back, he says he should’ve relaxed a little. People weren’t just watching Heartland — they were leaning on it.

When he’s not on the ranch, it’s hockey and guitar. He’ll be the first to tell you he’s not some great musician. He just plays enough to enjoy it, and honestly, that tracks.

And before all the cowboy stuff, he worked at Alberta Treasury Branch. Then somehow he ends up as a runway model in Toronto. He’s 6’3”, fit a Hugo Boss suit right off the rack, and suddenly he’s doing runway shows for sixty bucks an hour. Such a random route to becoming TV’s ranch grandpa.

He’s done other roles too, like Wynonna Earp — the priest one. He even joked they called the character Juan Carlos because he looked “Latino enough.”

But he always circles back to theatre. He still talks about Fool for Love like it never left him.

He did a live show at Symon’s Valley Ranch recently too — music and stories. He said he was nervous, which is funny to imagine after all these years on camera. But the crowd was with him.

He’s also said the biggest thing he’s taken from playing Jack is learning how to get older without fighting it. And yeah… I buy that.

If Heartland ever ends, he says he’ll probably just watch more TV and play more hockey. Honestly? Sounds perfect. He’s earned it.

Want More Heartland Stories?

If you loved this, you might also enjoy:

• Amber Marshall’s Character Journey: How Amy Fleming Has Grown Over the Years
• Behind the Scenes on Heartland: What Filming in Alberta Is Really Like
• Why Graham Wardle Left Heartland – And Where He Is Now