John Sweet (actor)

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John Sweet (February 8, 1916 – July 5, 2011) was an American who served as a US Army sergeant in the United Kingdom during World War II. While there, director Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger chose him to play Sgt. Bob Johnson, one of the three pilgrims, in the 1944 film A Canterbury Tale.

He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After the movie, he returned to the United States and tried acting, mainly in theater, but eventually he went back to teaching.

In October 2000, Sweet returned to Canterbury to join Sheila Sim for a Powell celebration and gave a 20-minute interview for the documentary A Pilgrim's Return by Nick Burton and Eddie McMillan. This documentary is included on the Criterion Collection DVD of A Canterbury Tale. He spoke about how the movie was made, his relationship with Powell and the crew, and how the film affected his life. He reportedly said the months spent making the film were the most profound and influential of his life.

Sweet was paid $2,000 for his role in A Canterbury Tale, and he donated all of it to the NAACP.

He died at his home in Fearrington Village, North Carolina, on July 5, 2011, aged 95.