John Cameron Mitchell

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John Cameron Mitchell

Born April 21, 1963 (1963-04-21) (age 45)
El Paso, Texas, United States
Years active 1986-Present

John Cameron Mitchell (born April 21, 1963 in El Paso, Texas) is an American writer, actor, and director. He is best known for his motion pictures Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Shortbus.

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[edit] Early life and career

Mitchell was born in El Paso, Texas.[1] The son of a retired U.S. Army Major General, he grew up on army bases in the U.S., Germany and Scotland, and generally attended Catholic schools. His mother is from Glasgow, Scotland and immigrated to the United States as a young schoolteacher.[2] His brother Colin Mitchell is also an actor and writer.[3]

Mitchell's first stage role was the Virgin Mary in a Nativity musical staged at a Scottish Benedictine boys boarding school when he was 11 years old. He studied theater at Northwestern University from 1981 to 1985. His first professional stage role was Huckleberry Finn in a 1985 Organic Theater adaption at Chicago's Goodman Theatre.[4] Mitchell's first New York acting role was Huck Finn in the Broadway musical Big River (1985). He created the role of Dickon on Broadway in The Secret Garden, and appeared in the original cast of the Off Broadway musical Hello Again. He received Drama Desk nominations for both roles, and can be heard on the original cast recordings for each.[2] He appeared in the original cast of John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation (off- and on Broadway) and starred in Larry Kramer's Off Broadway sequel to The Normal Heart, The Destiny of Me, for which he received a Village Voice Obie Award[5] and a Drama Desk nomination.[6] Mitchell is a founding member of the Drama Department Theater Company, for which he adapted and directed Tennessee Williams' Kingdom of Earth.

Mitchell's early television work includes guest-starring roles in MacGyver, Head of the Class, Law & Order, The New Twilight Zone, Freddy's Nightmares, The Equalizer, Our House, Dreamer of Oz, The Stepford Children, and the ABC After School Special "A Desperate Exit" (his single line: "He's dead. Don't you get it? He killed himself."). He was a regular cast member on the 1997 Fox sitcom Party Girl, and was the long-running voice for "Sydney", an animated kangaroo that appeared in commercials for Dunkaroos.[7]

His first film role was in an improvised drunk-driving educational film called Just along for the Ride (1983), in which he was killed on Halloween while wearing a tutu. This was followed by the lead role in My Father's Son: The Legacy of Alcoholism (1984) and his first feature film role as Drunk Teen ("Hey, dudes, where's the brewskies?") in One More Saturday Night (1986), written by and starring Al Franken. Starring and co-starring film roles include a homicidal new-waver in Band of the Hand (1986), a Polish immigrant violinist in Misplaced (1990), and a teen Lothario poet in Book of Love (1990). Mitchell had a single line ("Delivery!") in Spike Lee's Girl Six (1996) as a man auditioning for a pornographic film.[7][8]

In 1985, Mitchell came out as a gay man to his family and friends.[2] Though always open about his sexuality at work, he came out publicly in a New York Times profile in 1992.[4] His subsequent writing has often explored sexuality and gender.

[edit] Hedwig and the Angry Inch

In 1998, Mitchell wrote (along with composer Stephen Trask) and starred in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, an Off Broadway musical about Hedwig, an East German transgender rock musician chasing after an ex-lover who plagiarized her songs.[2] Three years later, he directed the feature film version of the play, reprising his role as Hedwig. Both the play and the film were award-winning critical hits and have spawned cult followings around the world.[9][10]

[edit] Shortbus

After the success of Hedwig, Mitchell expressed an interest in writing, directing and producing a film that incorporated explicit sex in a naturalistic and thoughtful way, without using "stars".[1] After three years of talent searches, improv workshops and production, Shortbus premiered in May 2006 at the Cannes Film Festival.[11] The film garnered many awards,[12] at venues such as the Athens International Film Festival, Gijón International Film Festival and the Zurich Film Festival.

[edit] Other works

Mitchell was the executive producer of the 2004 film Tarnation, an award-winning documentary about the life of Jonathan Caouette (whom he met when Jonathan auditioned for "Shortbus").[13] In 2005, Mitchell directed music videos for Bright Eyes' "First Day of My Life" and the Scissor Sisters' "Filthy/Gorgeous,"[14] the latter of which was banned from MTV for its explicitly sexual content.[citation needed] Mitchell has appeared as a pundit on Politically Incorrect and various VH1 and Independent Film Channel programs. He introduced films on a show called "Escape From Hollywood" on IFC for two years.

Mitchell lives in New York City.[15]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b John Cameron Mitchel. IMDB.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
  2. ^ a b c d Mitchell, John Cameron (b. 1963). glbtq.com (2005-05-05). Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
  3. ^ Colin Mitchell. IMDB.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
  4. ^ a b Weber, Bruce. "A Minimalist Actor Now Warms to Excess", The New York Times, 1992-11-04. 
  5. ^ Berson, Misha. "Man behind Hedwig captures her on film", The Seattle Times, 2001-08-03. Retrieved on 2007-05-27. 
  6. ^ Parks, Louis B.. "Give him an 'Inch,' and he'll take it", The Houston Chronicle, 2001-08-02. Retrieved on 2007-05-27. 
  7. ^ a b John Cameron Mitchell. IMDB.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
  8. ^ John Cameron Mitchell Full Bio. Hollywood.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
  9. ^ Blackwelder, Rob (2001-06-21). 'Hedwig'-ing Out. Spliced Wire. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
  10. ^ John Cameron Mitchell News. Topix.net. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
  11. ^ Shortbus (2006). IMDB.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
  12. ^ Awards for Shortbus (2006). IMDB.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
  13. ^ Tarnation (2004). IMDB.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
  14. ^ Other works for John Cameron Mitchell. IMDB.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-27.
  15. ^ Epstein, Warren. "Springs has surprisingly strong link to Sundance", The Gazette (Colorado Springs), 2001-02-04. Retrieved on 2007-05-27. 

[edit] External links