Peter Stickles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Peter Stickles is an American actor from New York. He is best known for his role as the voyeuristic Caleb in the John Cameron Mitchell film Shortbus and as Damian, leader of a gay vampire cult, in the here! original series The Lair.
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[edit] Shortbus
Stickles was cast in Shortbus in 2003 from amongst some 400 actors who submitted audition tapes for the film, which was initially known as "Sex Film Project." No script had been written prior to casting and the story was built out of improvisational sessions once the cast was in place. The voyeuristic aspect of Caleb's character grew in part out of Stickles's own interests at the time. "I was exploring sex clubs at the time and not necessarily participating but watching from afar. I think John [Cameron Mitchell] was attracted to the idea of this whole voyeuristic aspect of the character. ... How far would you go to touch somebody from afar?"[1]
Stickles, along with others in the cast, was nominated for a Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast.
[edit] The Lair
Stickles stars in The Lair, which premiered on here! in June 2007. His character, Damian, is the leader of a gay vampire cult. The series, although not critically well-reviewed,[2][3][4] was renewed for a second season which is slated to premiere later in 2008.[5]
[edit] Watch Out
Peter appears in acclaimed director Steve Balderson's new film Watch Out. Based on the controversial novel of the same name by Joseph Suglia. WATCH OUT is the story of Jonathan Barrows, a man who falls in love with himself, literally. He is attracted to his own body, carries out an erotic relationship with a blow-up doll that resembles him, and takes pleasure in rejecting the advances of his many admirers, both male and female. He descends into a world of carnivorous priests and Prozac-popping Polish prostitutes and eventually assassinates the world's most popular pop-diva.
[edit] Other roles
Stickles has appeared in a number of low-budget and direct-to-video horror films, including such titles as Meat Weed Madness (2006) and its sequel Meat Weed America (2007), and has four films slated for release in 2008. He also appeared in the exercise video The Bedroom Workout for Men: Better Sex Through Exercise.[6]
[edit] Personal life
Stickles is openly gay, having come out during the publicity surrounding the release of Shortbus. He has spoken at length about the impact of his decision to be openly gay from the beginning of his career.
"The producers of The Lair took me aside and we had a meeting about whether or not I was going to be an 'out' gay actor and whether they were going to be able to market me. But they wanted me to take it very seriously, because it's a very big decision and I had to stop and think about it. Because even though it sucks, and it shouldn't matter, it does matter. So yeah, I had to really think about it — not so much in terms of being a horror movie actor, because if I could do horror movies for the rest of my life I'd die a happy man. But being pigeonholed as a gay film actor is kind of weird for me."[7]
[edit] References
- ^ Hartl, John. "Willing to go along for a long, circuitous ride", The Seattle Times, 2006-10-20. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ “Vampires Everywhere”, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2007-06-01, <http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07152/787843-352.stm>
- ^ Swindoll, Jeff (2007-10-15). DVD Review: The Lair: Complete First Season. Monstersandcritics.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
- ^ Oliver, David (2007-11-11). DVD Review: Lair, The - Season 1. CHUD.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-24.
- ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (2007-09-28). Here! comes a lot of originality. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on 2007-10-21.
- ^ The Bedroom Workout for Men credits. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
- ^ Juergens, Brian (2007-06-17). Interview With "The Lair"'s Lead Vamp, Peter Stickles. Retrieved on 2007-07-05.
