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Biography
American writer, director, actor. Mitchell, the son of a U.S. Army general and a Scottish mother, grew up on various army bases, including Berlin; later the family lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he attended a Catholic school. Since the mid-1980s, he has worked as a theatre actor and director in New York City and played small roles in television and film productions. Among other things, he directed a play by Tennessee Williams. From 1991, he appeared in the original Broadway production of Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon's musical adaptation of The Secret Garden, which won several Tony Awards. In the early 1990s, together with musician Stephen Trask, he developed the character of Hedwig, a transgender rock musician who grew up in East Berlin, for performances in the New York drag bar Squeezebox. This led to the successful Off-Broadway musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch in 1998, which won two Obie Awards, and three years later to the film version of the musical, again with himself in the title role. The film premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Director's and Audience Awards, and the play won the 2001 Lambda Literary Award. At the 2002 Chlotrudis Awards, he won the prize for best leading actor. At the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in 2001, the film was shown in the ‘PANORAMA’ section and won the Teddy Award. In 2003, he produced the film Tarnation by Jonathan Caouette, which was honoured as best documentary film by the US National Society of Film Critics, among others. In 2004, Mitchell shot the music video for the Scissor Sisters' single Filthy/Gorgeous with stars from the New York drag scene. The clip was not shown on American MTV due to its explicit sexual depictions.
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
April 21, 1963
Age
63 years old
Place of Birth
El Paso, Texas, USA
Popularity Score
1.1
Filmography
Heaven Above Rowen
Promise (voice)
2026Movie
Cockroach
James
2026Movie
Lisbon
2025Movie
Reclaim the Flag
Self
2025Movie
Everybody Wants to Be Gen X
Self
2025Movie
Paying for It
Executive Producer
2025Movie
AngelHeaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex
Self
2023Movie
Nicole Kidman: Eyes Wide Open
Self (interview)
2023Movie
City on Fire
Amory
2023TV
Impresario
2022Movie
I Am More
2022Movie
Joe vs Carole
Joe 'Exotic' Schreibvogel
2022TV
Dr. Jackie
John Cameron Mitchell
2022TV
The Sandman
Hal Carter
2022TV
John Cameron Mitchell & Stephen Trask: Nation of One
John Cameron Mitchell
2021Movie
Yellowjackets
Caligula
2021TV
John Cameron Mitchell & Stephen Trask: Nation of One
Writer
2021Movie
John Cameron Mitchell & Stephen Trask: Nation of One
Musician
2021Movie
John Cameron Mitchell & Stephen Trask: Nation of One
Vocals
2021Movie
Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies
Self
2020Movie
Time Warp Vol. 3: Comedy and Camp
Self
2020Movie
Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All Time
Self
2020TV
The Spark: The Origins of Pride
Self
2019Movie
Shrill
Gabe
2019TV
How to Talk to Girls at Parties
Punk (uncredited)
2017Movie
The Good Fight
Felix Staples
2017TV
How to Talk to Girls at Parties
Director
2017Movie
How to Talk to Girls at Parties
Screenplay
2017Movie
How to Talk to Girls at Parties
Producer
2017Movie
GLOW
Director
2017TV
My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea
Brent Daniels (voice)
2016Movie
Vinyl
Andy Warhol
2016TV
Danny Says
Self
2015Movie
Larry Kramer In Love & Anger
Himself
2015Movie
The Hooping Life
Himself
2014Movie
Mozart in the Jungle
Egon
2014TV
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Self - Guest
2014TV
Seraph
Writer
2013Movie
Interior. Leather Bar.
Story Consultant
2013Movie
Seraph
Producer
2013Movie
Sigur Rós: Valtari Film Experiment
Director
2013Movie
Girls
David Pressler-Goings
2012TV
Rabbit Hole
Director
2010Movie
Nurse Jackie
Director
2009TV
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
Himself
2007Movie
Gifted and Challenged: The Making of 'Shortbus'
Himself
2007Movie
Indie Sex
Self
2007TV
Apparition of the Eternal Church
Self
2006Movie
Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema
Self
2006Movie
Shortbus
Sextra (one of the participants in the orgy sequence)
2006Movie
Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig
Self
2006Movie
Shortbus
Director
2006Movie
Shortbus
Screenplay
2006Movie
Shortbus
Producer
2006Movie
The House of Venus Show
Self
2005TV
Whether You Like It or Not: The Story of Hedwig
Self
2003Movie
Lance Loud!: A Death in An American Family
Self (uncredited)
2003Movie
Totally Gay!
Self
2003Movie
Tarnation
Executive Producer
2003Movie
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Hedwig
2001Movie
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Director
2001Movie
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Musical
2001Movie
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Writer
2001Movie
I Remember
Joe
1999Movie
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Hedwig Robinson/Tommy Gnosis
1998Movie
David Searching
Man with Fruit
1997Movie
Girl 6
Rob
1996Movie
Party Girl
Derrick
1996TV
Daybreak
Lennie
1993Movie
Book of Love
Floyd
1990Movie
The Dreamer of Oz
Albert
1990Movie
Law & Order
Eddie
1990TV
Misplaced
Jacek
1989Movie
A Friendship in Vienna
Tommi Lowberg
1988Movie
Freddy's Nightmares
Bryan Ross
1988TV
The Stepford Children
Kenny
1987Movie
Band of the Hand
J.L.
1986Movie
One More Saturday Night
Teenager #2
1986Movie
MacGyver
Aaron
1985TV
The Equalizer
Ed Donahue
1985TV
The Twilight Zone
Tom (segment "The Last Defender of Camelot")
1985TV
The Roommate
Calvin Fitch
1984Movie
American Playhouse
Calvin Fitch
1982TV
Broadway: The Next Generation
Self
—Movie
Ron Forever
Ron
—Movie
Untitled Candy Darling Biopic
Executive Producer
—Movie