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John Cameron Mitchell

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For other people with similar names, see John Cameron (disambiguation), Cameron Mitchell (disambiguation), and John Mitchell (disambiguation).
John Cameron Mitchell
Mitchell in October 2004
Born (1963-04-21) April 21, 1963 (age 62)
El Paso, Texas, U.S.
EducationNorthwestern Univ. (1981–1985)
Occupation(s)Actor, playwright, screenwriter, film director
Years active1983–present
Notable work
Parents
  • MG John Henderson Mitchell
  • Joan Cameron Mitchell

John Cameron Mitchell (born April 21, 1963) is an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, singer, songwriter, producer and director. He is known as the writer, director and star of the 2001 film Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which is based on the stage musical of the same name. He also co-wrote and starred in the 2019 musical audio series Anthem: Homunculus and portrayed the role of Joe Exotic in the Peacock limited series Joe vs. Carole in 2022.

Early years

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Mitchell was born in El Paso, Texas, the second child of U.S. Army Lieutenant John Henderson Mitchell and Joan Cameron, arriving less than a year after the loss of their first child, James.[1] He was raised on a variety of military bases—among them Forts Leavenworth and Riley (both in Kansas), Kirkland Air Force Base (New Mexico), Carlisle Barracks (Pennsylvania) and Campbell Barracks (Heidelberg)—as dictated by his father's career that in 1982 saw him promoted to the rank of major general and serving as United States Commander, Berlin (USCOB) from 1984 to 1988, in charge of the American sector of the city.[2] His mother was a native of Glasgow, Scotland, who immigrated to Montreal at age 20 to become an elementary school teacher, later moving to Chicago and then to Colorado Springs.[1] A talented artist, she became known for her watercolor portraits of public figures such as actor Kirk Douglas, U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, as well as for religious art she made for the Roman Catholic dioceses of Denver and Colorado Springs.[1] John had three younger brothers: Christopher Lloyd, Colin Mackenzie, and Samuel Latham Mitchell—who died at age four in 1977.[3] His grandfather, William Lloyd Mitchell, briefly served as the acting Social Security Commissioner in 1953 under U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower who five years later officially nominated him to the position, which he retained for the duration of John F. Kennedy's presidency as well.

He attended Catholic schools for most of his youth, including St. Xavier High School in Junction City, Kansas, and St. Pius X High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, graduating from the latter in 1981. Mitchell's first stage role was as the Virgin Mary in a Nativity musical staged at a Scottish Benedictine boys' boarding school, Carlekemp Priory Prep School, when he was 11 years old. Though he studied theater at Northwestern University from 1981 to 1985, he did not graduate.[4]

Career

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Mitchell's first professional stage role was Huckleberry Finn in a 1985 Organic Theater adaptation at Chicago's Goodman Theatre,[5] and portrayed the same character in his first New York acting role in the 1985 Broadway musical Big River. He originated the role of Dickon on Broadway in The Secret Garden, and appeared in the original cast of the off-Broadway musical Hello Again, receiving Drama Desk nominations for both roles, and can be heard on the original cast recordings for each.[4]

He appeared in the original cast of John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation (both 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 an Obie Award[6] and a Drama Desk nomination.[7]

Mitchell's early television work includes guest-starring roles in Daybreak,[8] MacGyver,[9] Head of the Class, Law & Order, The Twilight Zone, Freddy's Nightmares, The Equalizer, Our House, The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story, and The Stepford Children. He was a regular cast member on the 1996 Fox sitcom Party Girl, and was the long-running voice of Sydney, the animated kangaroo mascot of Dunkaroos snack cookies.[citation needed]

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. Mitchell is a founding member of the Drama Department Theater Company, for which he adapted and directed Tennessee Williams' Kingdom of Earth starring Cynthia Nixon and Peter Sarsgaard.[10]

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

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In 1998, Mitchell wrote (along with composer Stephen Trask) and starred in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, an Obie Award-winning off-Broadway rock musical about a genderqueer East German rock musician chasing after an ex-lover who plagiarized her songs.[4]

Three years later, he directed and starred in the feature-film version of the play, for which he won Best Director at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. Mitchell's performance was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. Both the play and the film were critical hits and have spawned cult followings around the world.[11][12]

The 2014 Broadway production of Hedwig starred Neil Patrick Harris and Lena Hall, was directed by Michael Mayer, and won four Tony Awards, including Best Actor in a Musical (Harris), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Hall), and Best Revival of a Musical. Mitchell reprised his Hedwig performance during the run and received a 2015 Special Tony Award for his return to the role.[13]

Shortbus

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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."[14] After three years of talent searches, improvisation workshops, and production, Shortbus premiered in May 2006 at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. The film garnered many awards,[15] at venues such as the Athens, Gijon, and Zurich International Film Festivals.

Rabbit Hole

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He directed the 2010 film Rabbit Hole, starring Nicole Kidman (in an Oscar-nominated performance) and Aaron Eckhart, adapted from David Lindsay-Abaire's Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name about a couple dealing with the loss of their four-year-old son. Mitchell became interested in directing the project out of a personal connection to the story, having dealt with the death of his four-year-old brother as a teenager.[16] The film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival.

Other work

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Mitchell was the executive producer of the 2004 film Tarnation, a documentary about the life of Jonathan Caouette, whom he met when the latter auditioned for Shortbus. Tarnation won 2004 Best Documentary from the National Society of Film Critics, the Independent Spirit Awards and the Gotham Awards. He directed videos for Bright Eyes' "First Day of My Life" (featuring Secret Garden co-star Alison Fraser)[17] and the Scissor Sisters' "Filthy/Gorgeous";[18] the latter was banned from MTV Europe for its explicitly sexual content. In 2012, Mitchell wrote and produced a narrative short film for Sigur Rós titled "Seraph", directed by animator Dash Shaw.[19]

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. He wrote and directed a number of short films and commercials for Dior including Lady Grey London and L.A.dy Dior both starring Marion Cotillard and Dior Homme Sport, starring Jude Law. In 2013, He wrote and directed a fashion video for Agent Provocateur titled "Insurrection".[20] In 2016, Mitchell appeared on Amanda Palmer and Jherek Bischoff's tribute album to late musician David Bowie, Amanda Palmer and Jherek Bischoff: Strung Out In Heaven (A David Bowie Tribute).[21]

Mitchell appeared as David Pressler-Goings in seasons 2 and 3 of the HBO series Girls, and as Andy Warhol in HBO's Vinyl. Mitchell can be seen in the 2016 documentary Danny Says alongside Danny Fields, Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop. He has played a character based on Milo Yiannopoulos on The Good Fight, opposite Christine Baranski, and as the character of Egon in season 4 of the Amazon Studios series Mozart in the Jungle, opposite Gael García Bernal. In 2014, he directed an unaired pilot of the Showtime series Happyish, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman in his final role.

Mitchell's punk era young adult romance film How to Talk to Girls at Parties starring Elle Fanning, Alex Sharp, and Nicole Kidman was released by A24 in Spring 2018.[22] He co-directed with Mark A. Burkley the episode "Mother of All Matches" of Netflix's GLOW (the 2nd season's 4th episode), which topped Entertainment Weekly's "The best TV episodes of 2018" list.[23]

Mitchell was a series cast member in Hulu's Shrill, which stars Aidy Bryant and is based on Lindy West's memoir of the same title. In 2019, John released his latest musical, co-written with Bryan Weller, as a fictional podcast series titled Anthem: Homunculus starring himself, Glenn Close, Patti Lupone, Cynthia Erivo, Denis O'Hare, Nakhane, Laurie Anderson, Alan Mandell, Ben Foster, and Madeline Brewer, originally exclusive to the Luminary podcast network.[24] He was a regular cast member on the podcast The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air), a co-venture produced by Night Vale Presents and WNYC Studios.[25] In 2019, John and Portland-based band Eyelids recorded Turning Time Around, an album of Lou Reed covers produced by R.E.M.'s Peter Buck and released by Jealous Butcher Records as a benefit for Mitchell's mother's care during her battle with Alzheimer's.

Mitchell's "distance-defying, community-built benefit album" New American Dream (Parts 1 and 2) was released September 4, 2020, including collaborations with Ezra Furman, Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff, Stephen Trask, Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu, Wynton Marsalis, Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon, Catherine Russell and Leland benefitting a COVID food bank, a trans justice group and the Dr. MLK Scholarship Trust Fund.[26]

In 2022, he played Joe Exotic in Peacock's streaming series adaptation of the Wondery podcast series Joe vs. Carole. John co-wrote (with Brett Every) and sang a song from the point of view of the character, "Call Me Joe," featuring Nat Wolff as Joe's husband Travis Maldonado. That same year, he appeared in the Netflix series The Sandman as Hal Carter. He plays Amory (the "Demon Brother") on the Apple TV+ series City on Fire. He regularly tours a career retrospective concert with Amber Martin titled Cassette Roulette, a David Bowie-themed show conceived by Donny McCaslin called Black Star Symphony, as well as John's all-David Bowie show Queen Bitch (Bowie was an early investor in the first Hedwig production).[27] Cancellation Island, a new satirical scripted podcast series he co-wrote with Michael Cavadias starring Holly Hunter—whose character opens a rehab for cancelled people—was released February 9, 2025.

Personal life

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In 1985, at the age of 22, Mitchell came out as gay to his family and friends,[4] then did so publicly in a 1992 New York Times profile.[5] His subsequent writing has often explored sexuality and gender. He is a Radical Faerie, and his experiences with the group influenced the making of Shortbus.[28] Along with Shortbus stars PJ DeBoy and Paul Dawson and performance artists Amber Martin and Angela Di Carlo, he is a co-founder and DJ of the long-running New York City monthly party "Mattachine," named after the early American gay rights organization Mattachine Society.[29] In 2022, he stated he was non-binary,[30] and continues to use he/him pronouns.[31]

Mitchell presently splits his home life between Manhattan and New Orleans.[32][33]

Work

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As director

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Film

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Year Title Notes
2001 Hedwig and the Angry Inch Also writer and star
2006 Shortbus
2010 Rabbit Hole
2011 Lady Grey London Short film
2011 L.A.dy Dior Short film
2013 Insurrection Short film
2017 How to Talk to Girls at Parties

Television

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Year Title Notes
2013 Nurse Jackie 1 episode: "Luck of the Drawing"
2015 Happyish Unaired pilot
2018 GLOW 1 episode: "Mother of All Matches"
(co-director with Mark A. Burkley)

Podcast

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Year Title Notes
2019 Anthem: Homunculus Scripted musical audio drama

As actor

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1984 The Roommate Calvin Fitch Television film, produced by American Playhouse
1986 Band of the Hand J. L.
1986 One More Saturday Night Teenager No. 2
1987 The Stepford Children Kenny
1988 Higher Education Student No. 1
1988 A Friendship in Vienna Tommi Lowberg TV film
1989 Teach 109 1st Android TV short
1989 No Holds Barred Man in Audience Uncredited
1989 Misplaced Jacek
1990 Book of Love Floyd
1990 The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story Albert the Reporter Television film
1993 Daybreak[8] Lennie Television film
1996 Girl 6 Rob
1997 David Searching Man with Fruit
1999 I Remember Joe Short film
2001 Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hedwig Also director and writer
2006 Shortbus Sextra Uncredited
2016 My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea Brent Daniels Voice role in animated feature
2025 Lisbon[34] Martin Short film, written and directed by Matthew Jacobs Morgan

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1986 The Equalizer Ed Donahue 1 episode: "Unpunished Crimes"
1986 The Twilight Zone Tom 1 episode: "A Day in Beaumont/The Last Defender of Camelot"
(appeared in second segment only)
1986 ABC Afterschool Specials Friend at bus stop 1 episode: "A Desperate Exit"
1987 MacGyver Aaron Ryman 1 episode: "Hell Week"[9]
1987–1990 Head of the Class Manfred Lutz 3 episodes: "That'll Be the Day", "From Hair to Eternity: Part 1" and
"From Hair to Eternity: Part 2"
1988 Our House Willie Gillis 1 episode: "Out of Step"
1988 Freddy's Nightmares Bryan Ross 1 episode: "It's a Miserable Life"
1993 Class of '96 Horace 1 episode: "See You in September"
1995 Law & Order Eddie 1 episode: "Pride"
1996 Party Girl Derrick 4 episodes: "Pilot", "Virgin Mary", "Just Say No" and "A Charming Tale"
1997 Nothing Sacred Matt Evans 1 episode: "Speaking in Tongues"
2013–2014 Girls David Pressler-Goings 5 episodes: "Boys", "On All Fours", "Together", "Females Only" and
"She Said OK"
2016 Vinyl Andy Warhol 3 episodes: "Yesterday Once More", "Whispered Secrets" and "Cyclone"
2017–2022 The Good Fight Felix Staples 5 episodes
2018 Mozart in the Jungle Egon 5 episodes
2019–2021 Shrill Gabe 22 episodes
2021 Santa Inc. Dr. Almonds 3 episodes
2022 Joe vs. Carole[35] Joe Exotic 8 episodes
2022 The Sandman Hal 11 episodes
2023 Yellowjackets Caligula 1 episode: "Burial"
2023 City on Fire Amory Gould 8 episodes

Podcasts

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Year Title Role Notes
2018–2020 The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air) John Cameron Voice role - fictional podcast series
2019 Anthem: Homunculus Ceann Mackay Scripted musical audio drama
2021 Hot White Heist Orlov Audible-exclusive podcast series
2021 The Cinnamon Bear: A Holiday Adventure Grand Wonky Podcast series
2022 The Laundronauts:
A Potentially Untrue Tale Based Actual Events[36] 		Absentia Voice role and executive producer; series was written and directed by
his younger brother, Colin Mackenzie Mitchell.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Joan Mitchell Obituary (1933 - 2020) - Colorado Springs, CO". The Gazette. Colorado Springs. September 27, 2020. Archived from the original on April 14, 2025. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  2. ^ "John Mitchell Obituary (2013) - Colorado Springs, CO". The Gazette. Colorado Springs. March 7, 2013. Archived from the original on April 14, 2025. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  3. ^ Moore, John (June 23, 2010). ""Hedwig" creator's parents are tearing down a wall". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d Varner, Greg (May 5, 2005). Summers, Claude J. (ed.). "Mitchell, John Cameron (b. 1963)" (PDF). GLBTQ Archives. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 12, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Weber, Bruce (November 4, 1992). "A Minimalist Actor Now Warms to Excess". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  6. ^ Berson, Misha (August 3, 2001). "Man behind Hedwig captures her on film". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on December 28, 2024. Retrieved May 27, 2007.
  7. ^ Parks, Louis B. (August 2, 2001). "Film notes: Give him an 'Inch,' and he'll take it". The Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Daybreak (1993)". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  9. ^ a b Sweedo, Nicholas (September 5, 2014). "#104: Hell Week". The MacGyver Project. Archived from the original on January 17, 2025. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  10. ^ Brantley, Ben (June 26, 1996). "Theater Review: Redeeming A Williams Washout". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  11. ^ Blackwelder, Rob (June 21, 2001). "'Hedwig'-ing Out". SPLICEDwire. Archived from the original on August 11, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  12. ^ "John Cameron Mitchell News". Topix.net. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2007.
  13. ^ brytonia (February 23, 2017). Marc Maron interviews John Cameron Mitchell. YouTube. Archived from the original on April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  14. ^ Brooks, Brian (October 1, 2006). "indieWIRE INTERVIEW: John Cameron Mitchell, director of "Shortbus"". IndieWire. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  15. ^ "Shortbus (2006) - Awards". IMDb. Archived from the original on September 8, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  16. ^ Carpenter, Cassie (December 19, 2010). ""Rabbit Hole" director inspired by personal tragedies". Reuters. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  17. ^ "John Cameron Mitchell at Outside the Margins". Xtra Magazine. October 7, 2008. Archived from the original on December 27, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  18. ^ Harrington, Richard (January 7, 2005). "Scissor Sisters: On the Cutting Edge". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 28, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  19. ^ Shaw, Dash (January 16, 2013). SERAPH. YouTube. Archived from the original on June 6, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  20. ^ Hall, Steve (September 16, 2013). "Agent Provocateur Models Rebel, Strip Down to Lingerie in Protest". Adrants. Archived from the original on April 14, 2025. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  21. ^ Halperin, Moze (February 4, 2016). "Here Is Amanda Palmer's David Bowie Memorial Cover EP, Feat. John Cameron Mitchell and Anna Calvi". Flavorwire. Archived from the original on July 31, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  22. ^ "John Cameron Mitchell Talks Animated 'The Ruined Cast' & Upcoming Neil Gaiman Adaptation". The Playlist. December 10, 2010. Archived from the original on April 15, 2025. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  23. ^ "The 10 best TV episodes of 2018". Entertainment Weekly. December 7, 2018. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  24. ^ Scherstuhl, Alan (April 25, 2019). "The Spiritual Sequel to Hedwig and the Angry Inch Is a Game-Changing Podcast Musical". Slate. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  25. ^ "The Orbiting Human Circus: Team". WNYC Studios. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  26. ^ Male, Andrew (September 6, 2020). "Hedwig eats Trump: John Cameron Mitchell on his 'musical orgy' about Donald's America". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 6, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  27. ^ Bowie, David (October 21, 1999). "Bowie Produces Hedwig". DavidBowie.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2025. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  28. ^ Dubowski, Sandi (Fall 2006). "Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret". Filmmaker Magazine. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  29. ^ Murphy, Tim (December 29, 2010). "Tinseltown Can Wait; the Village Cannot". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 7, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  30. ^ Henderson, Taylor (March 4, 2022). "Actor John Cameron Mitchell Comes Out As Nonbinary". Pride Magazine. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  31. ^ Keeps, David A. (June 1, 2022). "The gospel according to John Cameron Mitchell". Los Angeles Magazine. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  32. ^ Davies, Madeleine (January 16, 2024). "How John Cameron Mitchell Turned His New Orleans Home Into a Queer Art Church". Dwell. Archived from the original on January 16, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  33. ^ Epstein, Warren (February 4, 2001). "Springs has surprisingly strong link to Sundance". The Gazette. Archived from the original on March 7, 2010. Retrieved May 27, 2007 – via FindArticles.
  34. ^ "To Your Souls: Shorts from the UK & Ireland". British Film Institute. Retrieved April 15, 2025. An older man has an unexpected request for a broke younger man in this pitch-black comedy starring John Cameron Mitchell.
  35. ^ Otterson, Joe (June 24, 2021). "'Joe Exotic' Peacock Series Casts Dean Winters as Jeff Lowe". Variety. Penske Media. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  36. ^ Mitchell, Colin Mackenzie. "The Laundronauts: A Potentially Untrue Tale Based Actual Events". laundronauts.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
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