Person
John Cameron Mitchell
El Paso, Texas, USA
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 Colora…
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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.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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2026
Heaven Above Rowen
Movie Promise (voice)
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2026
Cockroach
Movie James
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2025
Everybody Wants to Be Gen X
Movie Self
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2025
Reclaim the Flag
Movie Self
-
2025
Lisbon
Movie
-
2025
Paying for It
Movie Executive Producer
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2024
I Love You, AllWays
Movie Executive Music Producer
- 2023
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2023
Nicole Kidman: Eyes Wide Open
Movie Self (interview)
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2023
City on Fire
TV show Amory
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2022
Dr. Jackie
TV show John Cameron Mitchell
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2022
The Sandman
TV show Hal Carter
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2022
I Am More
Movie
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2022
Impresario
Movie
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2022
Joe vs Carole
TV show Joe 'Exotic' Schreibvogel
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2021
Yellowjackets
TV show Caligula
More credits
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2021
John Cameron Mitchell & Stephen Trask: Nation of One
Movie John Cameron Mitchell
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2020
Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies
Movie Self
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2020
Time Warp Vol. 3: Comedy and Camp
Movie Self
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2020
Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All Time
TV show Self
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2019
The Spark: The Origins of Pride
Movie Self
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2019
Shrill
TV show Gabe
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2017
How to Talk to Girls at Parties
Movie Punk (uncredited)
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2017
GLOW
TV show Director
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2017
The Good Fight
TV show Felix Staples
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2016
My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea
Movie Brent Daniels (voice)
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2016
Vinyl
TV show Andy Warhol
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2015
Larry Kramer In Love & Anger
Movie Himself
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2015
Danny Says
Movie Self
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2014
The Hooping Life
Movie Himself
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2014
Late Night with Seth Meyers
TV show Self - Guest
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2014
Mozart in the Jungle
TV show Egon
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2013
Interior. Leather Bar.
Movie Story Consultant
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2013
Sigur Rós: Valtari Film Experiment
Movie Director
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2013
It's a Miserable Life
Movie Byran Ross
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2013
Seraph
Movie Writer
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2012
Girls
TV show David Pressler-Goings
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2010
Rabbit Hole
Movie Director
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2009
Nurse Jackie
TV show Director
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2007
Indie Sex
TV show Self
