
About
John Cameron Mitchell
Overview
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.
IMDb minii bio by; yusufpiskin
Known for
Acting |
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2025 | Cockroach | Actor | James | N/A N/A |
2025 | Reclaim the Flag | Actor | Self | N/A N/A |
2025 | Lisbon | Actor | N/A N/A |
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2023 | Angelheaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex | Actor | Self | 58 Average |
2023 | Nicole Kidman: Eyes Wide Open | Actor | Self (interview) | 59 Average |
2023 | City on Fire | Actor | Amory | 68 Fair |
2022 | Impresario | Actor | N/A N/A |
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2022 | Joe vs Carole | Actor | Joe 'Exotic' Schreibvogel | 65 Fair |
2021 | John Cameron Mitchell & Stephen Trask: Nation of One | Actor | John Cameron Mitchell | N/A N/A |
2020 | Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2020 | Time Warp Vol. 3: Comedy and Camp | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2019 | The Spark: The Origins of Pride | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2019 | Shrill | Actor | Gabe | 66 Fair |
2017 | Broadway: The Next Generation | Actor | Self | 58 Average |
2017 | How to Talk to Girls at Parties | Actor | Punk (uncredited) | 59 Average |
2016 | My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea | Actor | Brent Daniels (voice) | 59 Average |
2015 | Larry Kramer In Love & Anger | Actor | Himself | 58 Average |
2015 | Danny Says | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2014 | The Hooping Life | Actor | Himself | 59 Average |
2007 | Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer | Actor | Himself | 59 Average |
2007 | Gifted and Challenged: The Making of 'Shortbus' | Actor | Himself | 59 Average |
2006 | Shortbus | Actor | Sextra (one of the participants in the orgy sequence) | 60 Fair |
2006 | Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema | Actor | Self | 58 Average |
2006 | Apparition of the Eternal Church | Actor | Self | N/A N/A |
2003 | Whether You Like It or Not: The Story of Hedwig | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2003 | Totally Gay! | Actor | Self | 58 Average |
2003 | Lance Loud!: A Death in An American Family | Actor | Self (uncredited) | 59 Average |
2001 | Hedwig and the Angry Inch | Actor | Hedwig | 65 Fair |
1999 | I Remember | Actor | Joe | 59 Average |
1998 | Hedwig and the Angry Inch | Actor | Hedwig Robinson/Tommy Gnosis | N/A N/A |
1997 | David Searching | Actor | Man with Fruit | 58 Average |
1996 | Party Girl | Actor | Derrick | N/A N/A |
1996 | Girl 6 | Actor | Rob | 56 Average |
1993 | Daybreak | Actor | Lennie | 58 Average |
1990 | The Dreamer of Oz | Actor | Albert | 58 Average |
1990 | Book of Love | Actor | Floyd | 58 Average |
1989 | Misplaced | Actor | Jacek | N/A N/A |
1988 | A Friendship in Vienna | Actor | Tommi Lowberg | 58 Average |
1987 | The Stepford Children | Actor | Kenny | 58 Average |
1986 | One More Saturday Night | Actor | Teenager #2 | 58 Average |
1986 | Band of the Hand | Actor | J.L. | 59 Average |
1984 | The Roommate | Actor | Calvin Fitch | N/A N/A |
Heaven Above Rowen | Actor | Promise (voice) | N/A N/A |
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Ron Forever | Actor | Ron | N/A N/A |
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Directing |
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2017 | How to Talk to Girls at Parties | Directing | Director | 59 Average |
2013 | HAPPYish | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
2013 | Agent Provocateur: Control Yourself | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
2013 | Sigur Rós: Valtari Film Experiment | Directing | Director | 58 Average |
2010 | Rabbit Hole | Directing | Director | 63 Fair |
2010 | Lady Grey London | Directing | Director | 59 Average |
2006 | Shortbus | Directing | Director | 60 Fair |
2001 | Hedwig and the Angry Inch | Directing | Director | 65 Fair |
Writing |
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2021 | John Cameron Mitchell & Stephen Trask: Nation of One | Writing | Writer | N/A N/A |
2017 | How to Talk to Girls at Parties | Writing | Screenplay | 59 Average |
2013 | Interior. Leather Bar. | Writing | Story Consultant | 58 Average |
2013 | Seraph | Writing | Writer | 58 Average |
2010 | Lady Grey London | Writing | Writer | 59 Average |
2006 | Shortbus | Writing | Screenplay | 60 Fair |
2001 | Hedwig and the Angry Inch | Writing | Screenplay | 65 Fair |
2001 | Hedwig and the Angry Inch | Writing | Musical | 65 Fair |
Production |
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2025 | Paying for It | Production | Executive Producer | 58 Average |
2023 | xXPonyBoyDerekXx | Production | Executive Producer | N/A N/A |
2017 | How to Talk to Girls at Parties | Production | Producer | 59 Average |
2013 | Seraph | Production | Producer | 58 Average |
2006 | Shortbus | Production | Producer | 60 Fair |
2003 | Tarnation | Production | Executive Producer | 60 Fair |
Untitled Candy Darling Biopic | Production | Executive Producer | N/A N/A |
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Sound |
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2021 | John Cameron Mitchell & Stephen Trask: Nation of One | Sound | Musician | N/A N/A |
2021 | John Cameron Mitchell & Stephen Trask: Nation of One | Sound | Vocals | N/A N/A |