The multitalented John Cameron Mitchell turns 60 years old today, so what better time to honor the sometimes subversive, yet always entertaining icon of stage and screen with a look back at his crazy career?
John Cameron Mitchell Nude in Hedwig and The Angry Inch
For those who followed this non-binary Broadway baby from the start, originating roles like Dickon in The Secret Garden and Trent in Six Degrees of Separation, they know that John first garnered national attention as the writer and star of the award-winning musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The story of an East German rocker who undergoes a botched sex change operation, gets abandoned in the Midwestern U.S., and has his songs plagiarized by an ex-lover debuted off-Broadway but became a certifiable hit, eventually getting an infamous Broadway run starring Neil Patrick Harris (and later both Darren Criss and Taye Diggs). In 2001, it was also made into a film directed by and featuring John - and his amazing ass - in his signature role.
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John Cameron Mitchell's Real Sex Opus, Shortbus
The success of Hedwig led to John’s directorial follow-up, purposefully starring no-name actors and filled with explicit, yet naturalistic sex. It premiered at the Cannes film festival and immediately made headlines thanks to memorable moments like Paul Dawson contorting to suck his own cock, Adam Hardman (living up to his name) jerking off during some BDSM play, and Dawson, PJ DeBoy, and Jay Brannan’s star-spangled threesome.
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John Cameron Mitchell Undressed on Television
John continued acting while building up his rep as a writer/director. Alongside his recognizable non nude roles in HBO’s Vinyl, Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle, Hulu’s Shrill, and Netflix’s The Sandman, he stripped down to his briefs on two television series in 2022 - as the Milo Yiannopoulos-based character Felix Staples on the CBS All Access spinoff The Good Fight, and as the titular Tiger King in Peacock’s Joe vs. Carole.
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We hear 60 is the new 40, so we’re taking that to mean that John still has a few decades left to bring out his delicious derriere again, and maybe more!
