To describe the work of John Cameron Mitchell as groundbreaking would be an understatement. As co-writer, director, and star, Mitchell’s film adaptation of his hit Off-Broadway play HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH burst onto the scene at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival where he was honored as Best Director. Through its many iterations, Hedwig became a true pop culture
icon—kicking down the door for more open conversations and understanding of gender.
Mitchell followed this triumph with the equally subversive and entertaining SHORTBUS (2006), which presented its own unique blend of art, music, politics, and sexuality. In 2010’s RABBIT HOLE Mitchell tackled the complex aftermath for a couple struggling with the death of their child—netting Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for lead actress Nicole Kidman. Mitchell reunited with Kidman in 2017’s stylish genre mash-up HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES, an adaptation of the Neil Gaiman short story, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
Mitchell’s latest project, the 10-episode musical podcast ANTHEM: HOMUNCULUS is another game changer. Featuring forty actors, including Glenn Close, Patti LuPone, and Marion Cotillard, ANTHEM was created by Mitchell and Bryan Weller. Praise has been universal—with Forbes, for example, calling it a “dense and masterful musical journey.” In ANTHEM, as with all of his work, John Cameron Mitchell continues to prove that he marches to the beat of his own drum—and carves out a path for us all to follow.