
John Waters
John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including Multiple Maniacs (1970), Pink Flamingos (1972) and Female Trouble (1974). Waters wrote and directed the comedy film Hairspray (1988), which was later adapted into a hit Broadway musical and a 2007 musical film. Other films he has written and directed include Desperate Living (1977), Polyester (1981), Cry-Baby (1990), Serial Mom (1994), Pecker (1998), and Cecil B. Demented (2000). His films contain elements of post-modern comedy and surrealism. As an actor, Waters has appeared in Sweet and Lowdown (1999), 'Til Death Do Us Part (2007), Mangus! (2011), Excision (2012), Suburban Gothic (2014), and has appeared in the Child's Play franchise with Seed of Chucky (2004) and third season of the television series Chucky (2024). He hosted and produced the television series John Waters Presents Movies That Will Corrupt You (2006). Throughout his career, Waters has often collaborated with actor and drag queen Divine and his regular cast of the Dreamlanders. More recently, he performs in his touring one-man show This Filthy World. Waters also works as a visual artist and across different media, such as installations, photography, and sculpture. The audiobooks he narrated for his books Carsick and Mr. Know-It-All were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album in 2015 and 2020, respectively. In 2018, Waters was named an officer of the Order of Arts and Letters in France. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023.
Known For
Credits
- 2025 · Everybody's Live with John Mulaney as Self - Writer and Film Director
- 2024 · Doc of Chucky as Self
- 2023 · Lynch/Oz as Host (Chapter 3: 'Kindred') (voice)
- 2022 · Don't Fall in Love with Yourself as Self (Archival)
- 2022 · Fragments of Paradise as Self
- 2022 · Living with Chucky as Self
- 2022 · Tell Me Iggy as Self
- 2021 · Blood, Guts and Sunshine: The History of Horror Made in Florida as Self [archival]
- 2021 · The Velvet Underground as Self
- 2021 · Chucky as Wendell Wilkins
- 2020 · Helluva Boss as Rolando (voice)
- 2019 · 30/30 Vision: Three Decades of Strand Releasing as Self
- 2019 · Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn as Self
- 2018 · Explained as Narrator (voice)
- 2017 · FEUD as William Castle
- 2016 · Search Party as Sheffield
- 2015 · Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip as First Class Passenger
- 2015 · Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story as Self
- 2014 · Suburban Gothic as Cornelius
- 2014 · Clarence as Captain Tom (voice)
- 2014 · Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self
- 2013 · The Blacklist as John Waters
- 2013 · Paul Bowles: The Cage Door Is Always Open as Self
- 2012 · Frankenstein: A Modern Myth as Self - Director
- 2012 · Excision as William
- 2012 · Finding Your Roots as Self
- 2011 · The Advocate for Fagdom as Self
- 2011 · Mangus! as Jesus Christ
- 2011 · These Amazing Shadows as Self
- 2010 · Fish Hooks as The Yeti Lobster (voice)
- 2010 · Fish Hooks as Ezekiel Freshwater / Hair Man (voice)
- 2010 · Offspring as
- 2010 · Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore as
- 2010 · Beautiful Darling as Self
- 2009 · Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen as Self - Guest
- 2009 · RuPaul's Drag Race as Self - Guest Judge
- 2009 · RuPaul's Drag Race as Self - Special Guest
- 2008 · Starz Inside: In the Gutter as Self
- 2008 · Coven of the Heathenites as Self
- 2007 · 365 Day Project as
- 2007 · Jessica the Hippo as Narrator (Voice)
- 2007 · Indie Sex as Self
- 2007 · Hairspray as Flasher
- 2007 · Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis as Self
- 2007 · The Graham Norton Show as Self
- 2007 · Here’s Looking at You, Boy as Self
- 2006 · Jackass Number Two as Self
- 2006 · The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players: Off & On Broadway as Self
- 2006 · I Love the '70s: Volume 2 as Self
- 2006 · The Henry Rollins Show as
- 2006 · (buz'be bur'kle) n. A Study in Style as Self
- 2006 · Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema as Self
- 2006 · That Man: Peter Berlin as Self
- 2006 · Meet The Kuchar Brothers as
- 2006 · I, of the Cyclops as
- 2005 · My Name Is Earl as Walter Hamerick
- 2005 · It Came from... Baltimore!! as Self
- 2004 · Seed of Chucky as Pete Peters
- 2004 · Thinking XXX as Self
- 2003 · Real Time with Bill Maher as Self
- 2002 · Sylvester: Mighty Real as Self
- 2002 · Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat as The Reverend
- 2000 · Cecil B. Demented as Reporter
- 1999 · Sweet and Lowdown as Mr. Haynes
- 1999 · Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Pornmonger Man
- 1999 · In Bad Taste as Self
- 1998 · So Graham Norton as Self - Guest
- 1997 · Anthem as Self
- 1996 · Ballyhoo: The Hollywood Sideshow! as
- 1996 · The Daily Show as Self
- 1994 · Serial Mom as Ted Bundy (voice) (uncredited)
- 1993 · Frasier as Roger (voice)
- 1993 · Homicide: Life on the Street as R. Vincent Smith
- 1992 · HBO First Look as
- 1991 · Gastronomic Getaway as
- 1989 · The Simpsons as John (voice)
- 1989 · Homer and Eddie as Robber #1
- 1988 · The Incredibly Strange Film Show as Self
- 1988 · Hairspray as Dr. Fredrickson
- 1987 · 21 Jump Street as Mr. Bean
- 1986 · Something Wild as Used Car Guy
- 1985 · The Ballad of Sexual Dependency as
- 1975 · Saturday Night Live as Self - Cameo (uncredited)
- 1972 · Pink Flamingos as Mr. J (voice) (uncredited)
- 1956 · Tony Awards as Self - Presenter
- Future · The Brandon Novak Story as Self
- 2025 · Velvet Vision: The Story of James Bidgood and the Making of Pink Narcissus as Self
- 2025 · It's Dorothy! as Self
- 2024 · As Time Goes By as
- 2024 · TURA! as Self (archive footage)
- 2024 · Scala!!! as Self
- 2023 · Little Richard: I Am Everything as Self
- 2022 · A Summer with Joe, Liz and Richard as
- 2022 · The Book of Harth as Self
- 2022 · Charles Band’s Full Moon Freakshow as
- 2022 · The Andy Warhol Diaries as Self
- 2021 · Pride as Self
- 2020 · The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo as Himself
- 2020 · Time Warp Vol. 3: Comedy and Camp as Host
- 2020 · Time Warp Vol. 2: Horror and Sci-Fi as Host
- 2020 · Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness as Host
- 2020 · Joel Calls Indie Film Type Dudes as
- 2019 · At the Video Store as Self
- 2019 · Sniffing Out ‘Polyester’ as Self
- 2018 · Mugworth as Sir Butler
- 2018 · Liverspots and Astronots as O-Dor
- 2018 · Crime and Beauty: Making ‘Female Trouble’ as
- 2018 · Sickies Making Films as Self
- 2017 · Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution as Self
- 2017 · Mansfield 66/67 as Self
- 2016 · Wall Writers as Narrator (voice)
- 2016 · In Conversation With Director John Waters, Actress Kathleen Turner and Actress Mink Stole as Self
- 2016 · Whatever Happened to Gelitin as Self
- 2016 · The New Yorker Presents as Self
- 2015 · Sympathy For The Devil: The True Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment as Self
- 2015 · The 1000 Eyes of Dr Maddin as
- 2015 · Tab Hunter Confidential as Self
- 2014 · I Am Divine as Self
- 2014 · HitRECord on TV with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Self
- 2013 · Jingle Bell Rocks! as Self
- 2013 · RuPaul Drives... as Self - Guest
- 2013 · The Sarnos: A Life in Dirty Movies as Self
- 2012 · Mansome as Self
- 2011 · Blank City as Self
- 2010 · William S. Burroughs: A Man Within as Self
- 2009 · It Came from Kuchar as Self
- 2009 · For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism as Self
- 2008 · The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels as Narrator
- 2008 · Obscene: A Portrait of Barney Rosset and Grove Press as Self
- 2008 · New Line Cinema: The First Generation and the Next Generation as Self
- 2007 · Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story as Self
- 2007 · The Junior Defenders as Narrator
- 2006 · This Filthy World as Self
- 2006 · Treasures Untold: The Making of Disney's 'The Little Mermaid' as Self
- 2006 · Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream as Self
- 2006 · Busby Berkeley's Kaleidoscopic Eyes as
- 2002 · The Cockettes as Self
- Future · Mary Woronov: Cult Queen as
- 2007 · Each Time I Kill as Movie Watcher
- 2007 · 'Til Death Do Us Part as
- 2006 · Mommie Dearest: Joan Lives On as
- 2006 · 42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage as Self
- 2006 · Footlight Parade: Music for the Decades as
- 2006 · Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea as Self - Narrator (voice)
- 2006 · This Film Is Not Yet Rated as Self - Director of 'A Dirty Shame'
- 2005 · All the Dirt on 'A Dirty Shame' as Self
- 2005 · Inside Deep Throat as Self
- 2004 · Closer Than That: A Documentary on Low as Himself
- 2003 · Abby Singer as John Waters (uncredited)
- 2003 · A History of Sex as Self
- 2001 · Memories of Oz as Self
- 2000 · Welcome to Hollywood as John Waters
- 2000 · Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story as Self
- 2000 · Divine Trash as Self
- 1999 · Yesterday's Tomorrows as Self
- 1999 · Forever Hollywood as Self
- 1998 · Pecker as Pervert on Phone (voice) (uncredited)
- 1998 · Anarchy TV as
- 1996 · E! True Hollywood Story as
- 1995 · God Save the Queens as
- 1994 · Family Album as Vincent
- 1993 · Growing Up with John Waters as Self
- 1988 · Way USA! as
- 1985 · Divine Waters as Self
- 1982 · No Smoking in This Theater as Self
- 1975 · Love Letter to Edie as Self
- Future · My Life with the Waters as Self
- 1976 · Edith's Shopping Bag as Self
- 1969 · Mondo Trasho as Reporter (voice) (uncredited)