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 · TURA! as Self (archive footage)
- 2024 · Doc of Chucky as Self
- 2024 · Scala!!! as Self
- 2023 · Lynch/Oz as Host (Chapter 3: 'Kindred') (voice)
- 2023 · Digman! as Magnus (voice)
- 2022 · Living with Chucky as Self
- 2022 · Charles Band’s Full Moon Freakshow as
- 2022 · The Andy Warhol Diaries as Self
- 2021 · Chucky as Wendell Wilkins
- 2021 · Pride as Self
- 2020 · Helluva Boss as Rolando (voice)
- 2019 · Sniffing Out ‘Polyester’ as Self
- 2018 · Mugworth as Sir Butler
- 2018 · Liverspots and Astronots as O-Dor
- 2018 · Explained as Narrator (voice)
- 2017 · FEUD as William Castle
- 2017 · Mansfield 66/67 as Self
- 2016 · Search Party as Sheffield
- 2016 · Wall Writers as Narrator (voice)
- 2016 · The New Yorker Presents as Self
- 2015 · Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip as First Class Passenger
- 2014 · Suburban Gothic as Cornelius
- 2014 · Clarence as Captain Tom (voice)
- 2014 · I Am Divine as Self
- 2014 · Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self
- 2014 · HitRECord on TV with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Self
- 2013 · The Blacklist as John Waters
- 2013 · RuPaul Drives... as Self - Guest
- 2012 · Excision as William
- 2012 · Mansome as Self
- 2012 · Finding Your Roots as Self
- 2011 · Blank City as Self
- 2011 · Mangus! as Jesus Christ
- 2010 · Fish Hooks as The Yeti Lobster (voice)
- 2010 · Fish Hooks as Ezekiel Freshwater / Hair Man (voice)
- 2010 · Offspring as
- 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
- 2007 · The Junior Defenders as Narrator
- 2007 · Indie Sex as Self
- 2007 · Hairspray as Flasher
- 2007 · 'Til Death Do Us Part as
- 2007 · The Graham Norton Show as Self
- 2006 · This Filthy World as Self
- 2006 · Jackass Number Two as Self
- 2006 · I Love the '70s: Volume 2 as Self
- 2006 · The Henry Rollins Show as
- 2005 · My Name Is Earl as Walter Hamerick
- 2005 · Inside Deep Throat as Self
- 2004 · Seed of Chucky as Pete Peters
- 2004 · Thinking XXX as Self
- 2003 · Abby Singer as John Waters (uncredited)
- 2003 · Real Time with Bill Maher as Self
- 2003 · A History of Sex as Self
- 2002 · The Cockettes as Self
- 2000 · Welcome to Hollywood as John Waters
- 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
- 1999 · Yesterday's Tomorrows as Self
- 1999 · Forever Hollywood as Self
- 1998 · Pecker as Pervert on Phone (voice) (uncredited)
- 1998 · So Graham Norton as Self - Guest
- 1998 · Anarchy TV as
- 1997 · Anthem as Self
- 1996 · E! True Hollywood Story as
- 1996 · The Daily Show as Self
- 1994 · Family Album as Vincent
- 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)
- 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
- 1975 · Saturday Night Live as Self - Cameo (uncredited)
- 1972 · Pink Flamingos as Mr. J (voice) (uncredited)
- 1969 · Mondo Trasho as Reporter (voice) (uncredited)
- Future · Kevin as Armando (Voice)
- 2025 · Sarah Squirm: Live + in the Flesh as Stage Manager
- 2025 · Velvet Vision: The Story of James Bidgood and the Making of Pink Narcissus as Self
- 2024 · As Time Goes By as
- 2023 · Little Richard: I Am Everything as Self
- 2022 · Fragments of Paradise as Self
- 2022 · Tell Me Iggy as Self
- 2021 · The Velvet Underground as Self
- 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
- 2019 · 30/30 Vision: Three Decades of Strand Releasing as Self
- 2019 · Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn as Self
- 2017 · Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution as Self
- 2016 · In Conversation With Director John Waters, Actress Kathleen Turner and Actress Mink Stole as Self
- 2015 · Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story as Self
- 2015 · Tab Hunter Confidential as Self
- 2013 · Jingle Bell Rocks! as Self
- 2013 · Paul Bowles: The Cage Door Is Always Open as Self
- 2012 · Frankenstein: A Modern Myth as Self - Director
- 2011 · These Amazing Shadows as Self
- 2010 · William S. Burroughs: A Man Within as Self
- 2010 · Beautiful Darling as Self
- 2008 · Starz Inside: In the Gutter as Self
- 2007 · Jessica the Hippo as Narrator (Voice)
- 2007 · Each Time I Kill as Movie Watcher
- 2006 · This Film Is Not Yet Rated as Self - Director of 'A Dirty Shame'
- 2006 · I, of the Cyclops as
- Future · Baltigore as The Broker
- 2007 · 365 Day Project as
- 2007 · Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story as Self
- 2007 · Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis as Self
- 2007 · Here’s Looking at You, Boy as Self
- 2006 · Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream as Self
- 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
- 2005 · It Came from... Baltimore!! as Self
- 2002 · Sylvester: Mighty Real as Self
- 2000 · Divine Trash as Self
- 1989 · Homer and Eddie as Robber #1
- 1985 · The Ballad of Sexual Dependency as
- 1976 · Edith's Shopping Bag as Self
- 1975 · Love Letter to Edie as Self
- Future · Mary Woronov: Cult Queen as Self
- 2025 · It's Dorothy! as Self
- 2025 · A Summer with Joe, Liz and Richard as Self
- 2022 · Don't Fall in Love with Yourself as Self (Archival)
- 2022 · The Book of Harth as Self
- 2021 · Blood, Guts and Sunshine: The History of Horror Made in Florida as Self [archival]
- 2020 · The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo as Himself
- 2020 · Joel Calls Indie Film Type Dudes as
- 2019 · At the Video Store as Self
- 2018 · Crime and Beauty: Making ‘Female Trouble’ as
- 2018 · The Fancy Gentleman as Wadworth Thorndyke the Third
- 2018 · Sickies Making Films as Self
- 2016 · Whatever Happened to Gelitin 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
- 2013 · The Sarnos: A Life in Dirty Movies as Self
- 2011 · The Advocate for Fagdom as Self
- 2010 · Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore as
- 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 · New Line Cinema: The First Generation and the Next Generation as Self
- 2006 · Treasures Untold: The Making of Disney's 'The Little Mermaid' as Self
- 2006 · 42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage as Self
- Future · My Life with the Waters as Self
- 2008 · Obscene: A Portrait of Barney Rosset and Grove Press as Self
- 2008 · Coven of the Heathenites as Self
- 2006 · The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players: Off & On Broadway as Self
- 2006 · Mommie Dearest: Joan Lives On as
- 2006 · Busby Berkeley's Kaleidoscopic Eyes as
- 2006 · Footlight Parade: Music for the Decades as
- 2006 · Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea as Self - Narrator (voice)
- 2006 · Meet The Kuchar Brothers as
- 2005 · All the Dirt on 'A Dirty Shame' as Self
- 2004 · Closer Than That: A Documentary on Low as Himself
- 2002 · Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat as The Reverend
- 2001 · Memories of Oz as Self
- 2000 · Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story as Self
- 1996 · Ballyhoo: The Hollywood Sideshow! as
- 1995 · God Save the Queens as
- Future · The Brandon Novak Story as Self
- 1993 · Growing Up with John Waters as Self
- 1988 · Way USA! as
- 1985 · Divine Waters as Self
- 1956 · Tony Awards as Self - Presenter