Joshua John Miller

Last updated

Joshua John Miller
Born (1974-12-26) December 26, 1974 (age 49)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater University of California, Los Angeles
Occupations
  • Actor
  • screenwriter
  • director
  • author
  • producer
Years active1982–present
Partner M. A. Fortin
Parents
Relatives Jason Patric (half-brother)
Bruno Bernard (grandfather)

Joshua John Miller (born December 26, 1974) [1] is an American actor, screenwriter, author, and director. [2] Miller co-writes with his life partner M. A. Fortin; the two wrote the screenplay for the 2015 horror comedy The Final Girls , and the USA Network drama series Queen of the South .

Contents

Personal life

Miller was born in Los Angeles to actor and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jason Miller and actress and Playboy pin-up Susan Bernard. Miller's half-brother is actor Jason Patric, and his maternal grandfather was photographer Bruno Bernard, also known as "Bernard of Hollywood". His father was of Irish and German descent, and his mother is Jewish. [3]

Miller is gay and, as of 2013, is in a relationship with fellow screenwriter M. A. Fortin. [4]

Career

Miller began appearing in films and television when he was eight years old. His first film role was in Halloween III: Season of the Witch . He would go on to star in such films as River's Edge , Near Dark , Class of 1999 , and Teen Witch . Miller also made guest appearances on several popular television shows, including 21 Jump Street , The Wonder Years , The Greatest American Hero , Highway to Heaven (for which he received a Young Artist Award in 1985), and Growing Pains . Miller appeared in several plays, and was involved in dance from a very early age. He starred in the Los Angeles Ballet Company's production of The Nutcracker for three consecutive seasons beginning at age seven, and later appeared as a dancer in Janet Jackson's Grammy Award-winning Rhythm Nation 1814 video.

Miller attended Yale University and Antioch University, and studied creative writing at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1997, he published a pseudo-autobiographical novel called The Mao Game about a fifteen-year-old child star attempting to cope with heroin addiction, memories of past sexual abuse, and the impending death of his grandmother, who has been diagnosed with cancer. In 1999, The Mao Game was adapted into a film, written and directed by Miller, and co-produced by Whoopi Goldberg. The film starred Miller, Kirstie Alley, and Piper Laurie, and featured Miller's mother, Susan Bernard, in a brief, uncredited cameo. It toured the festival circuit, and garnered mixed reviews from critics.

In December 2003, he completed his MFA in creative writing at the University of Iowa. He was awarded the Capote Fellowship, and was also chosen for the Houghton-Mifflin Fellowship Award. He has also written articles for Harper's Bazaar , Playboy , and Esquire . In 2007, Miller appeared as Jinky in The Wizard of Gore . [5] He has written a second novel, titled Ash.

Miller collaborated with M. A. Fortin to write the DreamWorks TV and Fox production Howl. [6] Miller and Fortin then co-wrote the short film Dawn (2014), which was directed by actress Rose McGowan and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The two also co-wrote the screenplay and executive produced the 2015 horror comedy film The Final Girls , directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson and starring Taissa Farmiga and Malin Åkerman. [7] Miller and Fortin wrote the pilot for the USA Network drama series Queen of the South . Miller also serves as an executive producer for the series, which began airing on June 23, 2016. [8]

Filmography

As actor

YearTitleRoleNotes
1982 Halloween III: Season of the Witch Willie Challisfilm debut
1982 The Greatest American Hero JonathanEpisode: "Good Samaritan"
1984 Family Ties KennethEpisode: "Go Tigers"
1984The Fantastic World of D.C. CollinsFrançoisTelevision film
1985 Highway to Heaven Jason WinnerEpisode: "A Song for Jason (Parts 1 & 2)"
1986 Stoogemania Young Howard
1986 River's Edge Tim
1987 21 Jump Street Brian SheffieldEpisode: "In the Custody of a Clown"
1987 Near Dark Homer
1987–1988 Growing Pains Friend #1
Devil		Episode: "Not Necessarily The News"
Episode:"Fool for Love"
1988 Cagney & Lacey Henry GorvelEpisode: "Hello Goodbye"
1989 Rhythm Nation 1814 B.J.Short film
1989 Teen Witch Richie Miller
1989 Meet the Hollowheads Joey
1990 The Wonder Years Larry BeemanEpisode: "Rock 'n Roll"
1990 Class of 1999 Angel
1990The Ghost WriterEdgar StrackTelevision film
1990 Death Warrant Douglas Tisdale
1991 And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird Josh Carson
1999The Mao GameJordan Highland
2007 The Wizard of Gore Jinky

As writer

YearTitleNotes
1999The Mao GameAlso director
2011Howl
2014Dawn
2015 The Final Girls Also executive producer
2016–2021 Queen of the South Also executive producer
TBA The Georgetown Project Also director

Bibliography

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResult
1986 Young Artist Awards Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor in a Television Special or Mini-Series Highway to Heaven Won
1988 Saturn Awards Best Performance by a Younger Actor Near Dark Nominated
Young Artist Awards Best Young Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama River's Edge Nominated
1989Best Young Actor in a Cable Family SeriesOn the EdgeNominated
1990Best Young Actor Guest Starring in a Television Series The Wonder Years Nominated
Best Young Actor Starring in a Motion Picture Teen Witch Nominated
1991Best Young Actor Starring in a Motion Picture Class of 1999 Nominated
1992 Saturn Awards Best Performance by a Younger Actor And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird Nominated
1993 Young Artist Awards Best Young Actor Starring in a Motion Picture And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird Nominated

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References

  1. ↑ "Joshua J Miller, Born 12/26/1974 in California | CaliforniaBirthIndex.org". californiabirthindex.org.
  2. ↑ "Joshua John Miller". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on March 15, 2014.
  3. ↑ Miller, Joshua John (December 8, 2013). "My Brother's Struggle For Fathers' Rights". HuffPost .
  4. ↑ King, Susan (January 15, 2016). "Joshua John Miller's horror film 'Final Girls' conjures up an afterlife as a growing theatrical cult film". Los Angeles Times .
  5. ↑ Mark Deming (2014). "The Wizard of Gore". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on March 28, 2014.
  6. ↑ "DreamWorks and Fox Are Off to Alaska to Howl". Dread Central. December 4, 2009.
  7. ↑ "SPWA Acquires 'Final Girls' Starring Malin Akerman, Taissa Farmiga". Variety . February 27, 2014.
  8. ↑ Littleton, Cynthia (May 12, 2015). "USA Network Gives Series Order to 'Queen of the South'". Variety. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
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