Paul Dawson | |
|---|---|
 Dawson in 2015 | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Partner | PJ DeBoy |
Paul Dawson is an American actor. In the 2006 comedy-drama film Shortbus , written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell, he played the secretly suicidal former prostitute James. [1] [2] [3] [4]
The film Shortbus is noted for its explicit depiction of sexual activity, [1] [5] and, though Dawson is featured in one of the film's most graphic scenes, it was his portrayal of depression that garnered the critics' attention. [6] "Dawson's James haunts," said David Ansen of Newsweek , "the bitter taste of his despair feels real;" [7] and a reviewer for TV Guide said that James and Jamie (played by PJ DeBoy) were perhaps the "most adorable gay couple ever." [4]
In 1999, Dawson played Tar in The Blur of Insanity, an underground comedy written and directed by John Hussar about partying and drug use in college. The following year, he played a bellboy in The Big Kahuna , which starred Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito. Also in 2000, Dawson appeared as the Bloodied Man in Urbania , an independent drama based on the play Urban Folk Tales. Urbania premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival and was seen at a number of LGBT film festivals. That same year Dawson played a hustler in "The Mountain King," a short film included in the 2001 LGBT-themed anthology Boys to Men. [8]
In 1999, Dawson appeared in the pilot episode of Strangers with Candy , "Old Habits – New Beginnings," and was also featured as "Derek Harland" in the Law & Order episode "Hate". [8]
Dawson is the graphic designer and a disc jockey for international "Mattachine" dance parties, which he co-founded in New York City in 2008. [9]
Cameron Michelle Diaz is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including nominations for four Golden Globe Awards and a British Academy Film Award. As of 2018, her films have grossed over $3 billion in the U.S., making her the fifth-highest-grossing actress at the domestic box office. Diaz's roles in comedies and romances cemented her as a sex symbol and a bankable star, and she was named the highest-paid Hollywood actress over 40 in 2013.
Sook-Yin Lee is a Canadian broadcaster, musician, film director, and actress. She is a former MuchMusic VJ and a former radio host on CBC Radio. She has appeared in films, notably in the John Cameron Mitchell movie Shortbus.
Jennifer Westfeldt is an American actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. She is best known for co-writing, co-producing, and starring in the 2002 indie film Kissing Jessica Stein, for which she received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Screenplay and a Golden Satellite Award for Best Actress - Comedy or Musical. She is also known for writing, producing, starring in, and making her directorial debut in the 2012 indie film, Friends with Kids, which was included on New York Magazine's Top Ten Movies of 2012 list, as well as NPR's Top 12 of 2012.
The Hidden Cameras are a Canadian indie pop band. Fronted by singer-songwriter Joel Gibb, the band consists of a varying roster of musicians who play what Gibb once described as "gay church folk music". Their live performances have been elaborate, high-energy shows, featuring go-go dancers in balaclavas, a choir, and a string section.
Jaime King is an American actress and model. In her modeling career and early film roles, she used the names Jamie King and James King, which was a childhood nickname given to King by her parents, because her agency already represented another Jaime—the older, then-more famous model Jaime Rishar.
Alex Dimitriades is an Australian actor and DJ. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Nick Polides in the 1993 romantic comedy film The Heartbreak Kid and as Nick Poulos in the 1994 television teen drama spin-off Heartbreak High.
Jordana Brewster is an American actress. Best known for her role as Mia Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise, Brewster made her acting debut in an episode of All My Children in 1995 and next took on the recurring role as Nikki Munson in As the World Turns, garnering a nomination for Outstanding Teen Performer at the 1997 Soap Opera Digest Award. Her first role in a feature film was in Robert Rodriguez's horror science fiction The Faculty (1998).
Jonathan Caouette is an American film director, writer, editor and actor.
Justin Paul Theroux is an American actor and filmmaker. He gained recognition for his work with director David Lynch in the mystery film Mulholland Drive (2001) and the horror film Inland Empire (2006). He also appeared in films such as Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), American Psycho (2000), Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Strangers with Candy (2005), Miami Vice (2006), Wanderlust (2012), The Girl on the Train (2016), The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018), On the Basis of Sex (2018), and Lady and the Tramp (2019).
Shortbus is a 2006 American erotic comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. The plot revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of colorful characters trying desperately to connect in an early 2000s New York City. The characters converge in a weekly Brooklyn artistic/sexual salon loosely inspired by various underground NYC gatherings that took place in the early 2000s. According to Mitchell, the film attempts to "employ sex in new cinematic ways because it's too interesting to leave to porn." Shortbus includes a variety of explicit scenes containing non-simulated sexual intercourse with visible penetration and male ejaculation.
The House of Venus Show is a Canadian LGBT sketch comedy television show created by Canadian filmmaker Mark Kenneth Woods and co-produced by Michael Venus. The first season aired on the Canadian LGBT channel OutTV in July 2005. The second season began airing in September, 2006 and, after a hiatus, a third season debuted in July, 2009.
Urbania is a 2000 independent drama film based on the play Urban Folk Tales. It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, then played the Toronto International Film Festival, the Seattle Film Festival, and a number of LGBT film festivals, winning a total of 6 "Best Film" awards. It was released by Lionsgate and was named "One of the Year's Best Films" in over 35 publications including the Los Angeles Times, Time Out, the Chicago Tribune, and the San Francisco Chronicle.
Miriam Shor is an American actress. She is known for her performance in the rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch and in the 2001 film adaptation of the same name. She later starred in a number of short-lived television series, including Swingtown (2008) and GCB (2012). Shor starred in the TV Land comedy series Younger from 2015 to 2021. Shor played Madelaine True in the Encores! production of The Wild Party at the New York City Center July 15–18, 2015 alongside Younger co-star Sutton Foster.
DUMBA was a collective living space and anarchist, queer, all-ages community center and venue in Brooklyn, New York.
Jay Brannan is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He was born in Texas and briefly studied in Ohio, but moved to California to become an actor. Brannan appeared in the 2006 movie Shortbus, which included one of his songs in its soundtrack, and began to build a fan base by performing on YouTube. He released an EP and acted in Holding Trevor in 2007. Since then, he has toured and released four albums.
Paul Festa is an American writer, filmmaker, and violinist. Born and raised in San Francisco, he currently resides there with his husband James Harker.
Murray Hill is a New York City comedian and drag king entertainer. He is the entertainer persona of Busby Murray Gallagher, although this persona is maintained even in private settings. Murray Hill is the self-proclaimed "hardest-working middle-aged man in show business".
John Cameron Mitchell is an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, singer, songwriter, producer and director. He is known as the writer, director and star of the 2001 film Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which is based on the musical of the same name that he wrote the book for and also starred. He also portrayed the role of Joe Exotic in the Peacock limited series Joe vs. Carole in 2022.
Bradford Scobie is a New York City performance artist and comedian who performs one-man musical comedy routines.
Lindsay Beamish is an American actress and professor, best known for her roles as Severin in Shortbus and Jamie in Forgetting the Girl. As of 2015, she teaches at Emerson College and graduated from UC Santa Cruz.
