![Image of John Waters](https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w342/4foU1kJ24CJwz2RVZgyc7oxMs4i.jpg)
Growing up in Baltimore in the 1950s, John Waters was not like other children; he was obsessed by violence and gore, both real and on the screen. With his weird counter-culture friends as his cast, he began making silent 8mm and 16mm films in the mid-'60s; he screened these in rented Baltimore church halls to underground audiences drawn by word of mouth and street leafleting campaigns. As his filmmaking grew more polished and his subject matter more shocking, his audiences grew bigger, and his write-ups in the Baltimore papers more outraged. By the early 1970s he was making features, which he managed to get shown in midnight screenings in art cinemas by sheer perseverance. Success came when Pink Flamingos (1972) - a deliberate exercise in ultra-bad taste - took off in 1973, helped no doubt by lead actor Divine's infamous dog-crap eating scene. Waters continued to make low-budget shocking movies with his Dreamland repertory company until Hollywood crossover success came with Hairspray (1988), and although his movies nowadays might now appear cleaned up and professional, they retain Waters' playfulness, and reflect his lifelong obsessions.
Movie | TURA! | Self (archive footage) | 2025 |
Movie | The Rooster | Norris | 2024-02-22 |
Movie | Scala!!! | Self | 2024-01-05 |
Movie | Blaze | Magistrate | 2022-08-25 |
Movie | Fragments of Paradise | Self | 2022-08-31 |
Movie | Bad Romance | Muscular Man | 2022-11-30 |
Movie | Overall Planning | Christopher | 2021-03-19 |
Movie | Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears | Professor Linnaeus | 2020-02-27 |
Movie | The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo | Himself | 2020-11-20 |
Movie | At the Video Store | Self | 2019-10-11 |
Movie | Sniffing Out ‘Polyester’ | Self | 2019-09-17 |
Movie | Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn | Self | 2019-09-29 |
Movie | Mansfield 66/67 | Self | 2017-01-29 |
Movie | Three Summers | Eamon | 2017-11-02 |
Movie | 2:22 | Bill | 2017-06-29 |
Movie | Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution | Self | 2017-06-12 |
Movie | Weiner | Self (archive footage) | 2016-05-20 |
Movie | In Conversation With Director John Waters, Actress Kathleen Turner and Actress Mink Stole | Self | 2016-05-09 |
Movie | Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip | First Class Passenger | 2015-12-17 |
Movie | Tab Hunter Confidential | Self | 2015-03-15 |
Movie | Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story | Self | 2015-05-30 |
Movie | Sympathy For The Devil: The True Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment | Self | 2015-10-30 |
Movie | The 1000 Eyes of Dr Maddin | 2015-09-08 | |
Movie | Suburban Gothic | Cornelius | 2014-07-19 |
Movie | I Am Divine | Self | 2013-03-09 |
Movie | Return to Nim's Island | Booker | 2013-03-15 |
Movie | Paul Bowles: The Cage Door Is Always Open | Self | 2013-04-04 |
Movie | The Mystery of a Hansom Cab | Mark Frettlby | 2012-10-28 |
Movie | Mansome | Self | 2012-05-18 |
Movie | Excision | William | 2012-09-12 |
Movie | These Amazing Shadows | Self | 2011-01-22 |
Movie | Mangus! | 2011-04-01 | |
Movie | The Advocate for Fagdom | Self | 2011-11-04 |
Movie | Kapyong | Narrator | 2011-04-28 |
Movie | Blank City | Self | 2011-04-06 |
Movie | Beautiful Darling | Self | 2010-04-02 |
Movie | Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore | 2010-06-01 | |
Movie | William S. Burroughs: A Man Within | Self | 2010-11-05 |
Movie | Uncle Bob | Self (archiveFootage) | 2010-06-26 |
Movie | Centre Place | Jack Houghton | 2010-07-27 |
Movie | It Came from Kuchar | Self | 2009-09-22 |
Movie | For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism | Self | 2009-03-01 |
Movie | Starz Inside: In the Gutter | Self | 2008-07-29 |
Movie | New Line Cinema: The First Generation and the Next Generation | 2008-03-05 | |
Movie | Not Quite Hollywood | Self | 2008-08-28 |
Movie | The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels | Narrator | 2008-10-31 |
Movie | Obscene | Self | 2008-09-26 |
Series | 'Til Death Do Us Part | 2007-03-19 | |
Movie | Here’s Looking at You, Boy | Self | 2007-02-16 |
Movie | Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis | Self | 2007-04-11 |
Movie | Each Time I Kill | Movie Watcher | 2007-03-30 |
Movie | Hairspray | Flasher | 2007-07-19 |
Movie | Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story | Self | 2007-11-08 |
Movie | Jackass 2.5 | Himself | 2007-12-18 |
Movie | The Junior Defenders | Narrator | 2007-10-23 |
Movie | Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea | Self - Narrator (voice) | 2006-02-24 |
Movie | Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema | Self | 2006-02-12 |
Movie | Busby Berkeley's Kaleidoscopic Eyes | 2006-03-21 | |
Movie | Meet The Kuchar Brothers | 2006-01-01 | |
Movie | This Film Is Not Yet Rated | Self - Director of 'A Dirty Shame' | 2006-01-26 |
Movie | Jackass Number Two | Self | 2006-09-22 |
Movie | (buz'be bur'kle) n. A Study in Style | Himself | 2006-03-21 |
Movie | The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players: Off & On Broadway | Self | 2006-08-01 |
Series | I Love the '70s: Volume 2 | Self | 2006-07-10 |
Movie | Footlight Parade: Music for the Decades | 2006-03-21 | |
Movie | Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream | Himself | 2006-06-20 |
Movie | All the Dirt on 'A Dirty Shame' | Self | 2005-06-14 |
Movie | Inside Deep Throat | Self | 2005-02-11 |
Movie | It Came from... Baltimore!! | Self | 2005-07-12 |
Movie | Stealth | Black Ops Doctor | 2005-07-27 |
Series | Fireflies | Perry Luscombe | 2004-02-01 |
Movie | Seed of Chucky | Pete Peters | 2004-11-12 |
Movie | Evil Never Dies | Professor Arkin | 2003-06-01 |
Movie | Totally Gay! | Self | 2003-08-29 |
Movie | Abby Singer | John Waters (uncredited) | 2003-10-28 |
Movie | The Cockettes | Self | 2002-01-16 |
Movie | Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat | The Reverend | 2002-03-31 |
Movie | Cecil B. Demented | Reporter | 2000-08-02 |
Movie | Divine Trash | Self | 2000-03-31 |
Movie | Forever Hollywood | Self | 1999-01-01 |
Movie | Sweet and Lowdown | Mr. Haynes | 1999-12-03 |
Movie | Chameleon II: Death Match | Henry Kubica | 1999-01-01 |
Movie | The Sugar Factory | Sam Lejeune | 1999-03-04 |
Movie | In Bad Taste | Self | 1999-09-03 |
Movie | Yesterday's Tomorrows | Self | 1999-08-09 |
Movie | Anarchy TV | 1998-01-31 | |
Movie | Pecker | Pervert on Phone (voice) | 1998-09-25 |
Movie | The Real Macaw | Dr. Lance Hagen | 1998-09-24 |
Movie | Welcome to Hollywood | John Waters | 1998-10-01 |
Movie | Anthem | Self | 1997-07-25 |
Movie | Ballyhoo: The Hollywood Sideshow! | 1996-08-13 | |
Movie | Ebbtide | Michael Suresch | 1994-01-01 |
Movie | Serial Mom | Ted Bundy (voice) (uncredited) | 1994-04-13 |
Movie | Singapore Sling | John Stamford | 1994-03-09 |
Movie | Jesus Christ Superstar | Pontius Pilate | 1992-06-06 |
Movie | Which Way Home | Steve Hannah | 1991-01-28 |
Series | All The Rivers Run II | Brenton Edwards | 1990-03-18 |
Movie | Heaven Tonight | Johnny Dysart | 1990-11-12 |
Movie | Homer and Eddie | Robber #1 | 1989-08-17 |
Movie | Way USA! | 1988-01-01 | |
Movie | Hairspray | Dr. Fredrickson | 1988-02-26 |
Movie | Boulevard of Broken Dreams | Tom Garfield | 1988-10-13 |
Movie | Captain Johnno | Frank | 1988-04-17 |
Movie | Grievous Bodily Harm | Morris Martin | 1988-10-26 |
Movie | Passion Flower | Leslie Gaitland | 1987-03-04 |
Movie | Bushfire Moon | Patrick O'Day | 1987-12-10 |
Movie | The Last of the Mohicans | Hawkeye Bumppo (voice) | 1987-07-31 |
Movie | Going Sane | Martin Brown | 1987-07-30 |
Movie | Something Wild | Used Car Guy | 1986-11-07 |
Movie | Divine Waters | Self | 1985-01-01 |
Movie | The Perfectionist | Stuart Gunn | 1985-12-01 |
Movie | The Ballad of Sexual Dependency | 1985-01-01 | |
Movie | High Country | Ben Lomax | 1984-08-29 |
Series | All the Rivers Run | Brenton Edwards | 1983-10-04 |
Movie | Attack Force Z | Ted King | 1982-06-01 |
Movie | Breaker Morant | Cpt. Alfred Taylor | 1980-06-11 |
Movie | Demolition | 1979-06-21 | |
Movie | Weekend of Shadows | Rabbit | 1978-06-28 |
Movie | Cass | Mike | 1978-10-30 |
Movie | The Getting of Wisdom | Rev. Shepherd | 1977-08-25 |
Movie | Summerfield | David Abbott | 1977-09-30 |
Movie | Edith's Shopping Bag | Self | 1976-01-01 |
Movie | The Adventures of Eliza Fraser | David Bracefell | 1976-12-16 |
Movie | End Play | Mark Gifford | 1976-01-01 |
Movie | Love Letter to Edie | Himself | 1975-01-01 |
Series | Rush | Sergeant Robert McKellar | 1974-08-20 |
Movie | Pink Flamingos | Mr. J (voice) (uncredited) | 1972-03-17 |
Movie | Mondo Trasho | Reporter (voice) (uncredited) | 1969-03-14 |