John Waters
Known for Directing · 188 credits
- Born
- 1946-04-22 (age 80)
- Place of birth
- Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Also known as
- John S. Waters · جان واترز
Biography
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
TV Shows (51)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999
as Pornmonger Man
The Simpsons
1989
as John (voice)
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009
as Self - Guest
The Daily Show
1996
as Self - Guest
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
as Self - Guest
Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014
as Self - Guest
The Blacklist
2013
as John Waters
Late Show with David Letterman
1993
as Self - Guest
The Graham Norton Show
2007
as Self - Guest
Real Time with Bill Maher
2003
as Self - Guest
Saturday Night Live
1975
as Self - Cameo (uncredited)
The Colbert Report
2005
as Self - Guest
Frasier
1993
as Roger (voice)
The View
1997
as Self
RuPaul's Drag Race
2009
as Self - Guest Judge / Self - Special Guest
21 Jump Street
1987
as Mr. Bean
Late Night with David Letterman
1982
as Self - Guest
My Name Is Earl
2005
as Walter Hamerick
Homicide: Life on the Street
1993
as R. Vincent Smith
Clarence
2014
as Captain Tom (voice)
Tony Awards
1956
as Self - Presenter
Chucky
2021
as Wendell Wilkins
Fish Hooks
2010
as The Yeti Lobster (voice) / Ezekiel Freshwater / Hair Man (voice)
Finding Your Roots
2012
as Self
Search Party
2016
as Sheffield
Explained
2018
as Narrator (voice)
Helluva Boss
2020
as Rolando (voice)
FEUD
2017
as William Castle
HBO First Look
1992
Everybody's Live with John Mulaney
2025
as Self - Writer and Film Director
Eurotrash
1993
Digman!
2023
as Magnus (voice)
Offspring
2010
So Graham Norton
1998
as Self - Guest
Indie Sex
2007
as Self
Kevin
2026
as Armando (voice)
The Henry Rollins Show
2006
Pride
2021
as Self
The Incredibly Strange Film Show
1988
as Self
Liverspots and Astronots
2018
as O-Dor
HitRECord on TV with Joseph Gordon-Levitt
2014
as Self
RuPaul Drives...
2013
as Self - Guest
Charles Band’s Full Moon Freakshow
2022
Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All Time
2020
as Self - Host
The Andy Warhol Diaries
2022
as Self
E! True Hollywood Story
1996
I Love the '70s: Volume 2
2006
as Self
The Roseanne Show
1998
as Self - Guest
Family Album
1994
as Vincent
The New Yorker Presents
2016
as Self
'Til Death Do Us Part
2007
Movies (137)
Seed of Chucky
2004
as Pete Peters
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip
2015
as First Class Passenger
Pink Flamingos
1976
as Mr. J (narration) (uncredited)
Hairspray
2007
as Flasher
Thinking XXX
2004
as Self
Serial Mom
1994
as Ted Bundy (voice) (uncredited)
Inside Deep Throat
2005
as Self
Excision
2012
as William
Hairspray
1988
as Dr. Fredrickson
Jackass Number Two
2006
as Self
Pecker
1998
as Pervert on Phone (voice) (uncredited)
Something Wild
1986
as Used Car Guy
Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema
2006
as Self
Welcome to Hollywood
2000
as John Waters
Tab Hunter Confidential
2015
as Self
Crime and Beauty: Making ‘Female Trouble’
2018
Sweet and Lowdown
1999
as Mr. Haynes
Suburban Gothic
2014
as Cornelius
Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness
2020
as Host
The Velvet Underground
2021
as Self
The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special - In 3D! On Ice!
2010
as Self
Anarchy TV
1998
Sarah Squirm: Live + in the Flesh
2025
as Stage Manager
Time Warp Vol. 2: Horror and Sci-Fi
2020
as Host
Yesterday's Tomorrows
1999
as Self
Doc of Chucky
2024
as Self
Forever Hollywood
1999
as Self
Blank City
2011
as Self
Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story
2015
as Self
Homer and Eddie
1989
as Robber #1
Mansfield 66/67
2017
as Self
Lynch/Oz
2023
as Host (Chapter 3: 'Kindred') (voice)
Cecil B. Demented
2000
as Reporter
These Amazing Shadows
2011
as Self
Time Warp Vol. 3: Comedy and Camp
2020
as Host
Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn
2019
as Self
I Am Divine
2014
as Self
This Film Is Not Yet Rated
2006
as Self - Director of 'A Dirty Shame'
Living with Chucky
2022
as Self
Abby Singer
2003
as John Waters (uncredited)
Frankenstein: A Modern Myth
2012
as Self - Director
Starz Inside: In the Gutter
2008
as Self
This Filthy World
2006
as Self
Mansome
2012
as Self
Beautiful Darling
2010
as Self
Treasures Untold: The Making of Disney's 'The Little Mermaid'
2006
as Self
The Cockettes
2002
as Self
The Last Impresario
2014
as Self
Mangus!
2011
as Jesus Christ
30/30 Vision: Three Decades of Strand Releasing
2019
as Self
TURA!
2025
as Self
Scala!!!
2024
as Self
Mary Woronov: Cult Queen
as Self
In Bad Taste
1999
as Self
Mondo Trasho
1969
as Reporter (voice) (uncredited)
Anthem
1997
as Self
Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution
2017
as Self
A History of Sex
2003
as Self
Tell Me Iggy
2022
as Self
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
2006
as Self
The Sarnos: A Life in Dirty Movies
2013
as Self
365 Day Project
2007
as Self
Little Richard: I Am Everything
2023
as Self
Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story
2007
as Self
It Came from Kuchar
2009
as Self
Ballyhoo: The Hollywood Sideshow!
1996
Here’s Looking at You, Boy
2007
as Self
The Advocate for Fagdom
2011
as Self
Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat
2002
as The Reverend
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream
2006
as Self
At the Video Store
2019
as Self
It's Dorothy!
2025
as Self
For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism
2009
as Self
Joel Calls Indie Film Type Dudes
2020
Divine Trash
2000
as Self
Don't Fall in Love with Yourself
2022
as Self (Archival)
Mamie Exposed! The Life and Loves of the Last Blonde Bombshell
The 1000 Eyes of Dr Maddin
2015
Paul Bowles: The Cage Door Is Always Open
2013
as Self
Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore
2010
Whatever Happened to Gelitin
2016
as Self
William S. Burroughs: A Man Within
2010
as Self
The Book of Harth
2022
as Self
Sympathy for the Devil: The True Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment
2015
as Self
It Came from... Baltimore!!
2005
as Self
The Ballad of Sexual Dependency
1985
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis
2007
as Self
The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players: Off & On Broadway
2006
as Self
Fragments of Paradise
2022
as Self
Sylvester: Mighty Real
2002
as Self
As Time Goes By
2024
The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels
2008
as Narrator
The Junior Defenders
2007
as Narrator
Blood, Guts and Sunshine: The History of Horror Made in Florida
2021
as Self [archival]
A Summer with Joe, Liz and Richard
2025
as Self
Obscene: A Portrait of Barney Rosset and Grove Press
2008
as Self
Mugworth
2018
as Sir Butler
All the Dirt on 'A Dirty Shame'
2005
as Self
Jingle Bell Rocks!
2013
as Self
Divine Waters
1985
as Self
The Brandon Novak Story
as Self
New Line Cinema: The First Generation and the Next Generation
2008
as Self
Each Time I Kill
2007
as Movie Watcher
Love Letter to Edie
1975
as Self
In Conversation With Director John Waters, Actress Kathleen Turner and Actress Mink Stole
2016
as Self
Memories of Oz
2001
as Self
That Man: Peter Berlin
2006
as Self
Mommie Dearest: Joan Lives On
2006
Sniffing Out ‘Polyester’
2019
as Self
Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea
2006
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story
2000
as Self
Sickies Making Films
2018
as Self
The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo
2020
as Himself
Baltigore
as The Broker
God Save the Queens
1995
(buz'be bur'kle) n. A Study in Style
2006
as Self
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World
2026
as Self
Wall Writers
2016
as Narrator (voice)
Edith's Shopping Bag
1976
as Self
Jessica the Hippo
2007
as Narrator (Voice)
About 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. Dement… With 188 credits spanning from 1956 to 2026, John Waters has appeared in 137 films and 51 TV shows.
Fans searching for John Waters movies, John Waters filmography, or the latest projects starring John Waters can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular John Waters Movies
- Seed of Chucky (2004) — as Pete Peters
- Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (2015) — as First Class Passenger
- Pink Flamingos (1976) — as Mr. J (narration) (uncredited)
- Hairspray (2007) — as Flasher
- Thinking XXX (2004) — as Self
Where to Watch John Waters Films
Most John Waters movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring John Waters, check our movies catalogue and browse page.