Joshua John Miller

Infobox actor


caption =
birthname = Joshua John Miller
birthdate = birth date and age|1974|12|26
birthplace = Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
yearsactive = 1982–1991, 1997–2006

Joshua John Miller (born December 26, 1974) is an American actor, screenwriter, novelist, and filmmaker.

Biography

Personal life

Miller was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Irish-American actor and playwright Jason Miller (best know for his role as Father Damien Karras in "The Exorcist"), and Jewish-American actress and Playboy pin-up Susan Bernard (known for her role in Russ Meyer's "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!"). Miller's half-brother is actor Jason Patric, and his maternal grandfather was photographer Bruno Bernard, a.k.a. "Bernard of Hollywood".

Career

Miller started appearing in films and television when he was eight years old. His first film role was in "". He would go on to star in such films as "River's Edge", "Near Dark", "Class of 1999", and "Teen Witch". He 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 and Antioch Universities and studied creative writing at UCLA. 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 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 written articles for "Harper's Bazaar" and "Playboy".

In 1999, "The Mao Game" was adapted into a film, written and directed by Miller, and co-produced by Whoopie Goldberg. The film starred Miller, Kirstie Alley, and Piper Laurie, and featured Miller's mother, Sue Bernard, in a brief, uncredited cameo. The movie toured the festival circuit and garnered mixed reviews from critics, but as of this writing it has not received a wide theatrical release and is not available on VHS or DVD. Laurie won an American Independent Award and a Golden Space Needle Award for her performance in the film.

Miller plans to direct a film based on the short story "Minnow" by Ayelet Waldman. He is also appearing as Jinky in the remake of H.G. Lewis's "Wizard of Gore". His second novel is titled "Ash".

Filmography

* "The Wizard of Gore" (2006)
* "The Mao Game" (1999)
* "And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird" (1991)
* "Death Warrant" (1990)
* "Class of 1999" (1990)
* "Meet the Hollowheads" (1989)
* "Teen Witch" (1989)
* "Near Dark" (1987)
* "River's Edge" (1986)
* "Stoogemania" (1986)
* "The Fantastic World of D.C. Collins" (1984)
* "" (1982)

External links

*imdb name|id=0588679|name=Joshua John Miller
* [http://murmurs.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-49453.html Interview from The Daily Iowan]
* [http://www.freewebs.com/joshuajohnmiller/ Fan Site]