John Victor Shea III ( ; born April 14, 1949) is an American actor, film producer, and stage director. His career began on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

where he starred in '' Yentl,'' subsequently winning his first major award, the 1975

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre se ...

. Shortly after his

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

career began,

Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American acting coach and actor. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed ...

invited Shea to join the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen in New York City. The studio is best known for its work refining and teaching method actin ...

where he spent several years studying

method acting Method acting, known as the Method, is a range of rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, understanding, and expe ...

. He made his television film debut in ''

The Nativity The Nativity or birth of Jesus Christ is found in the biblical gospels of Matthew and Luke. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Palestine, in Roman-controlled Judea, that his mother, Mary, was engaged to a man named Jo ...

'' (1978), alongside

Madeleine Stowe Madeleine Stowe (born August 18, 1958) is an American actress. She appeared mostly on television before her role in the 1987 crime-comedy film '' Stakeout''. She went on to star in the films ''Revenge'' (1990), ''Unlawful Entry'' (1992), ''The L ...

. Billed alongside

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

, he starred in the noir film ''

Hussy ''Hussy'' is a 1980 British film directed by Matthew Chapman and starring Helen Mirren, John Shea and Paul Angelis. Plot Beaty is a prostitute working at a London cabaret where Emory is a sound/lighting technician. They begin an affair encu ...

'' (1980) and the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning drama ''

Missing Missing or The Missing may refer to: Film * ''Missing'' (1918 film), an American silent drama directed by James Young * ''Missing'' (1982 film), an American historical drama directed by Costa-Gavras about the 1973 coup in Chile *, a Belgian film ...

'' (1982). In 1988, Shea won his first

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

for his performance as William Stern in ''

Baby M Baby M (born March 27, 1986) was the pseudonym used in the case ''In re Baby M'', 537 A.2d 1227, 109 N.J. 396 (N.J. 1988) for the infant whose legal parentage was in question. Origins ''In re Baby M'' was a custody case that became the first Am ...

''. Shea's subsequent films include the comedy thriller ''Coast to Coast'' (1987), the drama '' Windy City'' (1984), the dark crime feature ''

Small Sacrifices ''Small Sacrifices'' is a 1989 American made-for-television crime drama film written by Joyce Eliason and based on the best-selling true crime book by Ann Rule of the same name. The film is about Diane Downs and the murder and attempted murder ...

'' (1989), the political thriller ''

The Insurgents ''The Insurgents'' is the feature film debut of director Scott Dacko. It stars Mary Stuart Masterson, John Shea, Henry Simmons Henry Oswald Simmons (born July 1, 1970) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Alphonso "Mack" M ...

'' (2006), the Tamil language thriller ''

Achchamundu! Achchamundu! ''Achchamundu! Achchamundu!'' ( There is fear! There is fear!) is a 2009 Indian-American Tamil language social thriller directed by Arun Vaidyanathan, starring Prasanna, Emmy Award–winning American actor John Shea and Sneha. It is the fi ...

'' (2009), the drama ''

An Invisible Sign ''An Invisible Sign'' is a 2010 American drama film directed by Marilyn Agrelo and starring Jessica Alba, Chris Messina, John Shea and J. K. Simmons. Based on the 2001 novel ''An Invisible Sign of My Own'' by Aimee Bender, the film is about a p ...

'' (2010), and the Finnish film ''

The Italian Key ''The Italian Key'' is a 2011 film directed and written by Rosa Karo. The film follows the story of Cabella, a 19-year-old orphan girl, who travels to Italy after she has inherited an old key from her unrelated Uncle Max. Plot Upon receiving a ...

'' (2011). His breakthrough came when he was cast as

Lex Luthor Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor () is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (published on February 22, 1940, with a cover d ...

in the 1990s TV series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', subsequently being cast as Adam Kane in the 2000s '' Mutant X'' series. Shea's public profile increased in 2012 after his five-year role as Harold Waldorf,

Blair Waldorf Blair Cornelia Waldorf (married name Bass) is one of the main characters of ''Gossip Girl'', introduced in the original series of novels and also appearing as the lead in the television adaptation; she also appears in the comic adaptation. Describ ...

's father on ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...

''. Shea has been noted for his political involvement in

social equity Social equity is concerned with justice and Social justice, fairness of social policy based on the principle of substantive equality. Since the 1960s, the concept of social equity has been used in a variety of institutional contexts, including ed ...

, which in 1984 led him to organize the largest peace rally in the history of the United States, garnering praise by various non-governmental organizations such as

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

. In 2014, Shea announced his directorial debut with '' Grey Lady'', released in mid-2017.

Early life

Shea was born in

North Conway, New Hampshire North Conway is a census-designated place (CDP) and village in eastern Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,116 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, North Conway is the second-largest village within the tow ...

, near where his father was teaching at

Fryeburg Academy Fryeburg Academy is a private secondary school located in Fryeburg, Maine. The academy was founded in 1792, making it the oldest high school in Maine and one of the oldest private schools in the United States. Daniel Webster was one of the fir ...

, Maine, and was raised in the Sixteen Acres area of

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, with four siblings. His parents were Elizabeth Mary (née Fuller) and Dr. John Victor Shea, Jr., who served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

during World War II, fighting in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

, and who became a teacher, coach and later assistant Superintendent of Schools. Elizabeth Shea introduced John to literature, poetry, classical music, and art and urged him to study the piano.

Education

Shea attended Roman Catholic schools in Springfield, graduating from Cathedral High School, where he captained the varsity debate team and played varsity football and track. Shea studied at

Bates College Bates College () is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian ...

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ) is the List of municipalities in Maine, second most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine, with the city's population at 37,121 as of the 2020 United States census. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, Augusta, the sta ...

, where he earned a bachelor's degree in theatre. He performed on the varsity debating and football teams and co-edited the college literary magazine, ''

Puffed Wheat Puffed grains are grains that have been expanded ("puffed") through processing. They have been made for centuries with the simplest methods like popping popcorn. Modern puffed grains are often created using high temperature, pressure, or extrus ...

'', before graduating in 1970. He studied acting and directing at the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

under Dean

Robert Brustein Robert Sanford Brustein (April 21, 1927 – October 29, 2023) was an American theatrical critic, producer, playwright, writer, and educator. He founded the Yale Repertory Theatre while serving as dean of the Yale School of Drama in New Haven, ...

, gaining an M.F.A in Directing in 1973. During his time at the School of Drama, he also performed at the

Yale Repertory Theatre Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of Yale School of Drama, in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented stud ...

, in the Yale cabaret with schoolmates

Joe Grifasi Joseph G. Grifasi (born June 14, 1944) is an American character actor of film, stage and television. Early life and education Grifasi was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Patricia (née Gaglione) and Joseph J. Grifasi, a skilled laborer. Gri ...

and

Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...

, and studied film making with

Arthur Penn Arthur Hiller Penn (September 27, 1922 – September 28, 2010) was an American filmmaker, theatre director, and producer. He was a three-time Academy Award nominee for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director, and a Tony Awards, Tony Awa ...

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York City, New York dramas w ...

, and

George Roy Hill George Roy Hill (December 20, 1921 – December 27, 2002) was an American actor and film director. His films include ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969) and ''The Sting'' (1973), both starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford; both fil ...

in the film program at the Art and Architecture School.

Career

Early work and film debut

After a directing apprenticeship at both the

Chelsea Theatre Chelsea Theatre is an independent studio theatre located on the Kings Road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both E ...

under

Robert Kalfin Robert Zangwill Kalfin (April 22, 1933 – September 20, 2022) was an American stage director and producer who has worked on and off Broadway and at regional theaters throughout the country. He was a former artistic director of the Cincinnati Pl ...

and the

Public Theater The Public Theater is an arts organization in New York City. Founded by Joseph Papp, The Public Theater was originally the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954; its mission was to support emerging playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: A ...

with

Joseph Papp Joseph Papp (born Joseph Papirofsky; June 22, 1921 – October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp is a pioneering figure in American theater, known for creating Shakespeare in the Park, which aimed to make classi ...

, he made his

debut at the age of 26 in Kalfin's production of Isaac B. Singer's '' Yentl'' opposite

Tovah Feldshuh Terri Sue "Tovah" Feldshuh (born December 27, 1948) is an American actress, singer, and playwright. She has been a Broadway star for fifty years, earning four Tony Award nominations. She has also received two Emmy Award nominations for ''Holoca ...

, for which he received the

. ''Yentl'' started Off Broadway at the Chelsea Theatre Center at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and, after a favorable reception, was moved to the

Eugene O'Neill Theatre The Eugene O'Neill Theatre, previously the Forrest Theatre and the Coronet Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 230 West 49th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. The theater was designed by Her ...

by producer and Actors Studio co-founder,

Cheryl Crawford Cheryl Crawford (September 24, 1902 – October 7, 1986) was an American theatre producer and director. Biography Born in Akron, Ohio, Crawford majored in drama at Smith College. Following graduation in 1925, she moved to New York City a ...

, and was later made into a film starring

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

. After seeing his performance

invited Shea to join the

where he spent several years studying

. Since his Broadway debut in the mid 1970s, Shea has continued to work in

and Broadway theatre productions, starring in

Arthur Kopit Arthur Lee Kopit (; May 10, 1937 – April 2, 2021) was an American playwright. He was a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist for ''Indians (play), Indians'' and ''Wings (play), Wings''. He was also nominated for three Tony Awards: Best Play for ...

's ''End of the World'' starring with

Linda Hunt Linda Hunt (born Lydia Susanna Hunt; April 2, 1945) is an American actress. She made her film debut playing Mrs. Oxheart in Popeye (film), ''Popeye'' (1980). Her portrayal of the male character Billy Kwan in ''The Year of Living Dangerously (fil ...

and

Barnard Hughes Bernard “Barnard” Aloysius Kiernan Hughes (July 16, 1915 – July 11, 2006) was an American TV, theater, and film actor. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles: his most notable came after middle age, and he was often cast as a dith ...

. In 1977, during his first trip to Los Angeles to get experience in front of a camera, he played guest roles in such TV series as ''

Eight Is Enough ''Eight Is Enough'' is an American comedy-drama/sitcom television series that aired on ABC from March 15, 1977, to May 23, 1981. The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, a real-life parent with eight childre ...

'' and ''

Man from Atlantis ''Man from Atlantis'' is an American Superhero fiction, superhero television series that ran on the NBC network from 1977–78. It began as four TV movies that aired in Spring 1977. The movies achieved high ratings which led to the commissioning ...

'', and co-starred in ''The Last Convertible'', a miniseries for Universal.

Early career: 1978–1982

He made his television film debut as Joseph in ''

'' (1978) opposite

as Mary, a biblical epic shot in Spain. His feature film debut came in Matthew Chapman's English film noir ''

'' (1980), opposite

. His American film debut was in Constantin Costa-Gavras's

-winning ''

'' (1982), which starred

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, he was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in comedy-drama films. He received num ...

and

Sissy Spacek Mary Elizabeth "Sissy" Spacek (; born December 25, 1949) is an American actress and singer. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Sissy Spacek, numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including ...

. The film, shot on locations in Mexico, also won the

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

at the

1982 Cannes Film Festival The 35th Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 26 May 1982. Italian opera and theatre director Giorgio Strehler served as jury president for the main competition. The Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, was jointly awarded to '' Missing' ...

and helped launch Shea's international acting career. During the early 1980s, Shea was asked to join the billed cast of

Paula Vogel Paula Vogel (born November 16, 1951) is an American playwright. She is known for her provocative explorations of complex social and political issues. Much of her work delves into themes of psychological trauma, abuse, and the complexities of hum ...

's Pulitzer Prize winning ''

How I Learned to Drive ''How I Learned to Drive'' is a play written by American playwright Paula Vogel. The play premiered on March 16, 1997, Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre. Vogel received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the work. It was written and devel ...

'' along with

Molly Ringwald Molly Kathleen Ringwald (born February 18, 1968) is an American actress, writer, and translator. She began her career as a child actress on the sitcoms ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and '' The Facts of Life'' (both 1979–1980) before being nominated for ...

as well as the following:

Anne Meara Anne Meara (September 20, 1929 – May 23, 2015) was an American comedian and actress. Along with her husband Jerry Stiller, she was one-half of the prominent 1960s comedy team Stiller and Meara. Their son is actor, director, and producer Ben S ...

's ''Down the Garden Paths'',

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

's ''

Long Day's Journey Into Night ''Long Day's Journey into Night'' is a play in four acts written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939–1941 and first published posthumously in 1956. It is widely regarded as his magnum opus and one of the great American plays of the ...

,'' the original production of

A. R. Gurney Albert Ramsdell Gurney Jr. (November 1, 1930 – June 13, 2017) (sometimes credited as Pete Gurney) was an American playwright, novelist and academic. Gurney is known for plays including ''The Dining Room'' (1982), '' Sweet Sue'' (1986/7), '' T ...

's ''The Dining Room,''

Peter Parnell Peter Parnell (; born 1953) is an American Broadway and Off-Broadway playwright, television writer, and children's book author. Parnell is also Vice-President of the Dramatists Guild of America, the professional association of playwrights, compo ...

's ''The Sorrows of Stephen'',

Stephen Poliakoff Stephen Poliakoff (born 1 December 1952) is a British playwright, Film director, director and screenwriter. In 2006 Gerard Gilbert of ''The Independent'' described him as the UK's "pre-eminent TV dramatist" and that he had "inherited Dennis Po ...

's ''American Days'',

Theodore Mann Theodore Mann, birth name Goldman, (May 13, 1924 – February 24, 2012) was an American theatre producer and director and the Artistic Director of the Circle in the Square Theatre School. Mann co-founded Circle in the Square Theatre, widely r ...

's production of ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'',

Philip Barry Philip Jerome Quinn Barry (June 18, 1896 – December 3, 1949) was an American dramatist best known for his plays ''Holiday'' (1928) and '' The Philadelphia Story'' (1939), which were both made into films starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Gran ...

's ''The Animal Kingdom'' opposite

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra ( ; born October 8, 1949), better known by her stage name Sigourney Weaver, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the late 1970s, she is known for her pioneering portrayals of action heroines in Blockbuster (entertainme ...

. Shea went on to be cast in the title role in Nancy Hasty's ''The Director'', and, later, in

Israel Horovitz Israel Horovitz (March 31, 1939 – November 9, 2020) was an American playwright, director, actor and co-founder of the Gloucester Stage Company in 1979. He served as artistic director until 2006 and later served on the board, ex officio and ...

's ''The Secret of Madame Bonnard's Bath''. In 1983, Shea co-starred as

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also known as RFK, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New Yo ...

in the critically acclaimed NBC miniseries ''

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * Kennedy (surname), including any of several people with that surname ** Kennedy family, a prominent American political family that includes: *** Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (1888–1969), American businessman, investor, ...

'', alongside

Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

and

Blair Brown Bonnie Blair Brown (born April 23, 1946) is an American theater, film and television actress. She has had a number of high-profile roles, including in the play ''Copenhagen'' on Broadway (for which she won a Tony Award in 2000), the leading ...

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...

Breakthrough roles: 1984–2004

In 1984 Shea starred in Armyan Bernstein's '' Windy City'' along with

Kate Capshaw Kathleen Sue Spielberg (''née'' Nail; born November 3, 1953), known professionally as Kate Capshaw, is an American former actress and painter. She is best known for her portrayal of Willie Scott, an American nightclub singer and performer in '' ...

. He won the "Best Actor" award at the

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019. In 1982, he co-hosted, with

Kathryn Walker Kathryn Walker is an American theater, television and film actress. Early life Walker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wells College in Aurora, New York, and was a Fulbright Scholar in music and dra ...

, the June 12th Anti-Nuclear Rally in Central Park, the largest peace rally in the history of the United States. This rally was the subject of the 1984 documentary film ''In Our Hands'' by Robert Richer and Stan Warnow, in which Shea made a cameo appearance. Shea made his

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

debut playing "The Soldier" in

Tom O'Horgan Tom O'Horgan (May 3, 1924 – January 11, 2009) was an American theater and film director, composer, actor and musician. He is best known for his Broadway work as director of the hit musicals ''Hair'' and ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. During his c ...

's 1985 production of

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

's ''

L'Histoire du Soldat ', or ''Tale of the Soldier'' (as it was first published), is an hour-long 1918 theatrical work to be "read, played and danced ''()''" by three actors, one or more dancers, and a septet of instruments. Its music is by Igor Stravinsky, its libret ...

'', with

Pinchas Zukerman Pinchas Zukerman (; born 16 July 1948) is an Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor. Life and career Zukerman was born in Tel Aviv, to Jewish parents and Holocaust survivors Yehuda and Miriam Lieberman Zukerman. He began his musica ...

and Andre de Shields. That year, he also starred in a French language speaking role in Lune de miel. In 1986, he made his London West End debut starring in

's production of

Larry Kramer Laurence David Kramer (June 25, 1935May 27, 2020) was an American playwright, author, film producer, public health advocate, and gay rights activist. He began his career rewriting scripts while working for Columbia Pictures, which led him to Lo ...

's drama ''

The Normal Heart ''The Normal Heart'' is a largely autobiographical play by Larry Kramer. It focuses on the rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City between 1981 and 1984, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks, the gay founder of a promi ...

'' at the

Albery Theatre Albery is a name. It may refer to: Given name * Albery Allson Whitman (1851−1901), African American poet, minister and orator Surname * A. S. Albery, British politician * Bronson Albery (1881−1971), English theatre director and impresario * Do ...

. In 1987

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

contracted a network miniseries titled ''

'', in which Shea was cast. His portrayal of William "Bill" Stern received critical acclaim and resulted in him being nominated and winning his first

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for Supporting Drama Actor. He starred in ''

'' alongside

Farrah Fawcett Farrah Fawcett (born Ferrah Leni Fawcett; February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009) was an American actress. A four-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee and six-time Golden Globe Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she played a ...

in 1989. In Grant Tinker's 1990 CBS series '' WIOU'', written by John Eisendrath and Kathryn Pratt, Shea led an ensemble cast briefly before the show's cancellation. In 1993, Shea was cast as

in the television show, '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. His portrayal of the DC Comics supervillain received positive reviews, but he left after the first season occasionally returning in later seasons in a guest role. Shea said of the role:

This villain is written as a human being, and not just a one dimensional comic villain or a two dimensional comic villain, the way he might have been portrayed in the comic books or even other films. I thought
Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (January 30, 1930 – ) was an American actor. Hackman made his credited film debut in the drama ''Lilith (film), Lilith'' (1964). He later won two Academy Awards, his first for Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Actor for ...
was brilliant, but it was a different kind of comic villain.

His starring run of the series ended on an enjoyable note for Shea; the series finale includes a virtual reality sequence in which Luthor flies over Metropolis in a modified Superman costume. Shea recalled, "One day I read the script and I thought, 'Oh my God! I'm really going to get to do this?' And they said yes. You're going to get to fly. ... They just took me out on this boom and they flew me back and forth across the

green screen Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two or more images or video streams together based on colour hues ( chroma range). The technique has been used in many fie ...

. And they had wind machines blowing and smoke machines, and, oh my God, I felt like I was reborn." After leaving ''Lois & Clark'', Shea starred in a new X-Men inspired series, '' Mutant X'', where he was cast as Adam Kane. The show aired for three seasons before being cancelled. In 1998 Shea co-wrote and directed the independent film '' Southie'', starring

Donnie Wahlberg Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr. (born August 17, 1969) is an American singer, actor and producer. He is a founding member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. Outside music, he has starred in the TV drama series ''Blue Bloods (TV series), Blue Bloo ...

Rose McGowan Rósa Arianna McGowan (born September 5, 1973) is an American actress and activist. After her film debut in a brief role in the comedy ''Encino Man'' (1992), she achieved recognition for her performance in the dark comedy ''The Doom Generation' ...

Amanda Peet Amanda Peet (born January 11, 1972) is an American actress. She began her career with small parts on television before making her feature film debut in ''Animal Room'' (1995). Her portrayal of Jill St. Claire in ''The Whole Nine Yards (film), Th ...

Will Arnett William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian and American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix sitcom '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and the titular ch ...

and

Lawrence Tierney Lawrence James Tierney (March 15, 1919 – February 26, 2002) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his many screen portrayals of mobsters and "tough guys" in a career that spanned over fifty years. His roles mirrored ...

. The film won the

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is a film festival held annually in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 1976. It usually takes place in late May and/or early June. It is one of the largest festivals in the world, and feature ...

award for Best Film, represented the United States at the Montreal International Festival, and was distributed by Lions Gate Films. Shea appeared on ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO, based on Sex and the City (newspaper column), the newspaper column and 1996 book by Candace Bushnell. It premiered in th ...

'' as Dominic a month later. He also starred in the independent film ''

The Adventures of Sebastian Cole ''The Adventures of Sebastian Cole'' is a 1998 American comedy drama film written and directed by Tod Williams and starring Adrian Grenier as the title character. Plot In June 1983 in Dutchess County, New York, Sebastian Cole's stepmother, who ...

''. Shea was contracted later that year to be a reader on

Selected Shorts Selected Shorts is an event at New York's Symphony Space on the Upper West Side, in which screen and stage actors read classic and new short fiction before a live audience. The stage show began in 1985 and continues today at Symphony Space's Pete ...

for

Symphony Space Symphony Space, founded by Isaiah Sheffer and Allan Miller, is a multi-disciplinary performing arts organization at 2537 Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Performances take place in the 760-seat Peter Jay Sharp Theat ...

, broadcast nationwide on

Public Radio International Public Radio International (PRI) was an American public radio organization. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI provided programming to over 850 public radio stations in the United States. PRI was one of the main providers of programmi ...

. His reading of

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics ...

's "

A Christmas Memory "A Christmas Memory" is a short story by Truman Capote. Originally published in '' Mademoiselle'' magazine in December 1956, it was reprinted in ''The Selected Writings of Truman Capote'' in 1963. It was issued in a stand-alone hardcover edition ...

" won ''AudioFile Magazine''s Earphones Award in 1999, as part of the anthology ''Selected Shorts: Classic Tales, Vol. XII''.

Mainstream success: 2005–2012

In 2005 he was cast as Trevor Lipton in '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent.'' When casting for ''

'' began in 2007, Shea was asked to join the recurring cast as Harold Waldorf,

's father. His portrayal of the character garnered him increased name recognition among

millennials Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s a ...

and contributed to his presence in American meme and popular culture. He was cast in

Scott Dacko Scott Dacko is the screenwriter and director of The Insurgents, starring Mary Stuart Masterson, John Shea, Henry Simmons, Juliette Marquis and Michael Mosley. Winner of the German Independence Audience Award for Best Picture for The Insurgents at ...

's 2006 political thriller ''

'' with

Mary Stuart Masterson Mary Stuart Masterson (born June 28, 1966) is an American actress and director. After making her acting debut as a Child actor, child in The Stepford Wives (1975 film), ''The Stepford Wives'' (1975), Masterson took a ten-year hiatus to focus on ...

. Later in 2009 he was cast as Cary Ago's father, Jeffery, a recurring character on ''

The Good Wife ''The Good Wife'' is an American legal political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in law ...

.'' He made his debut into

Indian cinema The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...

with the 2009

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

drama ''

'', directed by Indo-American film director

Arun Vaidyanathan Arun Vaidyanathan is an Indian-American film director who works predominantly in Tamil-language films. He directed his first full-length feature film in Tamil, ''Achchamundu! Achchamundu!'', which released in July 2009. He produced a Tamil ro ...

, becoming the first American actor to work in a Tamil film. The film garnered widespread praise and critical acclaim. Shea voiced the central character Sylvain in the English dub of the animated feature film '' Gandahar''. He was cast in the 2010 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

'' with

Jessica Alba Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her acting career at age 13 in ''Camp Nowhere'', followed up by ''The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (both 1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 as ...

Continued work: 2012–present

Shea was cast alongside

Lea Thompson Lea Katherine Thompson (born May 31, 1961) is an American actress, singer, dancer and director. She is best known for her roles as Lorraine Baines-McFly in the ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy (1985–1990), Beverly Switzler in ''Howard t ...

in the 2012 romantic comedy '' The Trouble With the Truth''. In the summer of 2013 he directed a 40th anniversary production of

Edward Gorey Edward St. John Gorey (February 22, 1925 – April 15, 2000) was an Americans, American writer, Tony Awards, Tony Award-winning costume designer, and artist, noted for his own illustrated books as well as cover art and illustration for book ...

's ''Dracula''. At the start of 2014, Shea appeared in '' Madam Secretary'' as Ted Graham. Later that year, he wrote and directed '' Grey Lady'', a romantic thriller set on Nantucket, starring

Eric Dane Eric William Dane (born November 9, 1972) is an American actor. After multiple television roles in the 1990s and 2000s, which included his recurring role as Jason Dean in ''Charmed'', Dane was cast as Mark Sloan (Grey's Anatomy), Mark Sloan on ' ...

Natalie Zea Natalie Zea (born March 17, 1975) is an American actress known for her performances on television. Zea began her acting career in theatre. Her first major role was on the NBC daytime soap opera ''Passions'' (2000–2002), where she played the ro ...

Adrian Lester Adrian Anthony Lester (born Anthony Harvey on 14 August 1968) is a British actor. He is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his work on the London stage, an ...

, Carolyn Stotesbury, Chris Meyer, and

Amy Madigan Amy Marie Madigan (born September 11, 1950) is an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1985 film ''Twice in a Lifetime (film), Twice in a Lifetime''. Her other film credits include ''Love ...

. The independent film, produced by

Beacon Pictures Beacon Communications, LLC, commonly referred to as Beacon Pictures, is an American film and television production and international sales company founded in 1990 by Armyan Bernstein, who is also its chairman. The company produces motion pictur ...

and shot by

Andrzej Bartkowiak Andrzej Bartkowiak, (born 6 March 1950) is a Polish people, Polish cinematographer and film director based in the United States. He became known in the 1980s for his partnership with director Sidney Lumet, shooting 11 of his films between 1981 ...

, had its first charity screening in August 2015. It was released on DVD and various streaming services in the summer of 2017. In 2015, Shea joined the cast of '' Agent X'' as Thomas Eckhart. It was announced that Shea would play Dr. Marcus Eldridge in a 2016 episode of ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

''.

Personal life

Shea has been married twice. He and his first wife, photographer Laura Pettibone, had one child together, Jake. He and his current wife, the artist Melissa MacLeod, a co-founder of the cooperative (X) Gallery on Nantucket, have two children, Miranda and Caiden. Shea is the Artistic Director Emeritus of the Theatre Workshop of

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, about south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck Island, Tuckernuck and Muskeget Island, Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and Co ...

, where he helped produce 40 productions.

Filmography

According to

IMDB IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

, Shea has been in a total of 81 movies as an actor, has written, and directed two

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

s that have turned into film ( ''Grey Lady'' and ''Southie''), and has served as an associate producer on ''

'' as well as an executive producer on his directorial debut, ''Grey Lady.''

Film

Television

Theater

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
John Shea
at the Internet Off-Broadway Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Shea, John People from Carroll County, New Hampshire 1949 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from New Hampshire American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male voice actors Living people Method actors Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners Bates College alumni Yale University alumni David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni