Paul Dawson is an American actor. In the 2006 comedy-drama film '' Shortbus'', written and directed by

John Cameron Mitchell John Cameron Mitchell (born April 21, 1963) 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 (film), Hedwig and t ...

, he played the secretly suicidal former prostitute James.''New York Times'' movie review: Shortbus (Monday, March 23, 2009)
/ref>''TV Guide'' Review: ''Shortbus'' 2006, Movie, NR, 98 mins
/ref>

Career

''Shortbus''

The film ''Shortbus'' is noted for its explicit depiction of sexual activity, 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.''Globe and Mail'', "More sentimental than erotic, Shortbus can't take us all the way" (06/10/06)
/ref> "Dawson's James haunts," said David Ansen of ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', "the bitter taste of his despair feels real;" and a reviewer for ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' said that James and Jamie (played by PJ DeBoy) were perhaps the "most adorable gay couple ever."

Other film credits

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 Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. Known for Kevin Spacey on screen and stage, his work on stage and screen, he List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Spacey, has received numerous accolades, including two ...

and

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him ...

. Also in 2000, Dawson appeared as the Bloodied Man in ''

Urbania Urbania is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region of Marche, located about west of Ancona and about southwest of Pesaro, next to the river Metauro. Urbania borders the following municipalities: ...

'', an independent drama based on the play ''Urban Folk Tales''. ''Urbania'' premiered at the 2000

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

and was seen at a number of

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

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''.IMDb: Paul Dawson
/ref> PJDeBoyPaulDawson

Television credits

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 ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'' episode "

Hate Hatred or hate is an intense negative emotional response towards certain people, things or ideas, usually related to opposition or revulsion toward something. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger, contempt, and disgust. Ha ...

"Mattachine"

Dawson is the graphic designer and a disc jockey for international "Mattachine" dance parties, which he co-founded in New York City in 2008.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Paul American male film actors American male television actors American gay actors Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Radical Faeries members