John Stockwell Samuels IV is an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

and former

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...

. For writing the film ''

Cheaters Cheater or Cheaters may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''The Cheaters'' (1930 film), an Australian silent film * ''Cheaters'' (1934 film), an American film directed by Phil Rosent * ''The Cheaters'' (1945 film), directed by Joseph Ka ...

'', he was nominated for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special This is a list of the winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Winners and nominations 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Total awards by network * HBO/H ...

Early life

Stockwell was born in

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

, the son of Ellen Richards and John S. Samuels III, an attorney. Stockwell's sister is historian

Evelyn Welch Evelyn Kathleen Welch ( née Samuels; born 1959) is an American-English scholar of the Renaissance and Early Modern Period, and Vice Chancellor of the University of Bristol. Prior to her role as Vice Chancellor, Evelyn was the professor of R ...

, and his niece is singer and songwriter

Florence Welch Florence Leontine Mary Welch (born 28 August 1986) is an English singer, the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the indie rock band Florence and the Machine. The band's debut studio album, ''Lungs'' (2009), topped the UK Albums Chart and wo ...

. He attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, and simultaneously began commuting to New York City to appear on episodes of the soap opera ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

''.

Career

He began his career as an international model. During his time as a model, John became a friend of

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

. His first feature film as an actor came with a small role in 1981's '' So Fine''. His well-known roles came in the 1983

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

film ''

Losin' It ''Losin' It'' is a 1983 comedy film directed by Curtis Hanson and starring Tom Cruise, Shelley Long, Jackie Earle Haley, and John Stockwell. The plot concerns four teenagers trying to lose their virginity. ''Losin' It'' was filmed largely in Ca ...

'' as Spider; later that year, he starred in the

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

horror film ''

Christine Christine may refer to: People * Christine (name), a female given name Film * ''Christine'' (1958 film), based on Schnitzler's play ''Liebelei'' * ''Christine'' (1983 film), based on King's novel of the same name * ''Christine'' (1987 fil ...

'' as Dennis Guilder, and the 1985 comedy film, ''

My Science Project ''My Science Project'' is a 1985 American teen science fiction comedy film directed by Jonathan R. Betuel. It followed on heels of other teen sci-fi/comedy films released the same year, such as ''Back to the Future'', ''Real Genius'', and '' Weird ...

'' as Michael Harlan. Also in 1985 he appeared in the poorly received ''

City Limits City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate limi ...

''; though unsuccessful at the box office, the film was later riffed in an episode of ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

''. In 1986, he appeared in ''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired by an a ...

'' as Cougar. He made guest appearances on TV shows including ''

The Young Riders ''The Young Riders'' is an American western television series created by Ed Spielman that presents a fictionalized account of a group of young Pony Express riders (some of whom are young versions of legendary figures in Old West history) based at ...

'' and '' Friday the 13th: The Series''. Stockwell directed several films, including ''

'' (2000), ''

Crazy/Beautiful ''Crazy/Beautiful'' (stylized as ''crazy/beautiful'') is a 2001 American teen romantic drama film starring Kirsten Dunst and Jay Hernandez. It is largely set at Palisades Charter High School and the surrounding area, including Downtown Los Angel ...

'' (2001), ''

Blue Crush ''Blue Crush'' is a 2002 sports film directed by John Stockwell and based on Susan Orlean's 1998 ''Outside'' magazine article "Life's Swell". It stars Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez, Sanoe Lake and Mika Boorem. The film tells the story of t ...

'' (2002), '' Into the Blue'' (2005), ''

Turistas ''Turistas'' (; English: ''Tourists'', released in the United Kingdom and Ireland as ''Paradise Lost'') is a 2006 American horror film produced and directed by John Stockwell and starring Josh Duhamel, Melissa George, Olivia Wilde, Desmond Askew ...

'' (2006), ''Heart'' (2009), the

Gina Carano Gina Joy Carano (born April 16, 1982) is an American actress and former mixed martial artist. She competed in EliteXC and Strikeforce from 2006 to 2009, where she compiled a 7–1 record. Her popularity led to her being called the "face of women ...

star-vehicle ''In the Blood'', and the 2016

Kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...

'' Kickboxer: Vengeance''. Stockwell also wrote the screenplay for the 2001 film '' Rock Star''.

Personal life

Stockwell is married to Helene Henderson, a chef and

caterer Catering is the business of providing food service at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, hospital, pub, aircraft, cruise ship, park, festival, filming location or film studio. History of catering The earliest account of major services be ...

. They have three children.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stockwell, John Male actors from Texas American male film actors American male television actors Living people People from Galveston, Texas Action film directors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male models from Texas American male screenwriters Film directors from Texas Screenwriters from Texas Harvard University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)