Co-writer, director and star of the 90s cult phenomenon Hedwig and the Angry Inch, John Cameron Mitchell was decades ahead of his time on the subject of gender nonconformity. The Obie Award-winning off-Broadway rock musical, which focused on a genderqueer East German rock musician pursing the ex who plagiarized her songs, was subsequently adapted into a feature film, winning Cameron Mitchell the Best Director award at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. The 2014 Broadway production of Hedwig, starring Neil Patrick Harris and Lena Hall, won four Tony Awards, and Cameron Mitchell was awarded a Special Tony Award for reprising his leading role as Hedwig for a limited run the following year.

The wild success of Hedwig opened the door for Cameron Mitchell to pursue a variety of TV, film and commercial projects. He has directed commercials for the luxury brand Dior featuring megastars Marion Cotillard and Jude Law, as well as music videos for Bright Eyes and Scissor Sisters. In 2006, Cameron Mitchell wrote and directed Shortbus, an erotic comedy-drama which pushed boundaries by containing explicit, non-simulated sex scenes. The film went on to be a multi award-winner at the Athens, Gijon, and Zurich International Film Festivals.

In 2010, Cameron Mitchell directed Rabbit Hole, a critically acclaimed drama starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart, adapted from David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name about a couple dealing with the death of their infant son. Cameron Mitchell has also had recurring character roles on the hit TV shows Girls and Shrill. In 2019, he co-wrote and starred in the original musical podcast series Anthem: Homunculus, with a star-studded cast including Glenn Close, Patti Lupone, Cynthia Erivo, Laurie Anderson and Marion Cotillard.