Seed of Chucky2004
As Pete Peters
TMDb 5.5 / 10
John Waters
Born
John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including Multiple Maniacs (1970), Pink Flamingos (1972) and Female Trouble (1974). Waters wrote and directed the comedy film Hairspray (1988), which was later adapted into a hit Broadway musical and a 2007 musical film. Other films he has written and directed include Desperate Living (1977), Polyester (1981), Cry-Baby (1990), Serial Mom (1994), Pecker (1998), and Cecil B. Demented (2000). His films contain elements of post-modern comedy and surrealism. As an actor, Waters has appeared in Sweet and Lowdown (1999), 'Til Death Do Us Part (2007), Mangus! (2011), Excision (2012), Suburban Gothic (2014), and has appeared in the Child's Play franchise with Seed of Chucky (2004) and third season of the television series Chucky (2024). He hosted and produced the television series John Waters Presents Movies That Will Corrupt You (2006). Throughout his career, Waters has often collaborated with actor and drag queen Divine and his regular cast of the Dreamlanders. More recently, he performs in his touring one-man show This Filthy World. Waters also works as a visual artist and across different media, such as installations, photography, and sculpture. The audiobooks he narrated for his books Carsick and Mr. Know-It-All were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album in 2015 and 2020, respectively. In 2018, Waters was named an officer of the Order of Arts and Letters in France. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023.
Filmography (140)
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip2015
As First Class Passenger
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Hairspray2007
As Flasher
TMDb 6.7 / 10
Pink Flamingos1972
As Mr. J (narration) (uncredited)
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Something Wild1986
As Used Car Guy
TMDb 6.6 / 10
Hairspray1988
As Dr. Fredrickson
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Jackass Number Two2006
As Self
TMDb 6.6 / 10
Sweet and Lowdown1999
As Mr. Haynes
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Serial Mom1994
As Ted Bundy (voice) (uncredited)
TMDb 6.7 / 10
Inside Deep Throat2005
As Self
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Wall Writers2016
As Narrator (voice)
TMDb 6.2 / 10
Excision2012
As William
TMDb 6.2 / 10
Cecil B. Demented2000
As Reporter
TMDb 6.4 / 10
Thinking XXX2004
As Self
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Forever Hollywood1999
As Self
TMDb 8.3 / 10
Pecker1998
As Pervert on Phone (voice) (uncredited)
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Sarah Squirm: Live + in the Flesh2025
As Stage Manager
TMDb 5.1 / 10
Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story2015
As Self
TMDb 5.7 / 10
I Am Divine2014
As Self
TMDb 7.3 / 10
Welcome to Hollywood2000
As John Waters
TMDb 4.2 / 10
Tab Hunter Confidential2015
As Self
TMDb 7.3 / 10
Tell Me Iggy2022
As Self
TMDb 6.0 / 10
This Film Is Not Yet Rated2006
As Self - Director of 'A Dirty Shame'
TMDb 7.1 / 10
Little Richard: I Am Everything2023
As Self
TMDb 6.6 / 10
Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema2006
As Self
TMDb 5.4 / 10
The Velvet Underground2021
As Self
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World2026
As Self
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Homer and Eddie1989
As Robber #1
TMDb 5.6 / 10
Doc of Chucky2024
As Self
TMDb 7.8 / 10
A History of Sex2003
As Self
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Lynch/Oz2023
As Host (Chapter 3: 'Kindred') (voice)
TMDb 6.9 / 10
These Amazing Shadows2011
As Self
TMDb 7.4 / 10
The Cockettes2002
As Self
TMDb 6.9 / 10
Yesterday's Tomorrows1999
As Self
TMDb 8.5 / 10
The Ballad of Sexual Dependency1985
Frankenstein: A Modern Myth2012
As Self - Director
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Living with Chucky2022
As Self
TMDb 6.6 / 10
Abby Singer2003
As John Waters (uncredited)
TMDb 6.8 / 10
30/30 Vision: Three Decades of Strand Releasing2019
As Self
TMDb 5.3 / 10
Anarchy TV1998
TMDb 5.1 / 10
Time Warp Vol. 1: Midnight Madness2020
As Host
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Time Warp Vol. 3: Comedy and Camp2020
As Host
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Suburban Gothic2014
As Cornelius
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story2007
As Self
TMDb 7.8 / 10
Time Warp Vol. 2: Horror and Sci-Fi2020
As Host
TMDb 5.7 / 10
You Can’t Stop the Beat: The Long Journey of "Hairspray"2007
As Self
TMDb 6.0 / 10
In Bad Taste1999
As Self
TMDb 8.0 / 10
365 Day Project2007
As Self
TMDb 10.0 / 10
BaltigoreRelease date TBA
As The Broker
Divine Trash2000
As Self
TMDb 7.2 / 10
Mamie Exposed! The Life and Loves of the Last Blonde Bombshell
Mamie Exposed! The Life and Loves of the Last Blonde BombshellRelease date TBA
Way USA!1988
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis2007
As Self
TMDb 6.7 / 10
Divine Waters
Divine Waters1985
As Self
TMDb 7.6 / 10
Scala!!!2024
As Self
TMDb 7.8 / 10
This Filthy World2006
As Self
TMDb 7.6 / 10
Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn2019
As Self
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Starz Inside: In the Gutter2008
As Self
TMDb 4.5 / 10
The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special - In 3D! On Ice!2010
As Self
TMDb 6.9 / 10
It Came from Kuchar2009
As Self
TMDb 7.3 / 10
Mugworth2018
As Sir Butler
God Save the Queens1995
Eddie Cochran: Don't Forget Me2026
As Self
TMDb 7.0 / 10
As Time Goes By2024
TMDb 7.0 / 10
It's Dorothy!2025
As Self
TMDb 4.0 / 10
Sympathy for the Devil: The True Story of The Process Church of the Final Judgment2015
As Self
TMDb 5.7 / 10
Mansfield 66/672017
As Self
TMDb 5.2 / 10
Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea2006
As Self - Narrator (voice)
TMDb 6.9 / 10
It Came from... Baltimore!!2005
As Self
TMDb 7.6 / 10
William S. Burroughs: A Man Within2010
As Self
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution2017
As Self
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Return to Mortville2026
As Self
TMDb 1.0 / 10
Blank City2011
As Self
TMDb 6.9 / 10
Mondo Trasho1969
As Reporter (voice) (uncredited)
TMDb 5.3 / 10
The 1000 Eyes of Dr Maddin2015
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Treasures Untold: The Making of Disney's 'The Little Mermaid'
Treasures Untold: The Making of Disney's 'The Little Mermaid'2006
As Self
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream2006
As Self
TMDb 6.3 / 10
For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism2009
As Self
TMDb 5.8 / 10
Paul Bowles: The Cage Door Is Always Open2013
As Self
TMDb 5.0 / 10
New Line: Independent Legacies
New Line: Independent LegaciesRelease date TBA
As Self
Love Letter to Edie1975
As Self
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Here’s Looking at You, Boy2007
As Self
TMDb 5.2 / 10
Beautiful Darling2010
As Self
TMDb 6.3 / 10
Obscene: A Portrait of Barney Rosset and Grove Press2008
As Self
TMDb 5.0 / 10
Edith's Shopping Bag1976
As Self
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Anthem1997
As Self
TMDb 5.4 / 10
TURA!2025
As Self
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Brandon Novak StoryRelease date TBA
As Self
The Book of Harth2022
As Self
TMDb 8.5 / 10
The Last Impresario2014
As Self
TMDb 5.5 / 10
At the Video Store2019
As Self
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Mangus!2011
As Jesus Christ
TMDb 1.0 / 10
Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore2010
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Joel Calls Indie Film Type Dudes2020
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage2006
As Self
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Blood, Guts and Sunshine: The History of Horror Made in Florida2021
As Self [archival]
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Sylvester: Mighty Real
Sylvester: Mighty Real2002
As Self
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Fragments of Paradise2022
As Self
TMDb 6.5 / 10
The Sarnos: A Life in Dirty Movies2013
As Self
TMDb 5.9 / 10
Mansome2012
As Self
TMDb 4.9 / 10
The Advocate for Fagdom2011
As Self
TMDb 6.0 / 10
That Man: Peter Berlin2006
As Self
TMDb 6.6 / 10
Each Time I Kill2007
As Movie Watcher
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Mary Woronov: Cult QueenRelease date TBA
As Self
The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players: Off & On Broadway
The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players: Off & On Broadway2006
As Self
The Junior Defenders2007
As Narrator
TMDb 5.0 / 10
Sniffing Out ‘Polyester’2019
As Self
All the Dirt on 'A Dirty Shame'2005
As Self
TMDb 7.7 / 10
Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat2002
As The Reverend
TMDb 4.8 / 10
Gays Against Guns2026
Ballyhoo: The Hollywood Sideshow!1996
The Big Wet1993
As Narrator
The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo2020
As Himself
TMDb 5.6 / 10
(buz'be bur'kle) n. A Study in Style2006
As Self
TMDb 7.5 / 10
Don't Fall in Love with Yourself2022
As Self (Archival)
TMDb 5.0 / 10
Whatever Happened to Gelitin2016
As Self
TMDb 2.0 / 10
Jingle Bell Rocks!2013
As Self
The Roots of 'Hairspray'2007
As Self
Footlight Parade: Music for the Decades2006
Crime and Beauty: Making ‘Female Trouble’
Crime and Beauty: Making ‘Female Trouble’2018
The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels2008
As Narrator
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Mommie Dearest: Joan Lives On2006
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Sickies Making Films2018
As Self
TMDb 5.0 / 10
Memories of Oz2001
As Self
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Nuart Theatre No Smoking PSA1982
As Self
Pie in the Sky: The Brigid Berlin Story2000
As Self
TMDb 6.8 / 10
New Line Cinema: The First Generation and the Next Generation2008
As Self
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Busby Berkeley's Kaleidoscopic Eyes
Busby Berkeley's Kaleidoscopic Eyes2006
Growing Up with John Waters1993
As Self
In Conversation With Director John Waters, Actress Kathleen Turner and Actress Mink Stole2016
As Self
Jessica the Hippo2007
As Narrator (Voice)
Velvet Vision: The Story of James Bidgood and the Making of Pink Narcissus2025
As Self
I, of the Cyclops2006
Meet The Kuchar Brothers2006
Female Trouble: On-Set Footage2018
Coven of the Heathenites2008
As Self
Closer Than That: A Documentary on Low2004
As Himself
A Summer with Joe, Liz and Richard2025
As Self
TMDb 6.0 / 10
My Life with the Waters
My Life with the Waters2021
As Self
Gastronomic Getaway1991
TMDb 8.5 / 10
Filmography and biography: TMDb