John Shea(I)
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Handsome, slim-faced, curly-haired actor John Shea is primarily known to TV audiences for his recurring role as the evil Lex
Luthor in the early '90s TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993).
John Victor Shea III was born in 1949 in North Conway, New Hampshire, to Elizabeth Mary (Fuller) and Dr. John Victor Shea, a teacher, coach, and assistant Superintendent of Schools. He is of Irish and German descent. John was raised in Massachusetts, and received his
BA from Bates College, which he achieved on debating and football
scholarships. He then attended Yale University and earned an MFA in
directing from its School of Drama.
Following New York stage work, including his portrayal of Paris in a
production of "Romeo and Juliet" (1977), initial on-camera notice came
on TV with his reverential portrayal of Joseph in the mini-movie
The Nativity (1978). A few
years later on film he appeared in the small but memorable role of the
impassioned, ill-fated American idealist who becomes a casualty to
Chilean war-torn politics in
Costa-Gavras' Academy Award-winning
thriller Missing (1982). Although
Jack Lemmon and
Sissy Spacek, who respectively played his
despairing father and wife, were nominated for Oscars for their
starring performances, John's role was central to the heart of the film
and he made quite an impact. The actor was later honored by Amnesty
International for his political work following the film's release.
Critical kudos, as well as awards, have come in John's direction over
the years on stage, film and TV. In the film
Windy City (1984) opposite
Kate Capshaw, he earned the Best Actor
Award at the Montreal Film Festival. On stage, he received a Drama Desk
Award for "American Days", an Obie Award for "The Dining Room" and a
1976 Theatre World Award for his portrayal of the Jewish student
"Avigdor" in "Yentl". The role was later portrayed by
Mandy Patinkin in
Barbra Streisand's 1983 film
adaptation. On television, John was awarded the coveted Emmy for his
depiction of the distressed husband and father wannabe who touches off
a legal landmark case in the miniseries,
Baby M (1988).
In a career pocked with remarkable versatility, interesting choices and
challenging parts, John has played everything from a young Nazi in the
miniseries
Hitler's S.S.: Portrait in Evil (1985)
to 'Robert
F. Kennedy' in the
epic-styled Kennedy (1983). He has
kept his face alive in guest parts over the years on such well-received
series as
Sex and the City (1998),
Tales from the Crypt (1989),
The Hitchhiker (1983),
Law & Order (1990) and
Medium (2005). A budding
Irish-American filmmaker, John co-wrote, directed and appeared in the
low-budget film Southie (1998), a drama
set in the Irish-American section of Boston. The film won the Jury
Award for Best Independent Film at the 1998 Seattle International Film
Festival.
Into the millennium, John found popularity on the
Mutant X (2001) sci-fi series
playing the role of "Adam Kane". Based on Marvel Comic's "X-Men", he
received a nomination for Canada's prestigious Gemini Award as Best
Actor. He also appears in a recurring role on
Gossip Girl (2007) and had a regular part in the action drama series Agent X (2015) starring Sharon Stone.
In addition, he was also seen in a spat of dramas including
The Insurgents (2006) with
Mary Stuart Masterson; the British
Framed (2008) and the Indian drama
Achchamundu! Achchamundu! (2009),
plus the Jessica Alba drama,
An Invisible Sign (2010), the title role in Julius Caesar (2010), the horror opus 51 (2011),the psychological drama Anatomy of the Tide (2013) and the crime mystery Grey Lady (2017), which he also wrote and directed.
A screenwriter and audio book performer in addition to all his other
talents, John lives with his second wife, the painter Melissa MacLeod,
and his family are based in New York and on Nantucket Island where he
was a founding member of the Nantucket Film Festival and is Artistic Director of the Nantucket Theatre Workshop. He has one son,
Jake, from his first marriage, and two children, Miranda and Caiden, by
wife Melissa.
Luthor in the early '90s TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993).
John Victor Shea III was born in 1949 in North Conway, New Hampshire, to Elizabeth Mary (Fuller) and Dr. John Victor Shea, a teacher, coach, and assistant Superintendent of Schools. He is of Irish and German descent. John was raised in Massachusetts, and received his
BA from Bates College, which he achieved on debating and football
scholarships. He then attended Yale University and earned an MFA in
directing from its School of Drama.
Following New York stage work, including his portrayal of Paris in a
production of "Romeo and Juliet" (1977), initial on-camera notice came
on TV with his reverential portrayal of Joseph in the mini-movie
The Nativity (1978). A few
years later on film he appeared in the small but memorable role of the
impassioned, ill-fated American idealist who becomes a casualty to
Chilean war-torn politics in
Costa-Gavras' Academy Award-winning
thriller Missing (1982). Although
Jack Lemmon and
Sissy Spacek, who respectively played his
despairing father and wife, were nominated for Oscars for their
starring performances, John's role was central to the heart of the film
and he made quite an impact. The actor was later honored by Amnesty
International for his political work following the film's release.
Critical kudos, as well as awards, have come in John's direction over
the years on stage, film and TV. In the film
Windy City (1984) opposite
Kate Capshaw, he earned the Best Actor
Award at the Montreal Film Festival. On stage, he received a Drama Desk
Award for "American Days", an Obie Award for "The Dining Room" and a
1976 Theatre World Award for his portrayal of the Jewish student
"Avigdor" in "Yentl". The role was later portrayed by
Mandy Patinkin in
Barbra Streisand's 1983 film
adaptation. On television, John was awarded the coveted Emmy for his
depiction of the distressed husband and father wannabe who touches off
a legal landmark case in the miniseries,
Baby M (1988).
In a career pocked with remarkable versatility, interesting choices and
challenging parts, John has played everything from a young Nazi in the
miniseries
Hitler's S.S.: Portrait in Evil (1985)
to 'Robert
F. Kennedy' in the
epic-styled Kennedy (1983). He has
kept his face alive in guest parts over the years on such well-received
series as
Sex and the City (1998),
Tales from the Crypt (1989),
The Hitchhiker (1983),
Law & Order (1990) and
Medium (2005). A budding
Irish-American filmmaker, John co-wrote, directed and appeared in the
low-budget film Southie (1998), a drama
set in the Irish-American section of Boston. The film won the Jury
Award for Best Independent Film at the 1998 Seattle International Film
Festival.
Into the millennium, John found popularity on the
Mutant X (2001) sci-fi series
playing the role of "Adam Kane". Based on Marvel Comic's "X-Men", he
received a nomination for Canada's prestigious Gemini Award as Best
Actor. He also appears in a recurring role on
Gossip Girl (2007) and had a regular part in the action drama series Agent X (2015) starring Sharon Stone.
In addition, he was also seen in a spat of dramas including
The Insurgents (2006) with
Mary Stuart Masterson; the British
Framed (2008) and the Indian drama
Achchamundu! Achchamundu! (2009),
plus the Jessica Alba drama,
An Invisible Sign (2010), the title role in Julius Caesar (2010), the horror opus 51 (2011),the psychological drama Anatomy of the Tide (2013) and the crime mystery Grey Lady (2017), which he also wrote and directed.
A screenwriter and audio book performer in addition to all his other
talents, John lives with his second wife, the painter Melissa MacLeod,
and his family are based in New York and on Nantucket Island where he
was a founding member of the Nantucket Film Festival and is Artistic Director of the Nantucket Theatre Workshop. He has one son,
Jake, from his first marriage, and two children, Miranda and Caiden, by
wife Melissa.