Random Questions With: John Cameron Mitchell
Actor/director John Cameron Mitchell created the character Hedwig nearly 20 years ago in downtown New York City clubs, performing the one-man show about a transgendered East German rock star in full drag and with a killer songbook (written by Stephen Trask). Hedwig made her way to Off Broadway, and into a cult film in 2001, but she was never a mainstream hit until the production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch reached Broadway in 2014 with Neil Patrick Harris in the starring role. In January 2015, Mitchell himself returned to the stage to fill Hedwig's heels and reprise his original role for a temporary run.
"The Broadway production is the first time I've had an actual hit in my life," Mitchell said. "We always were respected, but it's kind of amazing to be able to make a living off of something."
Before his Tony win, Mitchell said he'd be recognized more for his cameos on 80's television shows like Head Of The Class and MacGyver and as the voice-over actor for this Betty Crocker Dunk-a-roos commercial. These days, he is undeniably Hedwig.
We wanted to get to know the Mitchell behind the mascara. In this round of "Random Questions," find out which 80's television roles meant the most to him, and whether he prefers sequels or prequels. And don't miss his Ask Me Another Challenge, where we test his encyclopedic knowledge of New Hollywood films from the '60s, '70s and '80s.
Interview Highlights
On winning the Tony Award for the Broadway Revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch
I've never been introduced as a Tony winner before. I feel like Patti LuPone... Best job I've ever had.
The original inspiration for the character Hedwig
In Junction City, Kansas we had a woman named Helga who'd take care of my brother. And she kinda looked what Hedwig kinda looked like. Me and my friend Brenda would go over to her house, her trailer actually, and Helga had a lot of dates. She wasn't that good looking either and we thought, "Gosh, she's so popular. She has a different date every night and she doesn't really know what they're gonna look like when they come up the driveway." We would hang out with her, and she'd give us cigarettes and stuff, and we'd sing songs for her like "Copacabana" and we'd act them out. When the date came up the driveway, we'd have to go out the back. But sometimes, she'd look out the window and see the date come up the driveway, and she'd go out the back with us.
This segment originally aired on September 25, 2014.
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Transcript
OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:
You're listening to ASK ME ANOTHER from NPR and WNYC. I'm Ophira Eisenberg and with me is our puzzle guru Greg Pliska and our one-man house band, Jonathan Coulton.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: And joining us on stage, our very important puzzler - actor, writer, director Tony Award winner, John Cameron Mitchell.
(APPLAUSE)
JOHN CAMERON MITCHELL: I've never been introduced as a Tony winner before.
(APPLAUSE)
MITCHELL: I felt like Patti LuPone.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: So you won this Tony recently for "Hedwig And The Angry Inch" on Broadway.
MITCHELL: Yeah.
EISENBERG: The revival.
(APPLAUSE)
MITCHELL: Best job I've ever had.
EISENBERG: And for any of our listeners who have not seen it, can you give a quick summary of "Hedwig And The Angry Inch?" It's a tough thing to - I mean, I can summarize it.
MITCHELL: Well, you know, it's about an East German punk rock singer who - to get over the Berlin Wall in the '80s, it used to be a boy had to become a woman so he could marry an American G.I. and escape to freedom. And then a year later is divorced watching the wall come down.
EISENBERG: Hedwig, the character, is based on a babysitter of yours? Is that right?
MITCHELL: Yeah, you know...
EISENBERG: Or partially based?
MITCHELL: It was - it was just - in Junction City, Kansas, we had a woman named Helga who'd take care of my brother. And she kind of looked, you know, what Hedwig kind of looked like. And she had a lot of dates, and me and my friend Brenda would go over to her house and - her trailer actually - and she had a lot of dates. She wasn't that good looking either, and we thought gosh, she's so popular. She has a different date every night and she doesn't really know what they're going to look like...
(LAUGHTER)
MITCHELL: ...When they come up the driveway. And we would, like, hang out with her and she'd give us cigarettes and stuff. And we'd sing, you know, songs for her like "Copacabana," and songs that had stories we'd act them out. And then when the date came up the driveway, we'd have to go out the back. But sometimes she'd look out the window and see the date come up the driveway and she'd go out the back with us.
(LAUGHTER)
MITCHELL: So only later did - my friend Brenda say, you know, I think she had another job.
(LAUGHTER)
MITCHELL: You know. And so she was sort of the beginning of Hedwig. And then we added the whole sex change and the rock 'n' roll stuff later. You know, my dad was the military commander of Berlin in the '80s before the Wall came down. And so I'd go to the East, you know, and it was - go to the gay bars in the punk rock areas - so it was, like, a lot of stuff came together to create him.
EISENBERG: And then when did you start to feel like wait a second, maybe there's more of a life to this piece?
MITCHELL: We never really thought that.
EISENBERG: You never thought that?
MITCHELL: No, we never got ahead of ourselves. It was like whatever people were ready for, you know, there wasn't - people said oh, maybe should do a movie. And we're like oh yeah, let's do that. And it was a - actually a flop originally and people discovered it more through DVD. And the Broadway production is the first time I've ever had an actual hit in my life.
EISENBERG: Yeah, OK.
MITCHELL: You know, we always were respected, but it was - you know, it's kind of amazing to be able to make a living - but, you know - you know, off of something. I made a living, you know, on commercials and voices. I did the - (Australian accent) how do you do your Dunkaroos? And, you know...
(APPLAUSE)
MITCHELL: Weirdly, I get that kind of response and I don't get that as much from my, you know, my work with Tony Kushner and other important people. But it's like Dunkaroos?
EISENBERG: Dunkaroos?
MITCHELL: You were on "MacGyver"? You know, it's like yes, but my Tony Award-winning turn on - they're like, "MacGyver"? So it's funny, you know, what remains in the mind.
EISENBERG: OK, we are going to talk more - all about this. And we're also going to subject you to your own ASK ME ANOTHER quiz later in the show. But right now, we're going to quiz somebody else about you. This is our grand idea. So let's welcome our contestant, Marisa Klages.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Now last time when you were on the show, what worked against you?
MARISA KLAGES: The buzzer.
EISENBERG: The buzzer - common problem.
KLAGES: Yeah.
EISENBERG: Well, this time you don't need a buzzer.
KLAGES: I know. I was really excited to hear that.
EISENBERG: It's good. And this is a fun game because it's called "Random Questions" with John Cameron Mitchell, OK?
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: So we - we have asked Mr. Mitchell some random questions and you just have to guess how he answered them. That's it.
KLAGES: That's probably harder than it sounds.
EISENBERG: I think it's going to be great. And if you get enough questions right, you're going to win some autographed Hedwig swag.
KLAGES: That would be awesome.
EISENBERG: Yes, it's some good stuff. I saw it and I kind of took the best stuff. No, I left it all.
KLAGES: I'll share.
EISENBERG: Thank you. You're sweet, Marisa. All right, here's the first question - we asked him which means the most to John Cameron Mitchell? "MacGyver," "Head Of The Class" or "The Equalizer?"
KLAGES: "Head Of The Class."
MITCHELL: That's right.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Why "Head Of The Class?"
MITCHELL: Because I did two of them. I think I sang "White Boys."
(LAUGHTER)
MITCHELL: Or - or "Black Boys." They were delicious, whatever they were. And then I sang "Grease Lightning" for "Grease."
EISENBERG: Wow.
MITCHELL: Yeah.
EISENBERG: Marisa, sequels or prequels?
KLAGES: That's really hard. Prequels?
MITCHELL: Sequels.
KLAGES: Bummer.
EISENBERG: There's a Hedwig sequel, right?
MITCHELL: Prequels are desperate. They're like - we've run out of sequels, we've got to do a prequel. I mean, what's something that started with a prequel and not a sequel?
JONATHAN COULTON, BYLINE: "Air Bud 2" was a prequel.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: Was that a prequel?
COULTON: Maybe.
EISENBERG: Well, puppies.
COULTON: Puppies.
EISENBERG: Yeah. Is there a Hedwig sequel? Is that the correct?
MITCHELL: I have been working on that with Stephen, yeah.
(APPLAUSE)
MITCHELL: It would never be on Broadway now, maybe in 15 years. It's all about death, but it's laughing all the way.
EISENBERG: OK, and finally we asked John if he prefers John Cassavetes or Nick Cassavetes As in "The Notebook" Nick Cassavetes.
KLAGES: John.
MITCHELL: Yes.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: Well, we are going to talk more about new Hollywood films with you in a little while.
MITCHELL: OK.
EISENBERG: Marisa, congratulations.
(APPLAUSE)
EISENBERG: And yeah, we'll see our VIP, John Cameron Mitchell, later in the show.
MITCHELL: All right, thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CHANGES")
DAVID BOWIE: (Singing) Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes. Turn and face the strange, ch-ch-changes. Just going to have to be a different man. Time may change me, but I can't trace time. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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