Craig Chester (born November 8, 1965) is an American actor, writer, and screenwriter.
Craig Chester | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 8, 1965 West Covina, California, US |
| Education | The American Academy of Dramatic Arts |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, writer, screenwriter |
Early life
editChester was born in West Covina, California, the son of Cecil, lead singer in the rock band “Whiskey”, and Linda, a homemaker. He moved with his family to Carrollton, Texas at the age of twelve when his father accepted a corporate job with Nestlé. At age fifteen, Chester was diagnosed with the facial deformity long face syndrome.[1] The condition's most striking symptom is an excessively long lower face height. At eighteen, Chester spent a year undergoing multiple reconstructive surgeries. Chester moved to New York City in 1985, with a new face, to study at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Following graduation, he performed in various stage productions in New York, including a play written by Joanne Woodward who, upon noticing his naturalistic acting style, encouraged Chester to pursue a career in film.
Career
editChester's acting debut was in the feature film Swoon, a contemporary re-telling of the infamous Leopold & Loeb murder case, which earned Chester an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actor. Janet Maslin of The New York Times described the film as “dazzling”.[2] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone described Swoon as “a great film…haunting and visionary”.[3] Chester went on to act in a string of critically acclaimed independent films.[4] He has been openly gay since the inception of his career, rare at that time.[5]
As a result, St. Martin's Press approached Chester to write about his life and experiences. His memoir Why the Long Face?: The Adventures of a Truly Independent Actor was published in 2003. In 2009, Showtime optioned the book with Chester set to adapt it into a television pilot with Don Roos, Dan Bucatinsky and Lisa Kudrow as producers.[6] Publishers Weekly described Why The Long Face as “witty, absorbing” with Chester an “engaging storyteller with a fresh voice”.[7] Kirkus Reviews described Chester's memoir as an “intriguing midpoint autobiography sure to rouse curiosity about what the next half has in store.”[8]
Chester transitioned into screenwriting with Adam & Steve, which he also directed and starred in with Parker Posey, Chris Kattan and Malcolm Gets.[9][10][11] The film was released on April 24, 2005. Writing for The Village Voice, Melissa Levine described writer-director Chester's debut as “truly enjoyable”,[12] while Ronnie Scheib of Variety praised his performance: “Chester’s Adam, effortlessly able to slide from bathos to pathos and back again with none of the smarmy schmaltz of sitcom humanism, is a marvel of nuanced comic timing.”[13] Chuck Wilson, writing for LA Weekly described the film as “something certain to make John Waters cackle with glee.”[14] Adam & Steve has since developed a cult following.[citation needed]
Since adapting his book for Showtime, Chester has been writing for television. He wrote for season seven of the hit HBO series, True Blood[citation needed] and has developed pilots with NBC and Ryan Seacrest for E! amongst others.[15] On the June 5, 2013 edition of NPR's “Moth Radio Hour”, Chester recounted how he has been haunted by the Academy Award-nominated actor, Montgomery Clift, who has been dead for over 40 years.[16]
In 2021, Chester shared that he had experienced homelessness for several months, beginning in mid-2019.[17]
In early 2024, Michael Musto announced that a sequel to “Adam & Steve” was in development and that Chester had penned the screenplay, titled “Adam & Steve 55+”.[18]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Swoon | Nathan Leopold Jr. | |
| 1993 | Grief | Mark | |
| 1994 | Out of Darkness | Bill | TV film |
| 1995 | Frisk | Henry | |
| 1996 | I Shot Andy Warhol | Fred Hughes | |
| 1997 | David Searching | Mercedes Guy | |
| 1997 | Kiss Me, Guido | Terry | |
| 1998 | The Misadventures of Margaret | Richard Lane | |
| 1998 | Shucking the Curve | Steven | |
| 1999 | Charlie! | ||
| 2001 | The Anniversary Party | Party Guest | |
| 2001 | Circuit | White Party Customer | |
| 2001 | The Experience Box | Ryan | |
| 2001 | Sex and the City
|
Hermes Clerk |
TV series |
| 2002 | Bumping Heads | Craig | short film, 22 minutes; released in 2003 in Boys Life 4: Four Play |
| 2002 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent
|
Thor Derek |
TV series |
| 2003 | The Look | Henrik | |
| 2003 | Quintessence | Thomas | short film, 25 minutes |
| 2004 | Anonymous | Auditor | |
| 2004 | Out on the Edge | writer | |
| 2005 | Adam & Steve | Adam Bernstein | actor; writer; director |
| 2007 | Save Me | writer | |
| 2007–2008 | The Big Gay Sketch Show | writer (9 episodes) | |
| 2008 | Pedro | Counselor | |
| 2013 | Kill Your Darlings | Businessman | |
| 2021 | Cam Boy | Wegman |
References
edit- ^ Chester, Craig (2004-04-01). Why the Long Face?: The Adventures of a Truly Independent Actor. Macmillan. ISBN 9781429971980.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (March 27, 1992). "Review/Film Festival; A New Vision of Leopold and Loeb". The New York Times.
- ^ Travers, Peter (September 11, 1992). "Swoon". Rolling Stone.
- ^ Shapiro, Gregg (June 25, 2003). "'Face' to Face: Gay Actor and Writer Craig Chester Windy City Times". Windy City Times.
- ^ "Agent provacateur". The Advocate. Here Publishing. 18 February 2003. pp. 59–.
- ^ Littleton, Cynthia (22 October 2009). "Kudrow, Bucatinsky feel 'Rapture'". Variety.
- ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: Why the Long Face? by Craig Chester, Author L.A. Weekly Books $23.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0-312-28713-9". Publishers Weekly.
- ^ "WHY THE LONG FACE? by Craig Chester - Kirkus Reviews". kirkusreviews.com.
- ^ "A Tangy Twist of Love & Humor: Funny Quotes About Love". about.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
- ^ Pasolini, Antonio (24 August 2006). "An interview with Craig Chester". kamera.co.uk.
- ^ "Chemistry lesson: in Adam & Steve, Craig Chester and Malcolm gets explore a screen romance grounded in the chemistry of two actual gay actors! Hollywood, are you getting this? - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com.
- ^ Levine, Melissa (March 21, 2006). "'Adam and Steve'". www.villagevoice.com.
- ^ Scheib, Ronnie (22 June 2005). "Adam and Steve". variety.com.
- ^ "TLA Releasing US - Adam & Steve". tlareleasing.com.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (22 April 2013). "E! Developing Scripted Projects From Diane Warren, Josh Schwartz, Kevin Spacey, Mark Schwahn, Ryan Seacrest & Gale Anne Hurd". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ "The Moth - Stories - Montgomery Clift: The Sequel". The Moth.
- ^ "Actor-writer Craig Chester opens up about homeless nightmare: "This was the defining experience of my life"".
- ^ "'Adam & Steve' sequel! Broadway tragedy! When Mary met Sally!". 25 February 2024.