John Shea

John Shea began a successful stage career soon after his graduation from the Yale School of Drama. He made his New York stage debut in "Yentl" as Avigdor (played by Mandy Patinkin in Barbra Streisand's film version). Shea went on to win plaudits for his performances in "The Sorrows of Stephen" (1979), "The Dining Room" (1982) and "End of the World" (1984). In London, he played the leading role in Larry Kramer's searing AIDS drama "The Normal Heart" (1986).

Shea's first screen role in "It's My Turn" (1980) ended on the cutting room floor. He was seen to good effect as the son of Jack Lemmon who disappears in Costa-Gavras' "Missing" (1982), won a Best Actor citation at the Montreal Film Festival for his role in "Windy City" (1984) and delivered a villainous turn in "Honey, I Blew Up the Kid" (1992).

Shea is also a popular TV actor and won an Emmy for his performance in the 1988 "surrogate mother" miniseries, "Baby M." He co-starred in the short-lived CBS series "WIOU" (1990) and was featured during the run of "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" (ABC, 1993-97) as the charmingly corrupt Lex Luthor.

• Also Credited As:
  John Victor Shea III
• Born:
  April 14, 1949 in North Conway, New Hampshire, USA
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Director

Family

• Father: John Victor Shea Jr.
• Mother: Elizabeth Mary Shea.
• Son: Jake Pettibone Shea.

Education

• Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, drama, BFA, 1970

Milestones

• 1975 New York stage debut in Yentl , opposite Tovah Feldshuh; play opened Off-Broadway and later moved to Broadway
• 1978 Played Joseph in the ABC holiday movie The Nativity
• 1978 TV acting debut in The Rock Rainbow (ABC)
• 1979 Co-starred in the NBC miniseries The Last Convertible
• 1979 First released feature, Hussy
• 1979 First work as film actor, It s My Turn (scenes cut from 1980 released version)
• 1982 Played Charlie Hormann who goes Missing in Costa-Gavras acclaimed feature
• 1983 Portrayed Robert F Kennedy in the NBC miniseries Kennedy
• 1988 Co-starred in the feature Stealing Home
• 1988 Won an Emmy for playing adoptive father William Stern in the ABC docudrama Baby M
• 1990 TV series deut as regular in the short-lived WIOU
• 1990 TV series deut as regular in the short-lived WIOU (CBS)
• 1992 Co-starred in the Lifetime remake of Notorious
• 1993 Played villain Lex Luthor on the ABC series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
• 1998 Feature directorial debut, Southie ; also acted
• 2000 Appeared Of-Broadway in The Director
• 2001 Starred in the syndicated series Mutant X
• Raised in Massachusetts
• Worked as assistant director at Chelsea Westside Theater and as teacher at Pratt Institute