John Stockwell Samuels IV (born March 25, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. For his work on the television film Cheaters (2000), Stockwell was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special.

Early life

Stockwell was born in Galveston, Texas, the son of Ellen Richards and John S. Samuels III, an attorney. Stockwell's sister is historian Evelyn Welch, and his niece is singer and songwriter Florence Welch. While he was in college at Harvard University near Boston, he commuted to New York City to appear on episodes of the soap opera Guiding Light.

Career

Early in his career, Stockwell was an international model. During this time, he became a friend of pop artist Andy Warhol. Stockwell's first feature film as an actor came in a small role in 1981's So Fine. His best known roles came in the 1983 comedy film Losin' It as Spider; later that year, in the John Carpenter horror film Christine as Dennis Guilder; and the 1985 comedy film My Science Project as Michael Harlan. Also in 1985, he appeared in the poorly received City Limits; though unsuccessful at the box office, it was later riffed in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. He performed in the highly acclaimed 1985 TV mini-series North and South. In 1986, he appeared in Top Gun as Cougar. He made guest appearances on TV shows including The Young Riders and Friday the 13th: The Series. Stockwell has directed several films, including Cheaters (2000), Crazy/Beautiful (2001), Blue Crush (2002), Into the Blue (2005), Turistas (2006), Heart (2009), the Gina Carano star-vehicle In the Blood, and the 2016 Kickboxer reboot Kickboxer: Vengeance. Stockwell also wrote the screenplay for the 2001 film Rock Star.

Personal life

Stockwell briefly dated actress Bianca Jagger and model Barbara Allen. Stockwell is married to Helene Henderson, a chef and caterer. They have three children.

Filmography

Actor Director Writer