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Craig Chester

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This article is about the actor. For the astronomer, see Craig Chester (astronomer).
Craig Chester
Born (1965-11-08) November 8, 1965 (age 58)
West Covina, California, US
EducationThe American Academy of Dramatic Arts
Occupation(s)Actor, writer, screenwriter

Craig Chester (born November 8, 1965) is an American actor, writer, and screenwriter.

Early life

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Chester 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

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Chester'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

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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
"Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda"
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
"Phantom"
"Anti-Thesis"
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

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  1. ^ Chester, Craig (2004-04-01). Why the Long Face?: The Adventures of a Truly Independent Actor. Macmillan. ISBN 9781429971980.
  2. ^ Maslin, Janet (March 27, 1992). "Review/Film Festival; A New Vision of Leopold and Loeb". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Travers, Peter (September 11, 1992). "Swoon". Rolling Stone.
  4. ^ Shapiro, Gregg (June 25, 2003). "'Face' to Face: Gay Actor and Writer Craig Chester Windy City Times". Windy City Times.
  5. ^ "Agent provacateur". The Advocate. Here Publishing. 18 February 2003. pp. 59–.
  6. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (22 October 2009). "Kudrow, Bucatinsky feel 'Rapture'". Variety.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "WHY THE LONG FACE? by Craig Chester - Kirkus Reviews". kirkusreviews.com.
  9. ^ "A Tangy Twist of Love & Humor: Funny Quotes About Love". about.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  10. ^ Pasolini, Antonio (24 August 2006). "An interview with Craig Chester". kamera.co.uk.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ Levine, Melissa (March 21, 2006). "'Adam and Steve'". www.villagevoice.com.
  13. ^ Scheib, Ronnie (22 June 2005). "Adam and Steve". variety.com.
  14. ^ "TLA Releasing US - Adam & Steve". tlareleasing.com.
  15. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (22 April 2013). "E! Developing Scripted Projects From Diane Warren, Josh Schwartz, Kevin Spacey, Mark Schwahn, Ryan Seacrest & Gale Anne Hurd". deadline.com.
  16. ^ "The Moth - Stories - Montgomery Clift: The Sequel". The Moth.
  17. ^ "Actor-writer Craig Chester opens up about homeless nightmare: "This was the defining experience of my life"".
  18. ^ "'Adam & Steve' sequel! Broadway tragedy! When Mary met Sally!". 25 February 2024.
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