John Shea

Did you know?!

1. A first

   Shea entered Indian cinema in 2009 with the Tamil drama Achchamundu! Achchamundu!, which Arun Vaidyanathan directed. That role made him the first American actor to appear in a Tamil film.

2. First role

   After apprenticing under Robert Kalfin at the Chelsea Theatre, Shea played opposite Tovah Feldshuh in Kalfin's production of Yentl, which earned him the Theatre World Award. The show opened Off Broadway at the Chelsea Theatre Center and later moved to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre.

3. Early training

   Lee Strasberg saw Shea act and then asked him to become a member of the Actors Studio. Shea studied method acting there for several years.

4. Early training

   Shea earned an M.F.A. in Directing in 1973 from the Yale School of Drama, where he trained in acting and directing under Dean Robert Brustein and appeared at the Yale cabaret with classmates Joe Grifasi and Meryl Streep.

5. Behind the camera

   In 1998, Shea directed and co-wrote Southie, an independent film. It earned Best Film at the Seattle International Film Festival and was distributed by Lions Gate Films.

6. Beyond film

   In 1985, Shea played the Soldier in Tom O'Horgan's staging of Igor Stravinsky's L'Histoire du Soldat. That performance at Carnegie Hall marked his debut there and featured Pinchas Zukerman and Andre de Shields.