# Joshua John Miller

Joshua John Miller (born December 26, 1974) is an American actor, screenwriter, author, and director. Miller co-writes with his life partner M. A. Fortin; the two wrote the screenplay for the 2015 horror comedy The Final Girls, and the USA Network drama series Queen of the South.

## Personal life

Miller was born in Los Angeles to actor and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jason Miller and actress and Playboy pin-up Susan Bernard. Miller's half-brother is actor Jason Patric, and his maternal grandfather was photographer Bruno Bernard, also known as "Bernard of Hollywood". His father was of Irish and German descent, and his mother is Jewish.
Miller is gay and, as of 2013, is in a relationship with fellow screenwriter M. A. Fortin.

## Career

Miller began appearing in films and television when he was eight years old. His first film role was in Halloween III: Season of the Witch. He would go on to star in such films as River's Edge, Near Dark, Class of 1999, and Teen Witch. Miller also made guest appearances on several popular television shows, including 21 Jump Street, The Wonder Years, The Greatest American Hero, Highway to Heaven (for which he received a Young Artist Award in 1985), and Growing Pains. Miller appeared in several plays, and was involved in dance from a very early age. He starred in the Los Angeles Ballet Company's production of The Nutcracker for three consecutive seasons beginning at age seven, and later appeared as a dancer in Janet Jackson's Grammy Award-winning Rhythm Nation 1814 video.
Miller attended Yale University and Antioch University, and studied creative writing at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1997, he published a pseudo-autobiographical novel called The Mao Game about a fifteen-year-old child star attempting to cope with heroin addiction, memories of past sexual abuse, and the impending death of his grandmother, who has been diagnosed with cancer. In 1999, The Mao Game was adapted into a film, written and directed by Miller, and co-produced by Whoopi Goldberg. The film starred Miller, Kirstie Alley, and Piper Laurie, and featured Miller's mother, Susan Bernard, in a brief, uncredited cameo. It toured the festival circuit, and garnered mixed reviews from critics.
In December 2003, he completed his MFA in creative writing at the University of Iowa. He was awarded the Capote Fellowship, and was also chosen for the Houghton-Mifflin Fellowship Award. He has also written articles for Harper's Bazaar, Playboy, and Esquire. In 2007, Miller appeared as Jinky in The Wizard of Gore. He has written a second novel, titled Ash.
Miller collaborated with M. A. Fortin to write the DreamWorks TV and Fox production Howl. Miller and Fortin then co-wrote the short film Dawn (2014), which was directed by actress Rose McGowan and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The two also co-wrote the screenplay and executive produced the 2015 horror comedy film The Final Girls, directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson and starring Taissa Farmiga and Malin Åkerman. Miller and Fortin wrote the pilot for the USA Network drama series Queen of the South. Miller also serves as an executive producer for the series, which began airing on June 23, 2016.

## Filmography
### As actor

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1982 | Halloween III: Season of the Witch | Willie Challis | film debut |
| 1982 | The Greatest American Hero | Jonathan | Episode: "Good Samaritan" |
| 1984 | Family Ties | Kenneth | Episode: "Go Tigers" |
| 1984 | The Fantastic World of D.C. Collins | François | Television film |
| 1985 | Highway to Heaven | Jason Winner | Episode: "A Song for Jason (Parts 1 & 2)" |
| 1986 | Stoogemania | Young Howard | |
| 1986 | River's Edge | Tim | |
| 1987 | 21 Jump Street | Brian Sheffield | Episode: "In the Custody of a Clown" |
| 1987 | Near Dark | Homer | |
| 1987–1988 | Growing Pains | Friend #1 Devil | Episode: "Not Necessarily The News" Episode:"Fool for Love" |
| 1988 | Cagney & Lacey | Henry Gorvel | Episode: "Hello Goodbye" |
| 1989 | Rhythm Nation 1814 | B.J. | Short film |
| 1989 | Teen Witch | Richie Miller | |
| 1989 | Meet the Hollowheads | Joey | |
| 1990 | The Wonder Years | Larry Beeman | Episode: "Rock 'n Roll" |
| 1990 | Class of 1999 | Angel | |
| 1990 | The Ghost Writer | Edgar Strack | Television film |
| 1990 | Death Warrant | Douglas Tisdale | |
| 1991 | And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird | Josh Carson | |
| 1999 | The Mao Game | Jordan Highland | |
| 2007 | The Wizard of Gore | Jinky | |

### As writer

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1999 | The Mao Game | Also director |
| 2011 | Howl | |
| 2014 | Dawn | |
| 2015 | The Final Girls | Also executive producer |
| 2016–2021 | Queen of the South | Also executive producer |
| 2024 | The Exorcism | Also director |