American actor and filmmaker (born 1962)
John D. LeMay |
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![]() John D. LeMay headshot from his business website. |
| Born | (1962-05-29) May 29, 1962 (age 62)
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| Occupation | Actor |
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| Years active | 1985–present |
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| Children | 1 |
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John David LeMay (born May 29, 1962) is an American actor and documentary filmmaker. He has starred in numerous TV shows, films, and theatre productions.
Biography
John D. LeMay was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on 29 May 1962. In 1970, the LeMay family relocated to Normal, Illinois.[1][2] LeMay grew up wanting to be a professional football quarterback and played with the Normal Might Mites in the eighth grade.[3] LeMay considered himself to be a class clown that enjoyed being in front of people and making them laugh.[4]
Early life and education
As a public school student in the second grade, LeMay got his first taste in theatrical productions by playing the part of Sneezy in his class production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.[5] Playing a "ham" at cub scouts, he discovered that not only could he sing but he was also able to make people laugh. After winning first place in a high school talent contest for his singing, LeMay joined the Normal Parks and Recreation Department's High School theater program to participate in musical comedy. He decided to further his education in Vocal Performance and enrolled at Illinois State University's Theatre Department, during which time he interned with the Theatre Building Chicago and also landed a role in the Bailiwick Repertory Theatre production of Room Service and the Blind Parrot production of American Gothic. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Music, combined with a contract major in Musical Theatre in 1984[6] (the contract allowed him to receive credit in other performance classes such as theatre & dance), LeMay earned his Screen Actors Guild card the following year, and then moved out west to Los Angeles, California. He also added a middle initial "D" to his name so as not to be confused with another actor by the same name.[5]
Career
For the next two years, LeMay worked with an agent who kept him busy doing commercials and guest spots on television series. His first gig was on Remington Steele in 1985, followed by appearances in The Facts of Life and the 1985 revival of The Twilight Zone. He also appeared as a medical intern in the 1987 comedy film The Couch Trip just prior to winning the lead role as Ryan Dallion on the horror gothic anthology series Friday the 13th: The Series.[5]
A few weeks before his audition, LeMay had accompanied a friend on a Thursday evening to a "spiritualist centre" in Hollywood. Visitors were asked to submit a handwritten question on a piece of paper and place it into a bowl. A middle-aged seer pulled LeMay's question and he was told that he would be expecting a job offer from "back East". LeMay interpreted this as meaning New York City. Shortly afterwards, he received a call to audition for a series in Toronto. Says LeMay, "I convinced myself that the job was mine -- that the great beyond was taking care of me. That being said, I prepared myself for every audition ... I remember us Robey going over the sides near a dumpster in the Paramount lot. It all seemed glamorous at the time."[5]
Following his departure from the series, LeMay racked up more television credits with guest spots on the historical war drama series Tour Of Duty, Gabriel's Fire, Eddie Dodd, and Over My Dead Body. In 1993, LeMay starred in part nine of the Friday the 13th film series Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. Playing the heroic role of Steven Freeman who battled the hockey-masked maniacal killer Jason Vorhees to save his infant daughter. LeMay worked under the guidance of director Adam Marcus for New Line Cinema.[7]
In 2014 LeMay moved to Boise, Idaho and started his own video production company called FEAT1STFILMS. The company produces branded video content for websites and social media, helping business and individuals share their stories visually with a broader audience.[8]
Selected filmography
References
External links
