The eternally youthful looking John Cameron Mitchell turns 45 today, and the out actor/writer/director deserves showers of Gummi Barens, Necco Wafers and Sugar Daddies for creating two of the biggest cult hits of the decade.

In 1998, he wrote (along with composer Stephen Trask) and starred in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, an Off-Broadway musical about Hedwig, an East German transgender rock musician chasing after an ex-lover who plagiarized her songs. In 2001, he directed the feature film version of the play, reprising his role as Hedwig. There have been many film musicals this decade, but none of them even come close to fitting into Hedwig's Dorothy Hamill 'do.

Not one to rest on his laurels, his next film would be a major departure, and cause major controversy.

In 2006, he released Shortbus (you can read our review over here), a sexually explicit comedy drama starring many ... um ... flexible actors. John said he was trying to employ sex in "new, cinematic ways", and as to the film's use of unsimulated sex, here's what he said:

In the old days, when you couldn't show sex on film, directors like Hitchcock had metaphors for sex (trains going into tunnels, etc). When you can show more realistic sex, the sex itself can be a metaphor for other parts of the character's lives. The way people express themselves sexually can tell you a lot about who they are. Some people ask me, 'Couldn't you have told the same story without the explicitness?'. They don't ask whether I could've done Hedwig without the songs. Why not be allowed to use every paint in the paintbox?

After two of the most compelling projects of the decade, it appears that John is taking a break from filmmaking. Hopefully, it won't last too long, because we need his creativity and originality. After the break, you can see one of the greatest scenes from Hedwig, which involves a young and precocious Hansel, Armed Forces Radio, and an oven playhouse.

If you saw Shortbus, I'm sure the thing that you remember most about it is the music. Okay, maybe on the fifth watch, after the exact measurements of Paul Dawson were wallpapered permanently onto your retinas.

But the music of the film is really gorgeous, and much of it stems organically from the performers themselves, including the incredibly talented Jay Brannan. Jay plays the precocious-but-lovable young Ceth in the film (the potential third to the main gay couple, played by Dawson and PJ DeBoy), and there's a moment when he picks up a guitar and performs a short song that's quite impressive.

Turns out the guy is a serious musician, and has his first video (for his song "Body's a Temple") up on YouTube for us to enjoy. Check it out!

A charming reader named Phil sent us some interesting information that we just had to share with you folks: it appears that PJ (Paul) DeBoy, one of the gay leads of the movie Shortbus, once hosted a show called Locker Room on Canada's gay PrideVision television channel. The show billed itself as the first ever gay sports show, and it looked to be pretty fun (although, like most sketch shows, the humor is pretty hit-or-miss).

Here's a promo from the show, which shows DeBoy at his cheeky best, and a few choice bits -- there are oodles more clips from the program available on YouTube.