John J. Vogel is a multi-award winning actor, director, and Special Needs Community Activist, whose impressive career spans Hollywood and Nollywood. His portrayal of Joe Krazinsky in Scott Hoffman's short film "Post Graduate" earned him Best Actor awards at numerous prestigious film festivals, including the Marina Del Rey, Silicon Beach, Indie Short, IndieFEST, Best Shorts, 11th Short Film Breaks, Independent Shorts, Kansas Arthouse, Oakland Awards, Austin International Art, Nashville Independent Filmmakers, Vancouver Movie Awards, and Portland New Alternative Voices Film Festivals.
John has also led an exceptional cast in the TV show "Production Incorporated," which won Best Series at the Los Angeles and New York International Film Festivals. Additionally, he won Best Actor for his role in Favour Abu's inspirational film "I Rise" at the Christian Online Film Festival, alongside Tamara Eteimod, who won Best Actress. "I Rise" also received awards for Best Director and Best Film.
John made headlines by co-starring with international movie star Ramsey Nouah in the groundbreaking Nollywood/Hollywood film "Tempting Fate." He continued his Nollywood presence with "A Soldier's Story" and "Return from the Dead," co-starring with Eric Roberts and Nollywood's Daniel K Daniel. As an international movie actor, "I Rise" marks his third Nollywood film.
Born in Akron, Ohio, John is the second child of John J Vogel Sr, a WWII vet, retired salesman for Xerox, and lifelong artist, and Anne Vogel, a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology and daughter of Stanton Cahill, the last private commercial fisherman on Lake Ontario.
John began his career in entertainment as a musician, attending The Ohio State University and Berklee College of Music. He moved to Los Angeles and joined the edgy rock band Future Underworld Kings, produced by Grammy-nominated producer Garth Richardson. During this time, he secured one of his first acting jobs as the house drummer for the HBO hit series "The Larry Sander's Show." Acting became more prominent with roles on Jerry Bruckheimer's "Soldier of Fortune, Inc," the Syfy series "Sightings," and the award-winning short "Jesus 2000." As a director, John has won multiple Telly, Summit, and Communicator awards, resulting in over $10,000,000 in direct sales and producing best-selling crime novelist Michael Connelly's documentary "Blue Neon Night."
John's dedication to people with special needs began over 18 years ago after being invited to participate in the Celebrity Winterfest benefiting Special Olympics of Northern California/Nevada. His love for the athletes became apparent, having raised close to $500,000 in services and donations. Over the years, John trained a group of athletes to work with him on set when he's directing - The Fresno Crew.
As an actor, John studied with internationally acclaimed actor Alfred Molina and Hollywood acting coach guru Sal Romeo.
