| Jesse James Keitel | |
| Birth Place: | Manorville, New York |
| Alma Mater: | Pace University |
| Occupation: | Actress, writer, artist |
| Years Active: | 2013present |
| Relatives: | Harvey Keitel |
Jesse James Keitel is an American actress, writer, and artist,[1] known for starring in Asher Jelinsky's award-winning short film Miller & Son (2019), the ABC crime drama Big Sky (2020) and on Queer as Folk (2022).
Jesse James Keitel is from Manorville, New York and was involved in local theater as a performer during her childhood. She graduated from Pace University with a BFA in Acting in 2015.[2] After college, she was a drag performer in New York City with the stage name Peroxide.
In 2019, Keitel starred in the world premiere of Martin Moran's play Theo at Two River Theater.[3] She also starred in Miller & Son (2019), which won the BAFTA Student Film Award and gold medal for "Best Narrative" (Domestic) at the 2019 Student Academy Awards.[4] [5] Keitel played the leading role in the 2020 MadRiver Pictures sci-fi series, Forever Alone.[2] Keitel also appeared in Linda Yellen's 2019 Showtime feature film Fluidity, starring Nico Tortorella.[1] In 2022, Keitel debuted the role of Ruthie in Peacock's Queer As Folk.[6]
Keitel has performed in drag under the stage name Peroxide, a member of the House of Femanon.[7] As Peroxide Femanon, she has appeared in Logo TV's Fill In The Blank docuseries and in Sasha Velour's NYFW SS19 collaboration with Opening Ceremony.[8] [9]
Beginning in 2020, Keitel starred as Jerrie Kennedy in the David E. Kelley-created crime thriller Big Sky, which made her one of the first non-binary actors to play a non-binary series regular on primetime television.[10] [11] In 2022, she appeared in an episode of , playing a non-binary villain. In an interview, she said of the role: "I understand that queer people have had a really long and complicated history with TV and film, and they’ve been very mistreated in the media....That being said, I think it’s high time we let queer people be villains, you know?"[12]
Keitel was honored in Out magazine's OUT100 in 2018 for her portrayal of queer characters in the Ben Stiller-produced Netflix film Alex Strangelove, as well as playing TV Land's first non-binary character on Younger.[13] [14]
In 2020, Keitel was a non-binary actor and used they/them pronouns.[15] [10] As of 2022, she is a trans woman and uses she/her pronouns.[16] [17]
According to NBC News, Keitel is a "distant relative" of Harvey Keitel.[10]
| 2013 | Celebrity Ghost Stories | David | Episode "Coco/Craig Kilborn/Diana DeGarmo/Tommy Davidson" | |
| 2016 | What Would You Do? | Closeted Gay Teen | Episode #11.7 | |
| 2018 | Alex Strangelove | Sidney | Film | |
| 2018 | Younger | Tam | Episode #505: "Big Little Liza" | |
| 2019 | Miller & Son | Ryan Miller | Film | |
| 2019 | Fluidity | Kevin | Film | |
| 2019 | Like Glass | Zion | Film | |
| 2020 | Forever Alone | Adrian | 6 episodes | |
| 2020–2022 | Big Sky | Jerrie Kennedy | Main role (2020–2021), special guest star (2021–2022) | |
| 2021 | Herself | Special | ||
| 2022 | Queer as Folk | Ruthie O'Neil | Main role | |
| 2022 | Dr. Aspen/Captain Angel | Episode: "The Serene Squall"[18] |