David Steen (actor)

{{short description|American actor and writer (born 1954)}}

David Steen (born June 26, 1954) is an American playwright, actor and writer.

Steen has appeared in a number of Quentin Tarantino films including Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Django Unchained, and Reservoir Dogs.{{cite news |title=Every Quentin Tarantino Movie, Ranked, Plus Where To Stream |url=https://www.fatherly.com/play/every-quentin-tarantino-movie-ranked-plus-where-to-stream/ |access-date=6 May 2021 |work=Fatherly |date=25 January 2021}} He also appeared opposite Beth Grant, Dale Dickey, and Oscar winner Octavia Spencer in the Del Shores dramatic festival film Blues for Willadean.{{cite news |title=Film Shorts |url=https://www.fwweekly.com/2012/10/24/film-shorts-33/ |access-date=6 May 2021 |work=Fort Worth Weekly |date=24 October 2012}} The film was an adaption of Shores' The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife. Steen co-wrote and produced and starred in the independent film The Corndog Man, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.{{cn|date=May 2021}} He also had a series regular role as G. W. in Shores' cable series Sordid Lives.{{cite news |last1=Bulletin |first1=Celinda Hawkins / Special to the |title=Winters native Del Shores discusses upcoming movie, recalls time in Brownwood |url=https://www.brownwoodtx.com/news/20160717/winters-native-del-shores-discusses-upcoming-movie-recalls-time-in-brownwood |access-date=6 May 2021 |work=Brownwood Bulletin |date=17 July 2016 |language=en}} Steen created the role of J. D. in Shores' hit play The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife, for which he won an LA Weekly Award for Best Supporting Actor and an Ovation Award for Acting Ensemble.{{cn|date=May 2021}}

Steen's first stage work as a playwright was A Gift from Heaven, which was the first play developed in the San Fernando Valley to be made into a feature film. It earned a Critic's Choice Pick from the Los Angeles Times as well as other honors including eleven Drama-Logue Awards.{{cite news |title=Happy Ending for Drama |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-06-25-va-6984-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=June 25, 1993 |access-date=February 13, 2013 }} He followed that with Avenue A., which featured Mark Ruffalo. It received a Critic's Choice Pick and opened to sold-out performances in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.{{cite news |last1=Weinert-Kendt |first1=Rob |title=Mark Ruffalo Stands Up for Acting |url=https://www.americantheatre.org/2017/02/08/mark-ruffalo-stands-up-for-acting/ |access-date=6 May 2021 |work=AMERICAN THEATRE |date=8 February 2017}}{{cite news |title=Faces to Watch in '92 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 1, 1992 |at=Calendar section, p. 6 }}