John Kapelos (born March 8, 1956) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of the janitor Carl in The Breakfast Club.
An alumni of The Second City, Chicago, John Kapelos’ theatrical work spans eight years from Second City’s Touring Company (1978-1982) to six revues as a member of the famed Resident Company (1982-1986), and finally Second City’s critically acclaimed return to off-Broadway in Orwell That Ends Well at the former Village Gate in New York City.
Adept at playing both dramatic and comedic roles, some of John’s movie highlights including 1999’s The Deep End of the Ocean, which received praise from both The New York Times and Roger Ebert from The Chicago Sun Times. His appearance in three John Hughes’s films: The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Weird Science earned him fame in the 80s as a character actor.
Other film works include Schepisi’s Roxanne, with Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah, and Gary Marshall’s Nothing in Common, opposite Tom Hanks, and Disney’s Stick It show his improvisational and comedic timing skills. Whereas roles in The Boost, with James Woods, and Internal Affairs with Richard Gere, present his adaptability for dramatic roles.
In recent years he's done a variety of guest role stints on television in shows like Desperate Housewives, Queer as Folk, The X-Files, Seinfeld, Dead Like Me, ER, and Boston Legal. His most memorable television performance is as Detective Don Schanke in the short-lived science fiction series Forever Knight.
While he continues to guest star in television shows and acts in independent movies supporting upcoming writers/director, he also guest teaches at the AIA Studios focusing on improv/acting workshops; produced a four-part series on YouTube featuring monologues by NPR-contributor Michael Raysses called Greek to Me, and manages an independent record labeled called Carpuzi Records, which has produced sound recordings feature him and some of the Second City alumni, such as Dan Castellaneta.
