Biography

Joe Baken is a writer, actor, and producer with roots in Billings, Montana. He is the co-creator and executive producer of the shows, Grotesquerie, Doctor Odyssey, and All's Fair, which he developed with collaborators Ryan Murphy and Jon Robin Baitz. He served as a writer and producer on the shows Feud: Capote vs. The Swans and American Horror Stories. He wrote, directed, and starred in the independent feature film Mailman, as well as an adaptation of his solo show Joe Gives Up and Moves to Montana.

Joe is the son of Christie LeClair Baken, a wilderness Lookout, and Jim Baken, an artist and professor of art. He has two siblings. Growing up, his family spent much of their time living at a lookout tower in Montana's Bitterroot National Forest where they worked spotting forest fires. The family of five shared a single room with no electricity or running water. Despite the harsh conditions, time spent at "the tower" fostered his imagination and creativity. Joe's love for writing and performing was fueled by participation in speech and debate tournaments in high school, for which he was nationally ranked in the category of Humorous Interpretation. He attended one year of college at Point Park Conservatory, but dropped out when he was offered his first writing job, penning a screenplay for the director Gus Van Sant, to be produced by Scott Rudin. Joe continued to work over the next decade as a writing partner to Van Sant, who also served as a producer on Joe's independent film projects, as well as a close friend and mentor.

Outside of film and television, Joe is a classical violinist, a painter and an avid runner. He currently resides in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.