| Joseph Gordon-Levitt | |
|---|---|
Gordon-Levitt at a promotional event for (500) Days of Summer |
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| Born | Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt February 17, 1981 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1988–present |
Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt[1] (born February 17, 1981) is an American actor whose career as both a child and adult has included television series and theatrical films.
He is known for his roles in the 2009 indie film (500) Days of Summer (for which he earned a Golden Globe nomination), a supporting role in the 2010 science fiction film Inception, and for starring in the 2011 drama 50/50. Beginning in commercials as a young child, he made his film debut in 1992's Beethoven. Gordon-Levitt subsequently co-starred in the television sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001) as the young Tommy Solomon. After a hiatus during which he attended Columbia University, Gordon-Levitt left television for film acting, appearing in films like 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) and Manic (2001), followed by critically acclaimed performances in 2004's Mysterious Skin, 2005's Brick, and 2007's The Lookout. He runs an online collaborative production company titled HitRECord.
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Gordon-Levitt was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in Sherman Oaks. His family is Jewish, though "not strictly religious",[2] and his parents were among the founders of the Progressive Jewish Alliance.[3][4][5] His father, Dennis Levitt, was once the news director for the Pacifica Radio station, KPFK-FM.[6][7] His mother, Jane Gordon, ran for the United States Congress in California during the 1970s for the Peace and Freedom Party; she met Dennis Levitt while she was working as the program guide editor for KPFK-FM.[6] Gordon-Levitt's maternal grandfather, Michael Gordon, was a Hollywood film director between the 1940s and 1970s, known for helming the 1959 Doris Day/Rock Hudson film Pillow Talk.[6] Gordon-Levitt had an older brother, Dan, who was a photographer and fire spinner;[8] he was born in 1974 and died in October 2010.[9][10]
Gordon-Levitt joined a musical theater group at the age of four and played the Scarecrow in a production of The Wizard of Oz.[6] Subsequently, he was approached by an agent and began appearing on television and in commercials for Sunny Jim peanut butter, Cocoa Puffs, Pop-Tarts, and Kinney Shoes.[6]
Gordon-Levitt began his acting career at the age of six, appearing in several late 1980s made-for-television films. In 1996, Gordon-Levitt began playing Tommy Solomon on the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, a role that made him a popular TV personality.[6] The San Francisco Chronicle noted the coincidence that Gordon-Levitt was a "Jewish kid playing an extraterrestrial pretending to be a Jewish kid".[11] Gordon-Levitt was attending Van Nuys High School while acting on the show.[12] During the 1990s, he was frequently featured in teenage magazines, something he resented.[6] He has also said that during this time period, he did not enjoy being recognized in public, saying that he "hates celebrity".[11]
Gordon-Levitt starred in the 1999 film 10 Things I Hate About You, a modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, and voiced Jim Hawkins in Treasure Planet (2002), a Disney adaption of the novel Treasure Island.[13]
In 2000, he began attending Columbia University.[6][14] He studied history, literature, and French poetry in General Studies.[6] He became an avid and self-confirmed Francophile and a French speaker.[6] He said that moving to New York City from his hometown "forced" him to grow as a person.[11] He dropped out in 2004 to concentrate on acting again.[6]
Gordon-Levitt has said that he made a conscious decision to "be in good movies" after returning to acting.[14] His films include 2001's drama Manic, which was set in a mental institution, Mysterious Skin (2004), in which he played a gay prostitute and child sexual abuse victim, and Brick (2005), a modern-day film noir set at a high school, in which he had the lead role of Brendan Frye, a teen who becomes involved in an underground drug ring while investigating a murder. Brick received positive reviews, with The Minnesota Daily's critic commenting that Gordon-Levitt played the character "beautifully", "true to film's style", "unfeeling but not disenchanted", and "sexy in the most ambiguous way."[14][15] Another reviewer described the performance as "astounding".[16] He also starred opposite Steve Sandvoss as a young judgmental missionary in Latter Days (2003), a film that centers on a sexually confused Mormon missionary (Sandvoss) who falls for his gay neighbor. He had roles in Havoc and Shadowboxer.[17]
His next role was in 2007's The Lookout, in which he played Chris Pratt, a janitor involved in a bank heist. In reviewing the film, The Philadelphia Inquirer described Gordon-Levitt as a "surprisingly formidable, and formidably surprising, leading man",[18] while New York magazine stated that he is a "major tabula rasa actor ... a minimalist", and that his character worked because he "doesn't seize the space ... by what he takes away from the character."[19] The San Francisco Chronicle specified that he "embodies, more than performs, a character's inner life."[11] His 2008 films include Killshot, in which he played a hoodlum partnered with a hired killer played by Mickey Rourke, and Stop-Loss, directed by Kimberly Peirce and revolving around American soldiers returning from the Iraq War.[14]
Gordon-Levitt played a lead role opposite Zooey Deschanel in (500) Days of Summer, a well-received 2009 release about the deconstruction of a relationship.[17] His performance, described as "the real key" to what makes the film work, credits him with using "his usual spell in subtle gradations."[20] Variety's Todd McCarthy praised his performance, saying he "expressively alternates between enthusiasm and forlorn disappointment in the manner Jack Lemmon could".[21] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said the movie "hits you like a blast of pure romantic oxygen" and credited both lead actors for playing "it for real, with a grasp of subtlety and feeling that goes beyond the call of breezy duty."[22] He was subsequently nominated for a Golden Globe Award.[23]
He later played villain Cobra Commander in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.[24] On November 21, 2009, he hosted Saturday Night Live.[25] In 2010, replacing James Franco,[26] he starred opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Christopher Nolan's science fiction thriller Inception, which received favorable reviews.[17] He played the role of the "Point Man" Arthur, Dom Cobb's (DiCaprio) partner and the person responsible for researching the team's targets.
He will play the younger version of Bruce Willis's character in the time-traveling thriller Looper.[27] In 2011, he began filming Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, in which he plays John Blake, "a Gotham City beat cop assigned to special duty under the command of Commissioner Gordon."[28] Steven Spielberg cast him to play Robert Todd Lincoln in the 2012 film Lincoln.[29]
Gordon-Levitt's first film as director, the 24 minute-long Sparks, an adaptation of a short story by Elmore Leonard, was selected for the 2009 Sundance Film Festival as part of a new program for short films.[30] In 2010, he directed another short film, Morgan and Destiny's Eleventeenth Date: The Zeppelin Zoo.[31] It premiered at two houses during the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.[31]
He was one of the many producers of the Broadway show Slava's Snowshow.[32]
Gordon-Levitt has owned hitRECord.org, an online collaborative production company that shares its profits with contributing artists, since 2004.[33][34] At its onset, it hosted six videos and short films.[35]
Beginning in 2009, he opened the website to host films by others. In a 2007 interview in Salon, he described the website as "[an] alternative outlet of where [he] get[s] to be a little less professional and just freak out a little bit."[36] The site has since expanded with more than 10,000 participants collaborating to make songs, images, stories, and short films. According to a 2010 article in Details magazine, Gordon-Levitt oversees the site from a bank of computers in his home studio.[8]
RECollection, the first anthology of work from hitRECord, was released in 2011 as a book/CD/DVD package.[37][38]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Beethoven | Student #1 | |
| 1992 | A River Runs Through It | Young Norman | Young Artist Award for Best Actor Under Ten in a Motion Picture |
| 1994 | Holy Matrimony | Zeke | |
| 1994 | Roadflower | Rich Lerolland | |
| 1994 | Angels in the Outfield | Roger Bomman | Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor |
| 1996 | The Juror | Oliver Laird | |
| 1998 | Sweet Jane | Tony | |
| 1998 | Halloween H20: 20 Years Later | Jimmy Howell | |
| 1999 | 10 Things I Hate About You | Cameron James | Nominated – YoungStar Award for Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy Film |
| 2000 | Picking Up the Pieces | Flaco | |
| 2001 | Manic | Lyle Jensen | Released in 2003 |
| 2002 | Treasure Planet | Jim Hawkins | Animated film; voice role |
| 2003 | Latter Days | Elder Paul Ryder | |
| 2004 | Mysterious Skin | Neil McCormick | Golden Space Needle Award for Best Actor Nominated – Gotham Breakthrough Award |
| 2005 | Brick | Brendan Frye | |
| 2005 | Havoc | Sam | |
| 2005 | Shadowboxer | Dr. Don | |
| 2007 | The Lookout | Chris Pratt | |
| 2008 | Stop-Loss | Tommy Burgess | |
| 2008 | Miracle at St. Anna | Tim Boyle | |
| 2008 | The Brothers Bloom | Bar Patron | Uncredited Cameo |
| 2008 | Killshot | Richie Nix | |
| 2009 | Big Breaks | Todd Sterling | |
| 2009 | (500) Days of Summer | Tom Hansen | Nominated – Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor[39] Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy[40] Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead[41] Nominated – People's Choice Award for Favorite Breakout Movie Actor[42] Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor: Romantic Comedy[43] |
| 2009 | Uncertainty | Bobby | |
| 2009 | Women in Trouble | Bert Rodriguez | |
| 2009 | G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra | Cobra Commander | Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Villain[43] |
| 2010 | Hesher | Hesher | |
| 2010 | Morgan M. Morgansen's Date with Destiny | Morgan M. Morgansen/Narrator | Short film, also director and editor |
| 2010 | Elektra Luxx | Bert Rodriguez | |
| 2010 | Morgan and Destiny's Eleventeenth Date: The Zeppelin Zoo | Morgan M. Morgansen/Narrator | Short film, also director and editor. |
| 2010 | Inception | Arthur | Spike TV's Scream Award for Best Supporting Actor Spike TV's Scream Award for Fight Scene of the Year[44] |
| 2011 | 50/50 | Adam | Hollywood Film Festival Award for Breakthrough Actor Pending – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy[40] |
| 2012 | Premium Rush | Wilee | Post-production |
| 2012 | The Dark Knight Rises | John Blake | Post-production |
| 2012 | Looper | Joe | Post-Production |
| 2012 | Lincoln | Robert Todd Lincoln | Filming |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Stranger on My Land | Rounder | |
| 1988 | Family Ties | Dougie | Episodes: "Sign of the Times"; "Father, Can You Spare a Dime?" |
| 1989 | Settle the Score | Justin | |
| 1990 | Murder, She Wrote | Boy #1 | Episode: "Shear Madness" |
| 1991 | Dark Shadows | Daniel/David Collins | Series regular |
| 1991 | Changes | Matthew "Matt" Hallam | |
| 1991 | Hi Honey - I'm Dead | Josh Stadler | |
| 1991 | Plymouth | Simon | |
| 1991 | China Beach | Archie Winslow, Age 9 | Episode: "Quest" |
| 1991 | Quantum Leap | Kyle | Episode: "Permanent Wave" Nominated – Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor Guest Starring in a Television Series |
| 1991 | L.A. Law | Episode: "Lose the Law" | |
| 1992–1993 | The Powers That Be | Pierce Van Horne | Series regular Nominated – Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor in a New Television Series |
| 1993 | Partners | ||
| 1993 | Gregory K a.k.a. Switching Parents | Gregory Kingsley | |
| 1993 | Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman | Zack Lawson | Episode: "The Secret" |
| 1993–1995 | Roseanne | George | Episodes: "Daughters and Other Strangers"; "I Pray the Lord My Stove to Keep"; "Follow the Son"; "Single Married Female |
| 1995 | The Great Elephant Escape | Matthew | |
| 1996–2001 | 3rd Rock from the Sun | Tommy Solomon | Series regular YoungStar Award for Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy TV Series (1997, 1998) Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (1997, 1998, 1999) Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor (1999) Nominated – Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Comedy – Supporting Young Actor (1997) |
| 1998 | That '70s Show | Buddy Morgan | Episode: "Eric's Buddy" |
| 2000 | The Outer Limits | Zach | Episode: "Something About Harry" |
| 2000 | Forever Lulu | Martin Ellsworth | |
| 2005 | Numb3rs | Scott Reynolds | Episode: "Sacrifice" |