Joseph Mazzello

Joseph Francis Mazzello III (born September 21, 1983)^[1] is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and played Tim Murphy in Jurassic Park and Roarke Hartman in The River Wild. As an adult, Mazzello is best known for his portrayal of real-life figures Eugene Sledge in the HBO miniseries The Pacific, Dustin Moskovitz in The Social Network, and John Deacon in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

Early life

Joseph Francis Mazzello III was born on September 21, 1983, in Rhinebeck, New York, and raised in Hyde Park, New York, the son of Virginia (née Strong) and Joseph Francis Mazzello Jr., who owned a dance studio.^[2][3] Mazzello went to the Catholic school Our Lady of Lourdes.^[4] He is an alumnus of the University of Southern California, entering the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 2001 following a recommendation letter from director Steven Spielberg.^[5] Mazzello paid for school with his salary from a small appearance in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), something the actor jokingly referred to as his graduation present from Spielberg.^[6]

Career

Early career: 1990–1998

Mazzello's first film appearance was a small role in 1990's Presumed Innocent, starring Harrison Ford. He then went on to appear in Radio Flyer, Jersey Girl and the TV film Desperate Choices: To Save My Child in 1992. In 1993, Mazzello got his first big breakthrough when he portrayed Tim Murphy in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park. His character in Jurassic Park is the grandson of John Hammond, played by Richard Attenborough. Later in the same year, Mazzello also co-starred in Richard Attenborough's film Shadowlands. He later appeared in 1994's The River Wild as Roarke Hartman.

In 1995, Mazzello had roles in The Cure and Three Wishes. Both films were critical and commercial failures. Mazzello continued his film career with lead roles in Star Kid in 1997, and in Simon Birch with Ian Michael Smith in 1998. Both were critical and commercial flops. He also provided voice-over work in the English dub of The Adventures of Buratino.

Television debut and directorial debut: 2001–2009

Mazzello's first film role in the 2000s was in 2001's Wooly Boys. In 2002, Mazzello made his television debut on Providence. He then appeared on CBS' hit shows ' and Without a Trace. Afterwards, he appeared in Raising Helen (2004), The Hollow (2004), The Sensation of Sight (2006), and the short film Beyond All Boundaries (2009). Mazzello made his directorial debut with the short film Matters of Life and Death (2007).

2010–present

In 2010, Mazzello played Dustin Moskovitz, one of the co-founders of Facebook, in the David Fincher-directed film The Social Network. His performance was well-received by critics and he and the cast were nominated for several awards. During this, he played Eugene Sledge on the mini-series The Pacific. Mazzello went on to appear in G.I. Joe: Retaliation as G.I. Joe operative Mouse in 2013. In 2018, Mazzello portrayed John Deacon in the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, reuniting with his co-star from The Pacific, Rami Malek.^[7] The Social Network earned $224.9 million,^[8] G.I. Joe: Retaliation $375.7 million,^[9] and Bohemian Rhapsody $903.7 million^[10] at the worldwide box office.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

1. ^ Rose, Mike (September 21, 2022). "Today's famous birthdays list for September 21, 2022 includes celebrities Stephen King, Bill Murray". Cleveland.com. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
2. ^ "Joseph Mazzello Biography (1983?-)". filmreference.com
3. ^ "ISSUU - 2-9_HudsonValleyNews by Hudson Valley News". issuu.com. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
4. ^ Rorke, Robert (May 2, 2010). "Spielberg's Protégé". New York Post. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
5. ^ Chi, Paul (April 5, 2013). "Jurassic Park Kids: Where Are They Now?". PEOPLE. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
6. ^ "Return to Jurassic Park: Finding The Lost World", The Lost World: Jurassic Park Blu-Ray (2011)
7. ^ Busch, Anita (August 21, 2017). "Queen Pic 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Finds Bandmates In Ben Hardy, Gwilym Lee & Joe Mazzello". Deadline. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
8. ^ "The Social Network (2010)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
9. ^ "G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
10. ^ "Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 9 May 2019.

External links

• Official website
• Joseph Mazzello at IMDb
• Matters of Life and Death official website