Joel Jackson

Joel Jackson was born in Albany, Western Australia.^{[citation needed]} When he was 10, his family moved nearly 2,000 km (1,200 mi) north to Karratha after his father was offered a job as the primary school principal. He became head boy at Karratha Senior High School. At 17, Jackson went on a year-long Rotary exchange to Brazil.^{[citation needed]}

Jackson initially wanted to pursue a musical career. He first began playing guitar at age 14 and supported Birds of Tokyo, Megan Washington, Diesel and Ian Moss in Karratha.^{[citation needed]}

In 2011, Jackson moved to Sydney to join National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). He graduated from NIDA in 2013 and returned to the metalwork factories and engineering workshops of Karratha.^[1]

In 2014, Jackson auditioned for a single scene role in the mini-series Deadline Gallipoli but was later offered the lead part of Charles Bean alongside Sam Worthington, which aired on Foxtel's Showcase in April 2015.

In September 2015, Jackson starred as Peter Allen in the 2-part mini-series of his life, Peter Allen : Not the Boy Next Door. In December 2015, at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, Jackson won best lead actor in a television drama for his role as Allen.^[2] In May 2016, at the 58th Annual Logie Awards, he won Most Outstanding Newcomer for the role.^[3]

In February 2017, Jackson starred alongside Heidi Arena in Melbourne Theatre Company's performance of Born Yesterday.^[4]

In December 2018, Jackson released season one of his podcast The Good Thief^[5] in which he interviews some of Australians including Jack Ellis, Anna McGahan, Glendon Ivan, and Samuel Johnson.

In 2019, Jackson plays Detective James Steed in Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries. The same year, he played alongside Harry Potter’s Miriam Margolyes, and Australian actors Richard Roxburgh and Deborah Mailman, in the role of Rich Uncle Brian in H Is for Happiness.

In 2023, Jackson was named as part of the cast for the film Kangaroo Island^[6]