Joseph Mazzello

American actor (born 1983) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

Born
Joseph Francis Mazzello III

(1983-09-21) September 21, 1983 (age 42)
OthernameJoe Mazzello
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • screenwriter
Quick facts Born, Other name ...
Joseph Mazzello
Mazzello at GalaxyCon Raleigh in 2025
Born
Joseph Francis Mazzello III

(1983-09-21) September 21, 1983 (age 42)
Other nameJoe Mazzello
Alma materUniversity of Southern California
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • screenwriter
Years active1990–present
Websitejosephmazzello.com
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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

1990–2000: Early career

Mazzello's first film appearance was a small role in the 1990 legal thriller 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, and in 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, which were also critical and commercial flops. He also provided voice-over work in the English dub of The Adventures of Buratino.

2001–2009: Television debut and directorial debut

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

2010–2022: Further work

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. Between 2011 and 2012, Mazzello appeared in the short films Allison and First Kiss, and the A&E miniseries Coma.

Mazzello (left) with Rami Malek and Gwilym Lee promoting Bohemian Rhapsody in 2018.

In 2013, Mazzello played a recurring role on the FX series Justified as Billy St. Cyr and in the independent film Dear Sidewalk, directed by Jake Oelman. He also contributed to a brief supporting role in G.I. Joe: Retaliation as Mouse.[7] In 2016, he made his feature film directoral debut in the sports comedy-drama Undrafted, then portrayed John Deacon in the 2018 Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, reuniting with his co-star from The Pacific, Rami Malek.[8] From 2014 to 2021, Mazzello made appearances on television series such as Person of Interest, Elementary and Impeachment: American Crime Story.

Filmography

Film

More information Year, Title ...
Year Title Role Notes
1990 Presumed Innocent Wendell McGaffney
1992 Radio Flyer Bobby
Jersey Girl Jason
1993 Jurassic Park Tim Murphy
Shadowlands Douglas Gresham
1994 The River Wild Roarke Hartman
1995 The Cure Dexter
Three Wishes Tom Holman
1997 The Lost World: Jurassic Park Tim Murphy Cameo
Star Kid Spencer Griffith
1998 Simon Birch Joe Wenteworth
The New Adventures of Buratino Buratino Voice; English dub
2001 Wooly Boys Charles
2004 Raising Helen Prom date Peter
The Hollow Scott
2006 The Sensation of Sight Tripp
2007 Matters of Life and Death David Jennings Short film; also director and writer
2009 Beyond All Boundaries Eugene Sledge Short film
2010 The Social Network Dustin Moskovitz
2011 Allison Joe Short film
First Kiss Derek
2013 G.I. Joe: Retaliation Mouse
Dear Sidewalk Gardner
2016 Undrafted Pat Murray Also director, producer and writer
2018 Bohemian Rhapsody John Deacon
2023 Unexpected Bob
2026 Monument Amnon Rechter
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Television

More information Year, Title ...
Year Title Role Notes
1990 Unspeakable Acts Jason Harrison Television film
1992 Desperate Choices: To Save My Child Willy Robbins Television film
1995 A Father for Charlie Charlie Television film
2002 Providence Tony 2 episodes
2003 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Justin Lamond Episode: "One Hit Wonder"
2004 Without a Trace Sean Stanley Episode: "Legacy"
2010 The Pacific Eugene Sledge Miniseries; 10 episodes
2012 Coma Geoffrey Fairweather Miniseries; 2 episodes
2013 Justified Billy St. Cyr 3 episodes
2014 Person of Interest Daniel Casey 2 episodes
2016 Elementary Griffin Episode: "A Study in Charlotte"
2021 Impeachment: American Crime Story Paul Begala Recurring role
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Awards and nominations

References

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