Joseph Francis Mazzello III (born September 21, 1983)[1] is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Tim Murphy in Jurassic Park, Roarke Hartman in The River Wild, Eugene Sledge in the HBO miniseries The Pacific, Dustin Moskovitz in The Social Network, and Queen bass player John Deacon in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

Joseph Mazzello
Mazzello in February 2010
Born
Joseph Francis Mazzelo III

(1983-09-21) September 21, 1983 (age 40)
Other namesJoe Mazzello
Alma materUniversity of Southern California
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • screenwriter
Years active1990–present
Websitejosephmazzello.com

Early life edit

Mazzello was born 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 is Italian American and 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 edit

Early career: 1990–1998 edit

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. Later in the same year, he also starred in Richard Attenborough's 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 edit

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 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 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 edit

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

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 edit

Film edit

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

Television edit

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

Awards and nominations edit

Year Association Category Nominated work Result
1992 Young Artist Award Best Young Actor Under 10 in a Motion Picture Radio Flyer Nominated
Best Young Actor Under 10 in a Television Movie Desperate Choices: To Save My Child Nominated
1994 Saturn Award Best Performance by a Younger Actor Jurassic Park Nominated
1994 Young Artist Award Best Youth Actor Co-Starring in a Motion Picture: Drama Won
1996 Young Artist Award Best Young Leading Actor: Feature Film The Cure Nominated
1999 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film: Leading Young Actor Simon Birch Nominated
1999 YoungStar Award Best Young Actor in a Drama Film Won
2010 Hollywood Film Awards Best Cast The Social Network Won
2010 Phoenix Film Critics Society Best Cast Won
2010 San Diego Film Critics Society Best Cast Nominated
2010 Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Ensemble Nominated
2011 Central Ohio Film Critics Association Best Ensemble Nominated
2011 Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Acting Ensemble Nominated
2011 Gold Derby Awards Best Ensemble Cast Nominated
2011 Palm Springs International Film Festival Ensemble Cast Won
2019 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Bohemian Rhapsody Nominated

References edit

  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 May 9, 2019.

External links edit