Joseph Mazzello


Joseph Francis Mazzello III 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

Mazzello was born in Rhinebeck, New York, and raised in Hyde Park, New York, the son of Virginia and Joseph Francis Mazzello Jr., who owned a dance studio. Mazzello went to the Catholic school Our Lady of Lourdes. 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. Mazzello paid for school with his salary from a small appearance in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, something the actor jokingly referred to as his graduation present from Spielberg.

Career

Early career: 1990–1998

Mazzello's first film appearance was a small role in 1990s 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 Spielbergs Jurassic Park. Later in the same year, he also starred in Richard Attenboroughs Shadowlands. He later appeared in 1994s ' as Roarke Hartman.
In 1995, Mazzello had roles in '
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 2001s 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, ', ', and the short film Beyond All Boundaries. Mazzello made his directorial debut with the short film Matters of Life and Death.

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 . 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. The Social Network earned $224.9 million, G.I. Joe: Retaliation $375.7 million, and Bohemian Rhapsody $903.7 million at the worldwide box office.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations