Joseph Mazzello


Joseph Francis Mazzello III, sometimes credited as Joe Mazzello, is an American actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his roles as Tim Murphy in Jurassic Park, 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.

Early life

Mazzello was born in Rhinebeck, New York, and raised in Hyde Park, New York, the son of Virginia and Italian American Joseph Mazzello, Jr., who owned a dance studio. He has one older sister, Mary, and a younger brother, John, who have both appeared in films. His father is of three-quarters Italian and one-quarter German Jewish ancestry, while his mother is of Irish and English descent. 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 , something the actor jokingly referred to as his graduation present from Spielberg.

Career

Early career: 1990-1995

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 ' in 1992. In 1993, Mazzello gained further recognition after starring in Steven Spielbergs Jurassic Park as Tim Murphy and 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.

Later work: 1997-2001

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. Mazzello's first film role in the 2000s was in 2001s Wooly Boys.

2002-2009

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, ', , 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 ' as G.I. Joe operative Mouse in 2013, and starred as John Deacon in the 2018 Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody. 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

YearTitleRoleNotes
2002ProvidenceTony2 episodes
2003'Justin LamondEpisode: "One Hit Wonder"
2004Without a TraceSean StanleyEpisode: "Legacy"
2010'Eugene SledgeMiniseries; 10 episodes
2012ComaGeoffrey FairweatherMiniseries; 2 episodes
2013JustifiedBilly St. Cyr3 episodes
2014Person of InterestDaniel Casey2 episodes
2016ElementaryGriffinEpisode: "A Study in Charlotte"

Awards and nominations