joseph gordon levitt

Joseph Gordon-Levitt
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Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Birth name Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt
Born February 17, 1981 (1981-02-17) (age 26)
Los Angeles, California
Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt (born February 17, 1981) is an American actor.

Gordon-Levitt began as a child actor, becoming known for his role on the series 3rd Rock from the Sun,[1] and subsequently developing into adult roles, having strongly concentrated on independent films (including Brick and The Lookout) and receiving positive reviews for his performances.[2] Jam! Showbiz has noted that Gordon-Levitt has "defied the cliched fates that befall most underage actors when they grow up",[2] while The New York Times has described him as "one of the hottest young stars in the indie firmament".[3]

Contents
1 Biography
1.1 Early life
1.2 Early career (1988-2002)
1.3 Later career (2003-present)
2 Filmography
3 Footnotes
4 External links



[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life
Gordon-Levitt, the younger of two sons, was born in Los Angeles, California. He is Jewish.[4][5] His father, Dennis Levitt, was once the news director for the liberal radio station KPFK-FM.[3] His mother, Jane Gordon (daughter of director Michael Gordon[3]), ran for the United States Congress in California during the 1970s for the Peace and Freedom Party and met Dennis Levitt while she was working as the program guide editor for KPFK-FM.[3]

Gordon-Levitt joined a musical theater group at the age of four, and played the scarecrow in a production of The Wizard of Oz.[3] He was subsequently approached by an agent and began appearing on television and in commercials for Sunny Jim peanut butter, Cocoa Puffs, Pop-Tarts, and Kinney Shoes.[3]


[edit] Early career (1988-2002)

Gordon-Levitt in 10 Things I Hate About You, 1999Gordon-Levitt began his acting career at the age of six, appearing in several late 1980s made-for-television films and two episodes of the series Family Ties. After having a lead role on the short-lived 1991 revival of the television series Dark Shadows as David Collins, he made his feature-film debut with a background role in 1992's Beethoven. Later that same year, he played a young version of Craig Sheffer's character in A River Runs Through It. At the age of twelve, Gordon-Levitt took the lead role of Gregory in the film Switching Parents, which was based on the true story of Gregory Kingsley, a boy who won the right to legally divorce his parents. In 1994, he played a Hutterite boy in the comedy, Holy Matrimony, and appeared in the lead role of the successful Disney film, Angels in the Outfield.

In 1996, he began playing Tommy Solomon on the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, a role which made him well known.[3] The San Francisco Chronicle noted the irony that Gordon-Levitt was a "Jewish kid playing an extraterrestrial pretending to be a Jewish kid".[4] During the late 1990s, he also appeared in several films, including The Juror (1996), as Demi Moore's character's son, the horror film Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, as a pre-credit victim, and the Shakespeare-based teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You, in which he had a leading role. He was also a guest star in the first season of That '70s Show, appearing in the episode "Eric's Buddy" as a gay schoolmate of Eric Forman's, and performed the voice of the main character Jim Hawkins in the Disney animated feature, Treasure Planet (2002).

During the 1990s, he was frequently featured in teenage magazines, something he resented.[3] He has also said that during this time period, he did not enjoy being recognized in public, specifying that he "hates celebrity".[4] Gordon-Levitt left 3rd Rock from the Sun during its final season, asking to be released from his contract.[3] For the two years following, he quit acting[1] and attended Columbia University (the only university he had applied to),[3] taking French poetry, history and literature.[3] Since his study at Columbia, he has become an avid and self-confirmed Francophile.[3] He has said that moving to New York City from his hometown "forced" him to grow as a person.[4] Gordon-Levitt dropped out of the university in 2004 to concentrate on acting again.[3]


[edit] Later career (2003-present)
Gordon-Levitt has said that he made a conscious decision to "be in good movies" after returning to acting.[1] Since the early 2000s, he has appeared in what has been described by the Boston Herald as a series "of acclaimed and underseen indies"[6] that "pegged him as a rising star on the indie film circuit".[4] These include 2001's drama Manic, which was set in a mental institution, 2004's Mysterious Skin, in which he played a gay prostitute and child sexual abuse victim, and 2005's Brick, a modern-day film noir set at a high school (San Clemente High School), in which he had the lead role of Brendan Frye, a teen who becomes involved in an underground drug ring while investigating a murder. Brick received positive reviews,[1] with The Minnesota Daily's review commenting that Gordon-Levitt played the character "beautifully", "true to film's style", "unfeeling but not disenchanted" and "sexy in the most ambiguous way",[7] and another review describing the performance as "astounding".[8]


Gordon-Levitt on the poster of Mysterious Skin, 2004Gordon-Levitt's next role was in The Lookout, playing Chris Pratt, a janitor involved in a bank heist. The film was released on March 30, 2007. In reviewing the film, The Philadelphia Inquirer described Gordon-Levitt as a "surprisingly formidable, and formidably surprising, leading man",[9] while New York magazine stated that he is a "major tabula rasa actor... a minimalist" and that his character works because he "doesn't seize the space... by what he takes away from the character";[10] the San Francisco Chronicle specified that he "embodies, more than performs, a character's inner life".[4] Several critics have suggested that his role in The Lookout will turn Gordon-Levitt to a mainstream actor.[4] His upcoming films also include Killshot, playing an assassin opposite Diane Lane and Mickey Rourke, and Stop-Loss, directed by Kimberly Peirce and revolving around American soldiers returning from the Iraq War.[1]


Gordon-Levitt has an apartment on the Lower East Side of New York City. He manages the website, "Hit Record", which features Escargots, a short feature that he created, and other works.[3] He is currently dating Disturbia star, Sarah Roemer.


[edit] Filmography
The Lookout
Wednesday, 31 Oct 2007 15:17
Things had been much easier on 3rd Rock from the Sun. Printer friendly version
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Directed by Scott Frank, out November 2nd, in cinemas, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode, Isla Fisher, running time 99 minutes.

In a nutshell...

Bank robbery, Dark, Amnesia, Depressive.

What's it all about?

Chris Pratt (Gordon-Levitt) was the high school hero. A brilliant ice hockey player, he had everything going for him, a beautiful girlfriend, a rich family and the envy of all his peers. Then an act of immature stupidity leads to him causing a car crash, killing his friends and causing permanent injury to his girlfriend. Chris himself is left with lasting brain damage, struggling to form any new memories and having to rely on his flatmate and mentor Lewis (Jeff Daniels) to set out instructions to enable him to complete even the most basic of tasks such as cooking diner. Chris and the blind Lewis form an odd-ball double team, protecting and helping each other through their tough lives.

Chris though becomes disillusioned with his new life and frustrated with his dead-end job as the night janitor of a local bank. He quickly finds himself mixing with a bad crowd after a chance meeting in a bar with an old pupil from his school, Gary Spargo (Mathew Goode). Gary introduces him to stripper Luvlee Lemons (Isla Fisher) and they soon hit it off, however Gary has bigger plans for Chris and soon recruits him into his plans to rob the bank. Things inevitably take a turn for the worst and Chris has to fight against all the elements, including his damaged mind, to save himself and Lewis.

Who's in it?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brick, 3rd Rock from the Sun) puts in an impressive performance depicting the brain-damaged Chris. His brooding, struggling and depressed portrayal will remind many of his acclaimed turn in Brick. Jeff Daniels (Dumb and Dumber, Squid and Whale) is superb as the blind and fiercely independent Lewis. With his quick wit and determination to overcome life's challenges he is the perfect side kick to Gordon-Levitt's disheartened Chris. Matthew Goode (Match Point) plays the dangerous and calculating Gary and Isla Fisher's (Wedding Crashers) naïve stripper is also more than convincing.

The film is Scott Frank's directing debut, following on from a successful career as a screenwriter. Frank is best known for adapting the Elmore Leonard novels, Out of Sight and Get Shorty.

As an example...

"My old man used to say to me, probably the only thing we really agreed on, was that whoever has the money has the power. You might wanna jot that down in your book. It's something you're gonna need to remember." - Gary seducing Chris into joining the bank heist.

Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars?

Gordon-Levitt will once again receive praise for his performance and will no doubt pick up more fans of his work. Jess Daniels should also be commended for an uncharacteristic outing. Box office success may invariably be slightly limited due to the subject matter but fans of the actors and this genre of quirky and dark crime movies will all be impressed.

What the others say

"Although the characters are intriguingly off-centre, the film would do better if it concentrated on pulp atmosphere rather than indie credibility. There are plot-holes but Gordon-Levitt covers up with a typically edgy turn. On top of Manic and Brick, this proves he's the Keanu who can act." – Empire

"The Lookout is Frank's show. He's crafted a haunting and hypnotic film that transcends pulp by creating characters that get under your skin. Frank is a director to watch. More, please, and soon." - Rolling Stone

So is it any good?

A simple yet effective story, The Lookout delivers on all the right levels. A dark, bleak and narrow narrative is played out flawlessly by its two leading characters with adequate help from the supporting cast. Joseph Gordon-Levitt yet again shines, following his star turn in Brick, with another deeply troubled performance. He is developing into an extremely impressive actor and there are few in the business that can brood and seethe under the surface quite as well. Jeff Daniels is fantastic as the sarcastic Lewis and leaves you wishing there had been more roles in the past for him to be stretched to this degree.

There has been some unfounded criticism levelled at the film, such as suggesting that Chris would never have secured his role in the bank heist with his disability, but these are irrelevant points and at no point do you catch yourself questioning any of the action. The only problems that may exist involve the supporting characters. There is a lack of depth for Fisher's stripper and Goode doesn't utterly convince as the manipulative master mind of the robbery.

The comparisons to Christopher Nolan's Memento are impossible to ignore and whilst this doesn't have as complex a narration, it does pitch itself in a much darker landscape with a considerably more sinister population. Another success for Gordon-Levitt and an intriguing twist on the bank robbery genre.