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Joel Edgerton (born 23 June 1974) is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is known for his portrayal of Will McGill on the first two seasons of the Australian drama series The Secret Life of Us (2001–02), and for playing Owen Lars in the Star Wars films Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005), a role he reprised in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022). He also voiced Metal Beak from Warner Bros. Pictures' fantasy adventure film (2010). For his portrayal of Richard Loving in the 2016 historical drama Loving, he received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture.
In Australia, Edgerton won the AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor for his work on The Secret Life of Us. He has appeared in several Australian films, such as The Square (2008), Animal Kingdom (2010; for which he received the AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actor), Wish You Were Here (2012), and Felony (2013). Edgerton's other film appearances include King Arthur (2004), Warrior (2011), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), The Great Gatsby (2013), Black Mass (2015), Bright (2017), The Green Knight (2021), Master Gardener (2022), and The Boys in the Boat (2023). He has also starred in the Amazon Prime miniseries The Underground Railroad in 2021 and the Apple TV+ science fiction series Dark Matter in 2024.
For his work on The Gift (2015), a thriller he wrote, directed, produced, and co-starred, Edgerton received critical acclaim and a nomination for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directing – First-Time Feature Film. In 2018, he wrote, directed and co-starred in the conversion therapy drama Boy Erased, and the following year he co-wrote and starred in The King.
Edgerton appeared in the film Whisper (2007), The Square (which he co-wrote and was directed by his brother Nash Edgerton), Acolytes, and Separation City. In 2009, he starred alongside as Stanley in the Sydney Theatre Company's acclaimed production of A Streetcar Named Desire. He appeared in a production of the same play at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in December 2009. He appeared in the crime drama film Animal Kingdom as Barry Baz Brown in 2010 in which he won an AFI award. He starred as fictional MMA fighter Brendan Conlon in the film Warrior (2011).
In February 2010, Edgerton was cast in Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.'s 2011 prequel to The Thing, portraying helicopter pilot Sam Carter. He played Tom Buchanan in Baz Luhrmann's 2013 remake of The Great Gatsby. He was honoured for his work in international roles with the 2011 Australians in Film Breakthrough Award.
In 2013, it was revealed that Edgerton and David Michôd had collaborated on writing an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henriad" plays, Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V, for Warner Bros. Pictures.
In 2014, Edgerton starred in the biblical film , as Ramesses II, Moses' adoptive brother, who became a notorious king. Edgerton directed, starred in, wrote, and produced the thriller The Gift, which was released on 7 August 2015 and grossed 60 million with a budget of 5 million. He co-starred in the 2015 film Black Mass as John Connolly, FBI contact and childhood friend of notorious gangster Whitey Bulger.
In 2016, he starred in the Jeff Nichols films Midnight Special and Loving, and in 2017, he starred in the film Bright as Officer Nick Jacoby, an orc who is a police officer. He will reprise the character in the sequel along with Will Smith, directed by Louis Leterrier for Netflix.
In 2018, Edgerton headlined Francis Lawrence's thriller film Red Sparrow with Jennifer Lawrence, and based on the book by Jason Matthews. He plays Nathaniel Nash, a CIA agent who becomes involved with a Russian spy Dominika Egorova (Lawrence). In February 2018, Timothée Chalamet joined the cast of The King, with Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner producing, alongside Liz Watts, under their Plan B Entertainment banner. In March 2018, Edgerton joined the cast of the film.
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, it was announced that a new film, The Unknown Man, directed by Thomas M. Wright, would begin filming in South Australia as soon as enough of the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. It was released in 2022 as The Stranger. In September 2020, Edgerton was tapped to star in and executive produce limited series The Florida Man based on a novel of the same name by Tom Cooper.
In 2021, Edgerton starred in the medieval fantasy film The Green Knight written and directed by David Lowery.
In 2024, Edgerton guest starred in the Bluey episode "The Sign", voicing a German Shepherd policeman.
Joel was in a relationship with Olympic Gold medalist Cathy Freeman from 2003 to 2005.
In 2018, Edgerton began a relationship with Christine Centenera, editor-in-chief of Vogue Australia. They have known each other since the late 1990s. Their twins were born in May 2021.
| 1996 | Race the Sun | Steve Fryman | ||
| 1998 | Praise | Leo | ||
| 1999 | Dogwatch | Sparrow | ||
| Erskineville Kings | Wayne | |||
| 2000 | Sample People | Sem | ||
| 2002 | Owen Lars | |||
| Shane | ||||
| 2003 | Rod Blue | |||
| Ned Kelly | Aaron Sherritt | |||
| 2004 | King Arthur | Gawain | ||
| 2005 | The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello | Jasper Morello | Voice role; short film | |
| Owen Lars | ||||
| Kinky Boots | Charlie Price | |||
| 2006 | Smokin' Aces | Hugo Croop | ||
| Open Window | Peter Delaney | |||
| 2007 | Whisper | Vince Delayo | ||
| 2008 | Billy | Also writer and executive producer | ||
| Acolytes | Ian Wright | |||
| $9.99 | Ron | Voice role | ||
| 2009 | Separation City | Simon Nicholson | ||
| Ben Simmons | ||||
| 2010 | Metal Beak | Voice role | ||
| Animal Kingdom | Barry "Baz" Brown | |||
| 2011 | Warrior | Brendan Conlon | ||
| Sam Carter | ||||
| 2012 | Wish You Were Here | Dave Flannery | ||
| Jim Green | ||||
| Zero Dark Thirty | Patrick Grayston | |||
| 2013 | Tom Buchanan | |||
| Felony | Malcolm "Mal" Toohey | Also writer | ||
| 2014 | Ramesses II | |||
| 2015 | Life | John G. Morris | ||
| The Gift | Gordon "Gordo" Moseley | Also director, writer, and producer | ||
| Black Mass | John Connolly | |||
| Jane Got a Gun | Dan Frost | Also writer | ||
| 2016 | Midnight Special | Lucas | ||
| Loving | Richard Loving | |||
| 2017 | It Comes at Night | Paul | Also executive producer | |
| Bright | Nick Jakoby | |||
| 2018 | Red Sparrow | Nathaniel "Nate" Nash | ||
| Gringo | Richard Rusk | |||
| Boy Erased | John Smid | Also director, writer, and producer | ||
| 2019 | The King | Sir John Falstaff | Also writer and producer | |
| 2021 | The Green Knight | The Green Knight | ||
| 2022 | The Stranger | "Mark Frame" | Also producer | |
| Thirteen Lives | Richard Harris | |||
| Master Gardener | Narvel Roth / Norton Rupplea | |||
| 2023 | The Boys in the Boat | Al Ulbrickson | ||
| 2025 | Train Dreams | Robert Grainier | Also executive producer | |
| The Plague | Daddy Wags | Sydney Sweeney In Talks To Star In ‘The Masque Of The Red Death’ From Picturestart And A24 |
| +Key | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| 1995 | Police Rescue | Andy | Episode: "Wild Card" | |
| 1995, 1997 | Spellbinder | Bazza | Episodes: "Run!" and "Reunions" | |
| 1996, 1999 | Water Rats | Pete Crosby | Episode: "Eyewitness" | |
| Aaron Lawrence | Episode: "Force of Habit" | |||
| 1997 | Big Sky | Pierce Bateman | Episode: "Lost and Found" | |
| Fallen Angels | Scoob | Episode: "The Faust Lane" | ||
| 1998 | Wildside | Michael Savini | Episode: "#1.15" | |
| 1999 | Secret Men's Business | Baz | Television film | |
| 2000 | The Three Stooges | Tom Cosgrove | ||
| 2001–2002 | William "Will" McGill | Main role, 32 episodes (seasons 1–2) | ||
| 2002 | Dossa and Joe | Robbo | Episodes: "#1.3" and "#1.4" | |
| 2007 | Dangerous | Senior Sergeant Mark Field | Main role; 8 episodes | |
| 2009 | Dirt Game | Shane Bevic | Main role; 6 episodes | |
| 2021 | The Underground Railroad | Arnold Ridgeway | Miniseries; 7 episodes | |
| 2022 | Obi-Wan Kenobi | Owen Lars | Miniseries; 2 episodes | |
| 2024 | Bluey | Policeman | Voice role, Episode: "The Sign" | |
| 2024–present | Dark Matter | Jason Dessen | Lead role; 9 episodes (also executive producer) |
| 1994 | The Poet, the Women and the Frocks | Crossroads Theatre, Sydney with University of Western Sydney, Theatre Nepean | |
| 1995 | Eventspace 1: Intersections | Performance Space, Sydney with Klunk | |
| Thyestes | Number Five Bond Store, Sydney | ||
| Blackrock | Toby | Wharf Theatre with STC | |
| 1996 | Skin: Somewhere in the Darkness / Historia | The Anthropologist / Chorus ( Historia) | |
| Dead White Males | University of Sydney, Suncorp Theatre, Brisbane, Newcastle Civic Theatre with STC | ||
| 1997 | Third World Blues | Graham | Sydney Opera House with STC |
| 1998 | Henry IV | Prince Hal | Sydney Opera House, Canberra Theatre, Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, Theatre Royal, Hobart, Monash University, Melbourne, His Majesty's Theatre, Perth with Bell Shakespeare |
| Love for Love | Valentine | Sydney Opera House with STC | |
| 1999 | Henry V | King Henry V | Melbourne Athenaeum, Playhouse, Canberra, Sydney Opera House with Bell Shakespeare |
| 2007 | The Pillowman | Katurian | Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne with MTC |
| 2009 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Stanley Kowalski | Sydney Theatre, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington DC, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York with STC |
| References: | |||
| 2000 | AACTA Awards | Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama | The Secret Life of Us | |
| 2002 | AACTA Awards | Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama | ||
| Logie Awards | Most Outstanding Actor | |||
| AACTA Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | |||
| Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Supporting Actor | |||
| 2003 | Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Ned Kelly | |
| 2008 | AACTA Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | ||
| AACTA Awards | Best Original Screenplay (with Matthew Dabner) | |||
| 2009 | Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Supporting Actor | ||
| Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Original Screenplay (with Matthew Dabner) | |||
| 2010 | AACTA Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Animal Kingdom | |
| 2011 | Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Supporting Actor | ||
| Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Actor | |||
| 2012 | MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Fight (with Tom Hardy) | Warrior | |
| 2013 | AACTA Awards | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Wish You Were Here | |
| Australian Film Critics Association Awards | Best Actor | |||
| Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Actor | |||
| 2014 | AACTA International Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | ||
| AACTA Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | |||
| Australian Film Critics Association Awards | Best Supporting Actor | |||
| Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Supporting Actor | |||
| 2015 | Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Actor | Felony | |
| Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Original Screenplay | |||
| Hollywood Film Awards | Breakthrough Actor | Black Mass | ||
| 2016 | AACTA International Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | ||
| Santa Barbara International Film Festival | Virtuosos Award | |||
| Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Feature Film | The Gift | ||
| Austin Film Critics Association | Best Actor | Loving | ||
| Boston Society of Film Critics | Best Actor | |||
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Actor | |||
| Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Actor | |||
| Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association | Best Actor | |||
| Detroit Film Critics Society | Best Actor | |||
| Florida Film Critics Circle | Best Actor | |||
| Gotham Awards | Best Actor | |||
| Indiewire Critics' Poll | Best Actor | |||
| San Diego Film Critics Society | Best Actor | |||
| San Francisco Film Critics Circle | Best Actor | |||
| Satellite Awards | Best Actor – Motion Picture | |||
| St. Louis Film Critics Association | Best Actor | |||
| Utah Film Critics Association | Best Actor | |||
| Village Voice Film Poll | Best Lead Performance | |||
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association | Best Actor | |||
| Women Film Critics Circle | Best Actor | |||
| 2017 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | ||
| AACTA International Awards | Best Actor | |||
| Alliance of Women Film Journalists | Best Actor | |||
| North Carolina Film Critics Association | Best Actor | |||
| 2018 | AACTA Awards | Best Film | Boy Erased | |
| Best Direction | ||||
| Best Adapted Screenplay | ||||
| Best Supporting Actor | ||||
| Best International Supporting Actor | ||||
| 2019 | AACTA Awards | Best Film | The King | |
| Best Screenplay | ||||
| Best Supporting Actor | ||||
| Best International Film | ||||
| 2025 | Deauville American Film Festival | Talent Award | Train Dreams | |
| Middleburg Film Festival | Outstanding Achievement in Acting Award | |||
| Mill Valley Film Festival | Spotlight Award | |||
| Savannah Film Festival | Vanguard Award |
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