Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt (/ˈlɛvɪt/; born February 17, 1981) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his leading performances in 500 Days of Summer (2009) and 50/50 (2011). He is the founder of the online media platform HitRecord whose projects such as HitRecord on TV (2014–15) and Create Together (2020) won him two Primetime Emmy Awards in the category of Outstanding Interactive Program.
"JGL" redirects here. For other uses, see JGL (disambiguation).
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
February 17, 1981
- Actor
- film director
1988–present
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Michael Gordon (grandfather)
Born in Los Angeles to a Jewish family, Gordon-Levitt began his acting career as a child, appearing in the films A River Runs Through It (1992), Holy Matrimony (1994), and Angels in the Outfield (1994), which earned him a Young Artist Award and a Saturn Award nomination. He played the role of Tommy Solomon in the TV series 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001). He had a supporting role in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) and voiced Jim Hawkins in the Disney animated Treasure Planet (2002) before taking a break from acting to study at Columbia University, but dropped out in 2004 to resume his acting career.[1]
Since returning to acting, Gordon-Levitt has starred in Manic (2001), Mysterious Skin (2004), Brick (2005), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), Inception (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Looper (2012), and Lincoln (2012). He portrayed Philippe Petit in the Robert Zemeckis-directed film The Walk (2015) and whistleblower Edward Snowden in the Oliver Stone film Snowden (2016). In 2020, he had a supporting role in the legal drama The Trial of the Chicago 7.
In 2013, he wrote and directed Don Jon, a comedy-drama film that was released to positive reviews[2] and earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Screenplay. He previously directed and edited two short films, both of which were released in 2010: Morgan M. Morgansen's Date with Destiny and Morgan and Destiny's Eleventeenth Date: The Zeppelin Zoo. In 2021, he wrote, directed and starred in a comedy drama series Mr. Corman on Apple TV+.
Early life[edit]
Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt was born on February 17, 1981, in Los Angeles, California,[3] and was raised in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood.[4] He has stated that he is of "100% Ashkenazi Jewish" descent,[5] from a family that is "not strictly religious".[6] His parents were among the founders of the Progressive Jewish Alliance.[7] Gordon-Levitt's father, Dennis Levitt, was once the news director for the Pacifica Radio station, KPFK-FM.[8][9] His mother, Jane Gordon, ran for the United States Congress in California during the 1970s for the Peace and Freedom Party; she met Dennis Levitt while she was working as the program guide editor for KPFK-FM.[8] Gordon-Levitt's maternal grandfather, Michael Gordon (1909–1993), was a Hollywood film director.[8] Gordon-Levitt had an older brother, Dan,[10][11] a photographer and fire spinner who died in 2010 at the age of 36.[12] Gordon-Levitt attended Van Nuys High School and graduated in 1999.[13]
Personal life[edit]
On October 4, 2010, Gordon-Levitt's older brother, Daniel Gordon-Levitt, was found dead in Hollywood, California,[59] at the age of 36.[60] According to the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office, Daniel's cause of death was "ketamine intoxication, with the injury occurring by intake of overdose".[61][62] Joseph Gordon-Levitt has publicly disputed the claim that his brother's death was caused by a drug overdose.[63][62]
In October 2013, Gordon-Levitt identified himself as a feminist, giving credit to his mother: "My mom brought me up to be a feminist. She was active in the movement in the 1960s and 1970s. The Hollywood movie industry has come a long way since its past. It certainly has a bad history of sexism, but it ain't all the way yet."[64]
In December 2014, Gordon-Levitt married Tasha McCauley, the founder and CEO of technology company Fellow Robots.[65][66] Their first child, a son, was born in August 2015.[67] Their second son was born in June 2017.[68] He and McCauley do not want to reveal any details of their children to the media, including their first names.[67][68] He lives with his family in Pasadena, California.[69]
Gordon-Levitt has expressed support for the effective altruism movement.[70] In 2017, he spoke at the Effective Altruism Global conference in San Francisco.[71]
Joseph Gordon-Levitt discography
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