Born: September 21, 1983
Age: 41
Birthplace: Rhinebeck, New York, U.S.
Joseph Francis Mazzello III (a.k.a. Joe Mazzello) (born September 21, 1983) is an American actor, director and screenwriter, known for his roles as Tim Murphy in Jurassic Park, Eugene Sledge in the HBO miniseries The Pacific, and Dustin Moskovitz in The Social Network.
Mazzello was born in Rhinebeck, New York, and raised in Hyde Park, New York, the son of Virginia (née Strong) and Joseph Mazzello, Jr., who owned a performing arts school. 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, Polish, and English descent. Mazzello went to 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 of director Steven Spielberg. Mazzello paid for school with his salary from a small appearance in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), something the actor jokingly referred to as "my graduation present from Spielberg".
Mazzello's first film appearance was a small role in Presumed Innocent (1990), starring Harrison Ford. He followed up that success with a supporting role as an abused child in the drama Radio Flyer (1992). His most notable roles were as Douglas Gresham in Shadowlands and Tim Murphy in Jurassic Park, both in 1993, Dexter in the 1995 film The Cure, and Eugene "Sledgehammer" Sledge in the HBO miniseries The Pacific. In 2010, Mazzello played Dustin Moskovitz, one of the co-founders of Facebook in the David Fincher-directed film The Social Network.
Mazzello's directorial debut was made with the short film Matters of Life and Death (2007) in which he also stars; the cast includes David Strathairn (with whom he has worked in The River Wild (1994), Simon Birch (1998), and The Sensation of Sight (2006)), Daniel Gillies, and Rachael Leigh Cook.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1990 | Unspeakable Acts | Jason Harrison | Television film |
1990 | Presumed Innocent | Wendell McGaffney | |
1992 | Radio Flyer | Bobby | Nominated—Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor Under 10 in a Motion Picture |
1992 | Jersey Girl | Jason | |
1992 | Desperate Choices: To Save My Child | Willy Robbins | Television film Nominated—Best Young Actor Under 10 in a Television Movie |
1993 | Jurassic Park | Tim Murphy | Young Artist Award for Best Youth Actor Co-Starring in a Motion Picture: Drama Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor |
1993 | Shadowlands | Douglas Gresham | |
1994 | River Wild, TheThe River Wild | Roarke Hartman | |
1995 | High Lonesome: A Father for Charlie | Charlie | Television film |
1995 | Cure, TheThe Cure | Dexter | Nominated—Young Artist Award for Best Young Leading Actor: Feature Film |
1995 | Three Wishes | Tom Holman | |
1997 | Lost World: Jurassic Park, TheThe Lost World: Jurassic Park | Tim Murphy | Cameo appearance |
1997 | Star Kid | Spencer Griffith | |
1998 | Simon Birch | Joe Wenteworth | |
2001 | Wooly Boys | Charles | |
2004 | Raising Helen | Prom date Peter | |
2004 | Hollow, TheThe Hollow | Scott | |
2006 | Sensation of Sight, TheThe Sensation of Sight | Tripp | |
2007 | Matters of Life and Death | David Jennings | Short film |
2009 | Beyond All Boundaries | Eugene B. Sledge | Short film |
2010 | Social Network, TheThe Social Network | Dustin Moskovitz | Hollywood Film Festival Award for Best Cast Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Nominated—San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast |
2011 | Allison | Joe | Short film |
2011 | First Kiss | Derek | Short film |
2013 | G.I. Joe: Retaliation | Mouse | |
2013 | Dear Sidewalk | Gardner | |
2015 | Undrafted | Pat Murrary | In post-production |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | Providence | Tony | 2 episodes |
2003 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Justin Lamond | Episode: "One Hit Wonder" |
2004 | Without a Trace | Sean Stanley | Episode: "Legacy" |
2010 | Pacific, TheThe Pacific | Eugene Sledge | Miniseries; 10 episodes |
2012 | Coma | Geoffrey Fairweather | Miniseries; 2 episodes |
2013 | Justified | Billy St. Cyr | 3 episodes |
2014 | Person of Interest | Daniel Casey | 2 episodes |