Joseph Michael Cross (born May 28, 1986) is an American actor and producer. He began work as a child actor, starring in the 1998 films ''
Desperate Measures'', ''
Wide Awake'', and ''
Jack Frost
Jack Frost is a personification of frost, ice, snow, sleet, winter, and freezing cold. He is a variant of Old Man Winter who is held responsible for frosty weather, nipping the fingers and toes in such weather, coloring the foliage in autumn, a ...
''. He won the
Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture for ''
Running with Scissors'' (2006), and co-starred in ''
Flags of Our Fathers'' (2006), ''
Untraceable
''Untraceable'' is a 2008 American psychological thriller film directed by Gregory Hoblit and starring Diane Lane, Colin Hanks, Billy Burke, and Joseph Cross. It was distributed by Screen Gems.
Set in Portland, Oregon, the film involves a se ...
'' (2008), ''
Milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modul ...
'' (2008), and ''
Lincoln'' (2012).
From 1999 to 2004, Cross starred as
Casey Hughes in the
CBS soap opera ''
As the World Turns
''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an United States, American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show t ...
''. In 2017, he appeared in the
HBO limited series ''
Big Little Lies'' and the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
crime drama series ''
Mindhunter''.
Early life
Cross was born in
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city in and the seat of government of Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[Pelham, New York
Pelham is a suburban town in Westchester County, approximately 10 miles northeast of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 13,078, an increase from the 2010 census. Historically, Pelham was composed of five villages ...]
, and attended Pelham Middle School and
Pelham Memorial High School.
For his undergraduate studies, Cross transferred from
Hartford
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since th ...
's
Trinity College to
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.
Career
As a child actor, Cross appeared in the
Disney Channel Original television film ''
Northern Lights'' (1997), and starred in the action-thriller ''
Desperate Measures'', comedy-drama ''
Wide Awake'', and Christmas fantasy film ''
Jack Frost
Jack Frost is a personification of frost, ice, snow, sleet, winter, and freezing cold. He is a variant of Old Man Winter who is held responsible for frosty weather, nipping the fingers and toes in such weather, coloring the foliage in autumn, a ...
'', all of which were released in 1998. He subsequently appeared in several television roles, notably portraying
Casey Hughes in the
CBS daytime soap opera ''
As the World Turns
''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an United States, American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show t ...
'' (1999–2004).
In 2006, Cross played the young
Augusten Burroughs in ''
Running with Scissors'', a drama also featuring
Annette Bening
Annette Carol Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over four decades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nomina ...
and
Evan Rachel Wood
Evan Rachel Wood (born September 7, 1987) is an American actress and activist. She is the recipient of a Critics' Choice Television Award as well as three Primetime Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe Award nominations for her work i ...
, and appeared as real-life Marine
Franklin Sousley in the big-budget ''
Flags of Our Fathers'', a
Clint Eastwood
Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...
-directed
war film
War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...
. Cross has said that he enjoyed the transition from appearing in ''Running with Scissors'', which he has described as "very character driven and smaller" to the high-profile "epic" ''Flags of Our Fathers''.
''Running with Scissors'' has been described by media sources as his "breakout performance", and he was nominated for the
Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer
The Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer (Actor/Actress) is one of the awards given to people working in the film industry
The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of ...
and won the
Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
In 2008, Cross starred in the thriller film ''
Untraceable
''Untraceable'' is a 2008 American psychological thriller film directed by Gregory Hoblit and starring Diane Lane, Colin Hanks, Billy Burke, and Joseph Cross. It was distributed by Screen Gems.
Set in Portland, Oregon, the film involves a se ...
'' (2008) with
Diane Lane
Diane Colleen Lane (born January 22, 1965) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at age 14 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film ''A Little Romance''.
The two films that could have catapulted her to star ...
,
and portrayed gay rights activist
Dick Pabich
Richard William Paul Pabich (August 23, 1955 – January 1, 2000) was an American gay rights activist best known for his role as a campaign manager and friend to Harvey Milk.
Biography
Pabich was born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, the eldest chi ...
in the
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-nominated
Harvey Milk biopic ''
Milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modul ...
'' (2008). He won the
Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble
The Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association.
2000s 2001
* ''Gosford Park''
** '' Ocean's Eleven''
** '' The Roy ...
with his ''Milk'' co-stars. The following year, he played William "Fred" Parsons in the
West End production of ''
Breakfast at Tiffany's'', at the
Theatre Royal Haymarket
The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...
, opposite
Anna Friel. In 2012, Cross had a leading role as Declan Truss in Doug Karr's comedy film ''
Art Machine''.
He portrayed the lead role of Davis Green in the drama film ''
The Automatic Hate'' (2015), alongside
Deborah Ann Woll
Deborah Ann Woll (born February 7, 1985) is an American actress and model. Woll played Jessica Hamby in the HBO drama series ''True Blood'' (2008–2014), which earned her a nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award. She subsequently starred a ...
. He portrayed the lead role of Lernert in the science-fiction film ''
Everything Beautiful Is Far Away'' (2017), alongside
Julia Garner. Cross made his directorial debut with the coming-of-age film ''
Summer Night'' (2019), executive produced by
James Ponsoldt.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Joseph
1986 births
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
Male actors from New Jersey
Male actors from New York (state)
American male child actors
American male film actors
American male soap opera actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
Columbia University alumni
Living people
People from New Brunswick, New Jersey
People from Pelham, New York