Joel David Moore (born September 25, 1977) is an American character actor and director. Born and raised in
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, Moore studied acting in college before relocating to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
to pursue a film career. His first major role was as Owen Dittman in the 2004 comedy ''
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'', followed by roles in the comedy ''
Grandma's Boy'' (2006),
Terry Zwigoff
Terry Zwigoff (born May 18, 1949) is an American film director whose work often deals with misfits, antiheroes, and themes of alienation. He first garnered attention for his work in documentary filmmaking with ''Louie Bluie'' (1985) and '' Crumb' ...
's ''
Art School Confidential
''Art School Confidential'' is a 2006 American comedy-drama film directed by Terry Zwigoff and starring Max Minghella, Sophia Myles, John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent, Matt Keeslar, Ethan Suplee, Joel Moore, Nick Swardson, Adam Scott, and ...
'' (2006), and the independent
slasher film
A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic ...
''
Hatchet
A hatchet (from the Old French language, Old French , a diminutive form of ''hache'', 'axe' of Germanic origin) is a Tool, single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade on one side used to cut and split wood, and a hammerhead on the other side ...
'' (2006).
In 2008, he was cast in the role of
Colin Fisher on the
Fox
Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush").
Twelve species ...
series ''
Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...
'', a guest role he portrayed in sixteen episodes until the series' conclusion in 2017. In 2009, he was cast as Dr. Norm Spellman in
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...
's ''
Avatar
Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...
'' (2009), a role he reprised for the film's sequels, ''
Avatar: The Way of Water'' (2022) and ''
Avatar: Fire and Ash'' (2025).
Moore has also starred in several music videos, and directed films: His directorial debut was the psychological thriller ''
Spiral
In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving further away as it revolves around the point. It is a subtype of whorled patterns, a broad group that also includes concentric objects.
Two-dimensional
A two-dimension ...
'' (2007), followed by the drama ''
Youth in Oregon'' (2016). Moore also directed the film ''Killing Winston Jones'' which was shot in 2012 but never released.
Early life
Moore was born on September 25, 1977, in
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
*Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon
*Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine
*Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel
Portland may also r ...
, Oregon,
the son of Missy (née Irvine) and John Moore.
Moore was raised in Portland, where his family resided in the
Mount Tabor neighborhood.
He graduated from
Benson Polytechnic High School
Benson Polytechnic High School (BHS) is a technical public high school in the Portland Public Schools district. Its campus is located in the Central Eastside commercial area of Portland, Oregon, United States. Students are given a special em ...
in 1995.
After high school, Moore attended
Mt. Hood Community College
Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) is a public community college in Gresham, Oregon, United States, named after Mount Hood. Opened in 1966, MHCC enrolls around 30,000 students each year and offers classes at the main campus in Gresham, as well as ...
in
Gresham, Oregon
Gresham ( ) is a city in the Willamette Valley, Located in Multnomah County in the U.S. state of Oregon, bordered by Portland to the northwest and partially in the southwest. It was first settled in the early 1850s by the Powell brothers. It ...
, for two years. In 1998, he transferred to
Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University (SOU) is a public university in Ashland, Oregon. It was founded in 1872 as the Ashland Academy, has been in its current location since 1926, and was known by nine other names before assuming its current name in 1997.Kre ...
in
Ashland, Oregon
Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 in Oregon, Interstate 5 approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the California border and near the south end of the Rogue Valley. The city's population w ...
, where he earned his
Bachelor of Fine Arts
A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA).
Background ...
degree
in 2001
and performed for two summers at the
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a regional Repertory, repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1935 by Angus L. Bowmer. The Festival now offers matinee and evening performances of a wide range of classic and conte ...
.
Career
2000–2007: Early roles
Before relocating to Hollywood, Moore starred with Gretchen Stouts and Nina Smidt in Tom Monson's ''Drug Wars, The High Times'' (1999), a video about underage binge drinking.
In 2000, he moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, and appeared in several television commercials, including ones for
eBay
eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...
,
Cingular Wireless
AT&T Mobility, LLC, also known as AT&T Wireless and marketed as simply AT&T, is an American telecommunications company. Formed in April 2000 as Cingular Wireless LLC, It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Inc. and provides wireless serv ...
, and
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was r ...
.
Moore shot an international campaign for a branch of
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
cell phones, XELIBRI, which won a Lion Award. Moore made an appearance in the music video for the song "
Youth of the Nation" by rap rock band
P.O.D.
P.O.D. (an initialism for Payable on Death) is an American nu metal band formed in 1992 and based in San Diego, California. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Paul Joshua "Sonny" Sandoval, bassist Mark "Traa" Daniels, lead guitarist Mar ...
Moore's first major film role was in 2004's ''
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story''. Between 2004 and 2005, he appeared in a recurring guest role on the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
series ''
LAX
A lax is a salmon.
LAX as an acronym most commonly refers to Los Angeles International Airport in Southern California, United States.
LAX or Lax may also refer to:
Places
Within Los Angeles
* Union Station (Los Angeles), Los Angeles' main tr ...
''. This was followed by roles in the films ''
Grandma's Boy'', and as a jaded art student in
Terry Zwigoff
Terry Zwigoff (born May 18, 1949) is an American film director whose work often deals with misfits, antiheroes, and themes of alienation. He first garnered attention for his work in documentary filmmaking with ''Louie Bluie'' (1985) and '' Crumb' ...
's ''
Art School Confidential
''Art School Confidential'' is a 2006 American comedy-drama film directed by Terry Zwigoff and starring Max Minghella, Sophia Myles, John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent, Matt Keeslar, Ethan Suplee, Joel Moore, Nick Swardson, Adam Scott, and ...
'' (both 2006).
The same year, he also had a lead role in the independent
slasher film
A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic ...
''
Hatchet
A hatchet (from the Old French language, Old French , a diminutive form of ''hache'', 'axe' of Germanic origin) is a Tool, single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade on one side used to cut and split wood, and a hammerhead on the other side ...
'',
[ a bit part in '' The Shaggy Dog'', and a supporting role in '']El Muerto El Muerto is a Spanish term that translates as ''"The Dead One"''. It may refer to:
Comics
* El Muerto: The Aztec Zombie, an independent comic book character created by Javier Hernandez
* El Muerto (DC Comics), a DC Comics superhero and crime-fight ...
'', based on the eponymous comic book series. Also in 2007, Moore made directorial debut with the psychological thriller ''Spiral
In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving further away as it revolves around the point. It is a subtype of whorled patterns, a broad group that also includes concentric objects.
Two-dimensional
A two-dimension ...
'', which he filmed in his hometown of Portland, and co-starred in with Amber Tamblyn
Amber Rose Tamblyn (born May 14, 1983) is an American actress and author. She first came to national attention in her role on the soap opera ''General Hospital'' as Emily Quartermaine at the age of 11. She followed with a starring role on the p ...
.[
]
2008–present: Acting and directing
In 2008, he was cast in the supporting role of Dr. Norm Spellman in James Cameron
James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...
's ''Avatar
Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...
'' (2009).[ The same year, he was cast as intern Colin Fisher on the ]Fox
Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush").
Twelve species ...
series ''Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...
'', a guest role he would portray across 16 episodes until the series' conclusion in 2017. During the fifth season episode " The Gamer in the Grease", his character invites two other characters, Dr.Jack Hodgins
Jack Hodgins (born October 3, 1938 in Comox Valley, British Columbia) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer.
Critically acclaimed, among his best received works is ''Broken Ground'' (1998), a historical novel set after the World War I, ...
(portrayed by T. J. Thyne
Thomas Joseph Thyne (born March 7, 1975) is an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Jack Hodgins in the television series ''Bones'' from 2005 to 2017.
Life
Thyne was born on March 7, 1975, in Stoughton, Massachusetts. He lived in ...
) and Dr. Lance Sweets
Dr. Lance Sweets, Ph.D., Psy.D., is a fictional character in the American television series '' Bones''. He was portrayed by John Francis Daley.
Daley first made three guest appearances as Sweets during the first eight episodes of Season 3, fir ...
(portrayed by John Francis Daley
John Francis Daley (born July 20, 1985) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for playing high school freshman Sam Weir on the NBC comedy-drama ''Freaks and Geeks'' and FBI criminal profiler Dr. Lance Sweets on the crime drama se ...
) to attend the ''Avatar'' premiere, in which Moore was also cast. Moore also had a supporting role in ''Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
Beyond (a) reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems. It is a higher standard of proof than the standard of balance of probabilities (US English: preponderance of t ...
'' (2009), a remake of the 1956 film of the same name. He also starred alongside Katy Perry
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...
in her 2009 music video for "Waking Up in Vegas
"Waking Up in Vegas" is a song by American singer Katy Perry, released as the fourth and final single from her second studio album, ''One of the Boys'' (2008). Perry wrote the song with Desmond Child and Andreas Carlsson, and Greg Wells produced ...
".
Other film roles included a supporting part in 2012's '' Savages'', directed by Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...
, and in the crime-thriller '' Gone'' (2012), opposite Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Michelle Seyfried ( ; born December 3, 1985) is an American actress and singer. She began acting at 15, with a recurring role as Lucy Montgomery in the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns'' (1999–2001). She came to prominence for he ...
.[ Moore directed ''Killing Winston Jones'' in fall 2012 in ]Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...
, which starred Danny Glover
Danny Glover ( ; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, producer, and political activist. Over his career he has received List of awards and nominations received by Danny Glover, numerous accolades including the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian A ...
, Jon Heder
Jonathan Joseph Heder (; born October 26, 1977) is an American actor. He is best known for his breakout lead role as the title character of the comedy film ''Napoleon Dynamite'' (2004). He also voiced the character in the Fox animated serie ...
and Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss ( ; Dreyfus; born October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He emerged from the New Hollywood wave of American cinema, finding fame with a succession of leading man parts in the 1970s. He has received an Academy Award, a ...
. The film was never released.
He would also reprise his role with a cameo appearance
A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
in ''Hatchet III
''Hatchet III'' is a 2013 American slasher film directed by B. J. McDonnell and written by Adam Green. It is the sequel to '' Hatchet II'', and the third overall installment in the titular film series. Kane Hodder portrays the main antagonist V ...
'' (2013). During 2014–2015, he had a supporting role in the series ''Forever
Forever or 4ever may refer to:
Film and television Films
* ''Forever'' (1921 film), an American silent film by George Fitzmaurice
* ''Forever'' (1978 film), an American made-for-television romantic drama, based on the novel by Judy Blume
* '' ...
'', and also in the thriller '' The Guest'' (2014), and Joey Ramone
Jeffrey Ross Hyman (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American singer, songwriter, and the lead vocalist and founding member of the punk rock band Ramones, with Johnny Ramone and Dee Dee Ramone. His ...
in the 2013 historical film ''CBGB
CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...
''.
In 2016, he directed his second feature, '' Youth in Oregon'', starring Frank Langella
Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American actor. He eschewed the career of a traditional film star by making the stage the focal point of his career, appearing frequently on Broadway. He has received four Tony Awards (out of ...
, Christina Applegate
Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an American actress. With a career spanning five decades, her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, along with nominations for four Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award.
After appearing in se ...
and Billy Crudup
William Gaither Crudup (; born July 8, 1968) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead for his performance in '' Jesus' Son'' (1999). He went on to star in numerous high-profile films, including ...
.[ In 2017, it was reported that Moore had signed on to appear in the ''Avatar'' sequels, '' Avatar: The Way of Water'' (2022) and '' Avatar: Fire and Ash'' (2025).]
Filmography
Acting roles
Film
Television
Music videos
Filmmaking roles
Feature Film
Short Film
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Joel
1977 births
American male film actors
American male television actors
Living people
Male actors from Portland, Oregon
Southern Oregon University alumni
Benson Polytechnic High School alumni
Mt. Hood Community College alumni
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors