Joseph Francis Mazzello III (born September 21, 1983) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Tim Murphy in ''
Jurassic Park'',
Eugene Sledge in the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
miniseries ''
The Pacific'',
Dustin Moskovitz
Dustin Aaron Moskovitz (; born May 22, 1984) is an American Internet entrepreneur who co-founded Facebook, Inc. (now known as Meta) with Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum and Chris Hughes. In 2008, he left Facebook to co-found ...
in ''
The Social Network
''The Social Network'' is a 2010 American biographical drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, based on the 2009 book ''The Accidental Billionaires'' by Ben Mezrich. It portrays the founding of social networking websi ...
'', and
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
bass player
John Deacon
John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is an English retired musician, best known for being the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. He wrote several songs for the group, including Top 10 hits " You're My Best Friend", "Another One Bite ...
in the biopic ''
Bohemian Rhapsody
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack o ...
''.
Early life
Mazzello was born in
Rhinebeck, New York, and raised in
Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland. Hyde Park is known as the hometown of Frankl ...
, the son of Virginia (née Strong) and Joseph Francis Mazzello Jr., who owned a
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
studio.
Mazzello went to the Catholic school
Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes (french: Notre-Dame de Lourdes) is a title of the Virgin Mary. She is venerated under this title by the Roman Catholic church due to her apparitions that occurred in Lourdes, France. The first apparition of 11 February 1858, o ...
. He is an alumnus of the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
, entering the
USC School of Cinematic Arts
The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) houses seven academic divisions: Film & Television Production; Cinema & Media Studies; John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts; John Wells Division of Writing for Sc ...
in 2001 following a recommendation letter from director
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
. 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 his graduation present from Spielberg.
["Return to Jurassic Park: Finding The Lost World", ''The Lost World: Jurassic Park'' Blu-Ray (2011)]
Career
Early career: 1990–1998
Mazzello's first film appearance was a small role in 1990s ''
Presumed Innocent'', starring
Harrison Ford. He then went on to appear in ''
Radio Flyer
Radio Flyer is an American toy company best known for their popular red toy wagon. Radio Flyer also produces scooters, tricycles, bicycles, horses, and ride-ons. The company was founded in 1917 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.
History
Antoni ...
'', ''
Jersey Girl'' and the TV film ''
Desperate Choices: To Save My Child'' in 1992. In 1993, Mazzello got his first big breakthrough when he portrayed
Tim Murphy Timothy Murphy may refer to:
Politics
* Tim Murphy (American politician) (born 1952), American Republican Party politician from Pennsylvania
* Tim Murphy (Canadian politician) (born 1959), Canadian politician
* Timothy J. Murphy (1893–1949), I ...
in
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
s ''
Jurassic Park''. Later in the same year, he also starred in
Richard Attenboroughs ''
Shadowlands''. He later appeared in 1994s ' as Roarke Hartman.
In 1995, Mazzello had roles in ' and ''
Three Wishes''. Both films were critical and commercial failures. Mazzello continued his film career with lead roles in ''
Star Kid'' in 1997, and in ''
Simon Birch
''Simon Birch'' is a 1998 American comedy-drama film loosely based on the 1989 novel ''A Prayer for Owen Meany'' by John Irving and written for the screen and directed by Mark Steven Johnson in his directorial debut. The film stars Ian Michael ...
'' with
Ian Michael Smith
Ian Michael Smith (born May 5, 1987) is an American actor, known for his starring role in ''Simon Birch''.
His short physical stature () is a result of Morquio syndrome, a rare enzymatic disorder affecting the circulatory, muscular and skeletal ...
in 1998. Both were critical and commercial flops. He also provided voice-over work in the English dub of ''
The Adventures of Buratino''.
Television debut and directorial debut: 2001–2009
Mazzello's first film role in the 2000s was in 2001s ''
Wooly Boys
''Wooly Boys'' is a 2001 American adventure comedy drama film directed by Leszek Burzynski and starring Peter Fonda, Kris Kristofferson, and Joseph Mazzello. The screenplay concerns sheep ranchers in the Badlands of North Dakota.
Plot
A.J. "Sto ...
''. In 2002, Mazzello made his television debut on ''
Providence
Providence often refers to:
* Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion
* Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity
* Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
''. He then appeared on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
hit shows ''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...
'' and ''
Without a Trace
''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...
''. Afterwards, he appeared in ''
Raising Helen
''Raising Helen'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama film directed by Garry Marshall and written by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler. It stars Kate Hudson, John Corbett, Joan Cusack, Hayden Panettiere, siblings Spencer and Abigail Breslin, and Helen M ...
'' (2004), ' (2004), ' (2006), and the short film ''
Beyond All Boundaries'' (2009). Mazzello made his directorial debut with the short film ''Matters of Life and Death'' (2007).
2010–present
In 2010, Mazzello played
Dustin Moskovitz
Dustin Aaron Moskovitz (; born May 22, 1984) is an American Internet entrepreneur who co-founded Facebook, Inc. (now known as Meta) with Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum and Chris Hughes. In 2008, he left Facebook to co-found ...
, one of the co-founders of
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
, in the
David Fincher-directed film ''
The Social Network
''The Social Network'' is a 2010 American biographical drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, based on the 2009 book ''The Accidental Billionaires'' by Ben Mezrich. It portrays the founding of social networking websi ...
''. His performance was well received by critics and he and the cast were nominated for several awards. During this, he played
Eugene Sledge on the mini-series '. Mazzello went on to appear in ''
G.I. Joe: Retaliation'' as G.I. Joe operative
Mouse
A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...
in 2013. In 2018, Mazzello portrayed
John Deacon
John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is an English retired musician, best known for being the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. He wrote several songs for the group, including Top 10 hits " You're My Best Friend", "Another One Bite ...
in the
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
biopic ''
Bohemian Rhapsody
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack o ...
''.
''The Social Network'' earned $224.9 million,
''G.I. Joe: Retaliation'' $375.7 million,
and ''Bohemian Rhapsody'' $903.7 million
at the worldwide box office.
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
''Matters of Life and Death'' official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazzello, Joseph
1983 births
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American people of English descent
American people of German-Jewish descent
American people of Irish descent
American people of Italian descent
American male child actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
Living people
Male actors from New York (state)
People from Rhinebeck, New York
USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni
People from Hyde Park, New York