Joel Edgerton

Early life

Edgerton was born in Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia the son of Michael, a solicitor and property developer, and Marianne (née van Dort) Edgerton. His mother is a Dutch immigrant, who was born in The Hague. He graduated from The Hills Grammar School in 1991. He attended the Nepean Drama School at the University of Western Sydney, before moving on to various stage productions, including at Sydney Theatre Company.

Career

Edgerton has appeared in such films as Erskineville Kings, King Arthur and Ned Kelly. In the Star Wars franchise, he played a young Owen Lars in Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005) and reprised the role in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi. He played Will on The Secret Life of Us, for which he won an AACTA Award in 2002. In 2005, he lent his voice to the title character of The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello, an Academy Award-nominated animated short film. The same year, he appeared as the son of a deceased shoemaker in the British comedy Kinky Boots. He appeared in Smokin' Aces (2006).

Edgerton appeared in the film Whisper (2007), The Square (which he co-wrote and which was directed by his brother Nash Edgerton), Acolytes, and Separation City. In 2009, he starred as Stanley in the Sydney Theatre Company's acclaimed production of A Streetcar Named Desire. He appeared in a production of the same play at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in December 2009. He appeared in the crime drama film Animal Kingdom as Barry Baz Brown in 2010 in which he won an AFI award. He starred as fictional MMA fighter Brendan Conlon in the film Warrior (2011).

In February 2010, Edgerton was cast in Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.'s 2011 prequel to The Thing, portraying helicopter pilot Sam Carter. He played Tom Buchanan in Baz Luhrmann's 2013 remake of The Great Gatsby. He was honoured for his work in international roles with the 2011 Australians in Film Breakthrough Award.

In 2013, it was revealed that Edgerton and David Michôd had collaborated on writing an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henriad" plays, Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V, for Warner Bros. Pictures.

In 2014, Edgerton starred in the biblical film Exodus: Gods and Kings, as Ramesses II, Moses' adoptive brother, who became a notorious king. Edgerton directed, starred in, wrote, and produced the thriller The Gift, which was released on 7 August 2015 and grossed 60 million with a budget of 5 million. He co-starred in the 2015 film Black Mass as John Connolly, FBI contact and childhood friend of notorious gangster Whitey Bulger.

In 2016, he starred in the Jeff Nichols films Midnight Special and Loving, and in 2017, he starred in the film Bright as Officer Nick Jacoby, an orc who is a police officer.

In 2018, Edgerton headlined Francis Lawrence's thriller film Red Sparrow with Jennifer Lawrence, and based on the book by Jason Matthews. He plays Nathaniel Nash, a CIA agent who becomes involved with a Russian spy Dominika Egorova (Lawrence). In February 2018, Timothée Chalamet joined the cast of The King, with Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner producing, alongside Liz Watts, under their Plan B Entertainment banner. In March 2018, Edgerton joined the cast of the film.

In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, it was announced that a new film, The Unknown Man, directed by Thomas M. Wright, would begin filming in South Australia as soon as enough of the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. It was released in 2022 as The Stranger. In September 2020, Edgerton was tapped to star in and executive produce limited series The Florida Man based on a novel of the same name by Tom Cooper.

In 2021, Edgerton starred in the medieval fantasy film The Green Knight written and directed by David Lowery.

In 2024, Edgerton guest starred in the Bluey episode "The Sign", voicing a German Shepherd policeman.

In 2025, Edgerton starred in the drama film Train Dreams, receiving universal acclaim from the critics. The performance earned him nominations for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Performance, among others.

Philanthropy

Edgerton has been a distinguished ambassador for The Fred Hollows Foundation for a number of years and has strong personal ties to the organisation, which works to restore people's sight in poor countries and to improve the health of Aboriginal Australians. In 2012, he visited Nepal, where he saw sight restored first hand. He has described social activism and his involvement with The Fred Hollows Foundation as "an escape" from the "materialistic life" that often surrounds an actor. The Fred Hollows Foundation is an international non-profit organisation which educates and provides equipment for under-supported surgeons to help cure avoidable blindness.

Personal life

Edgerton's brother, Nash, is a stuntman and filmmaker. Both he and his brother are a part of the Australian film collective Blue-Tongue Films. Nash directed Joel in 2018's Gringo.

Joel was in a relationship with Olympic Gold medalist Cathy Freeman from 2003 to 2005.

In 2018, Edgerton began a relationship with Christine Centenera, editor-in-chief of Vogue Australia. They have known each other since the late 1990s. Their twins were born in May 2021.

Filmography

Acting roles

Film

Television

Stage

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

References

1. "Behind The Voice Actors: Joel Edgerton".
2. (8 January 2005). "Oh, brother". The Sydney Morning Herald.
3. (29 March 2012). "'Square' director, Nash Edgerton, likes keeping audiences on edge". Post-gazette.com.
4. "Joel Edgerton And Nash Edgerton Talk 'Gringo' and Being Best of Friends – Interviews – Articles".
5. (27 September 2015). "Ashburn House Spring newsletter 2015".
6. (30 October 1998). "The Secret Life of Us: profiles". Australian Television.
7. {{IMDb name. 249291
8. (29 March 2021). "'Obi-Wan Kenobi' To Start Production in April; Disney+ Series Cast Includes Joel Edgerton Returning To 'Star Wars' Franchise". Deadline.
9. ""Smokin Aces" Movie Photo: Jeremy Piven and Joel Edgerton". About.com.
10. "Whisper Web site".
11. "Separation City". [[NZ On Screen]].
12. "A Streetcar Named Desire". Sydneytheatre.com.au.
13. Brantley, Ben. (3 December 2009). "NY Times article on A Streetcar Named Desire". Theater.nytimes.com.
14. +theTime+. (8 February 2010). "'The Thing' Has Found Its First Two Hosts". Bloody-disgusting.com.
15. Hassan, Genevieve. (21 September 2011). "Can Warrior pack a punch in the UK?". BBC.
16. (5 April 2010). "Lead Joel Edgerton Talks The Thing Prequel". Dreadcentral.com.
17. (2 March 2010). "The Thing Star Joel Edgerton Puts Remake or Prequel Argument to Rest". Dreadcentral.com.
18. "Breakthrough & Heath Ledger Scholarship Winners".
19. Davies, Luke. (June 2013). "Joel Edgerton after Gatsby".
20. Wood, Stephanie. (26 July 2014). "Australian actor Joel Edgerton hits the Hollywood big time".
21. Jagernauth, Kevin. (3 September 2016). "Joel Edgerton Talks 'Game of Thrones' Meets Shakespeare Project With David Michôd, 'Jane Got A Gun,' And More".
22. "The Gift (2015) (2015) – Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo.
23. Jagernauth, Kevin. (28 February 2014). "Warner Bros. Boards Johnny Depp's 'Black Mass' But Kiboshes Ben Affleck & Matt Damon's Whitey Bulger Pic". IndieWire.
24. Kroll, Justin. (27 June 2013). "Joel Edgerton Eyes Jeff Nichols Film at Warners (EXCLUSIVE)". [[Variety (magazine).
25. (26 October 2015). "First photo from Loving with Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga debuts".
26. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (8 February 2018). "Timothee Chalamet To Play King Henry V in David Michôd Netflix Film 'The King".
27. Vlessing, Etan. (22 March 2018). "Joel Edgerton Joins Timothee Chalamet in Netflix Drama 'The King'".
28. (20 April 2020). "Joel Edgerton Thriller 'The Unknown Man' To Shoot In South Australia".
29. (20 April 2020). "Crime thriller The Unknown Man to be filmed in SA".
30. (19 April 2020). "Work in the Screen Industry".
31. Frater, Patrick. (20 April 2020). "Joel Edgerton's 'The Unknown Man' Heads for South Australia Shoot".
32. Andreeva, Nellie. (21 September 2020). "Joel Edgerton To Star In & EP 'Florida Man' Limited Series Based On Novel For Anonymous Content".
33. (23 September 2021). "The Green Knight: Dev Patel and Joel Edgerton talk starring in David Lowery's adaptation of the Arthurian tale". GamesRadar+.
34. (30 July 2021). "The Green Knight's Ending, Explained". Condé Nast.
35. Lewis, Hilary. (December 5, 2025). "Critics Choice Awards Nominations: ‘Sinners’ Leads With 17 Nods". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
36. Lewis, Hilary. (December 3, 2025). "Spirit Awards Nominations: ‘Peter Hujar’s Day’ Leads Film Nominees With Five Nods". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
37. "Charity worker is Joel Edgerton's new role".
38. "An actor who doesn't want to be famous".
39. "Joel Edgerton's Philanthropic Journey in Nepal".
40. (9 June 2017). "'It Comes at Night': Why A24 Took a Gamble on a New Filmmaker's Ambitious Horror Vision".
41. (18 January 2016). "Watch THR's Full, Uncensored Actor Roundtable With Will Smith, Mark Ruffalo and More – Actor Oscar Roundtable". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
42. "Will Smith, Mark Ruffalo and Four More A-List Actors on Hollywood Racism, Aging and ... Peeing in Sinks?". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
43. Madsen, Anders Christian. (11 April 2020). "How Christine Centenera Created A Label That's Loved By Rosie, Hailey and Gigi".
44. "Joel Edgerton and wife Christine Centenera welcomed TWINS".
45. "Exclusive: Joel Edgerton Digs into The Square".
46. "Animal Kingdom".
47. Edgerton, Joel. (April 6, 2010). "Joel Edgerton discusses new Thing". [[Future Publishing]].
48. Bergen, Peter. (December 11, 2012). "'Zero Dark Thirty': Did torture really net bin Laden?". CNN.
49. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (May 17, 2011). "Joel Edgerton Gets Tom Buchanan Role In 'The Great Gatsby'". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
50. (August 13, 2013). "Joel Edgerton to Battle Christian Bale in 'Exodus'". variety.com.
51. (14 March 2014). "Joel Edgerton Joins 'Life', Zach Galifianakis & Jon Hamm Are 'Keeping Up With The Joneses' & More".
52. (August 15, 2012). "Joel Edgerton Developing Psychological Thriller Weirdo As Directorial Debut". cinemablend.com.
53. (January 19, 2015). "On the Set for 1/19/15: Kevin Spacey Begins on Elvis & Nixon, Director Joel Edgerton Starts on Blumhouse Film & More". ssninsider.com.
54. Meredith Goldstein. (September 4, 2015). "Medford native Julianne Nicholson on role in 'Black Mass'". [[The Boston Globe]].
55. (September 12, 2012). "Claire Van Der Boom Replaces Julianne Nicholson in Sam Shepard's ''Heartless'', Off-Broadway". [[Broadway.com]].
56. Patten, Dominic. (11 December 2012). "Joel Edgerton In Talks For 'Jane Got A Gun'".
57. Walsh, Katie. (November 22, 2016). "Powerful performances lift 'Loving'". [[The Providence Journal]].
58. Alexander, Bryan. (May 22, 2016). "Cannes: Joel Edgerton interprets awards talk as 'Loving' compliment". [[USA Today]].
59. McNary, Dave. (June 10, 2016). "Joel Edgerton Joins Thriller 'It Comes at Night'".
60. Goldberg, Matt. (March 2, 2016). "David Ayer to Direct Will Smith and Joel Edgerton in Fantastical Cop Flick 'Bright'". [[Complex (magazine).
61. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (June 8, 2017). "Joel Edgerton To Direct, Lucas Hedges To Star In Gay Deprogram Drama 'Boy Erased'".
62. Davies, Luke. (June 2013). "Joel Edgerton after Gatsby".
63. Vlessing, Etan. (22 March 2018). "Joel Edgerton Joins Timothee Chalamet in Netflix Drama 'The King'".
64. (20 April 2020). "Joel Edgerton Thriller 'The Unknown Man' To Shoot In South Australia".
65. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (May 4, 2020). "Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton Head Ensemble Of Ron Howard-Directed MGM Thai Cave Rescue Pic 'Thirteen Lives'". Deadline Hollywood.
66. Grater, Tom. (September 1, 2021). "Joel Edgerton & Sigourney Weaver To Star In Paul Schrader's 'Master Gardener'; HanWay Onboard Sales".
67. (February 10, 2022). "George Clooney's ''Boys In The Boat'' Adaptation With MGM, Spyglass And Smokehouse Sets Top Tier Cast".
68. [https://deadline.com/2025/01/sydney-sweeney-masque-of-the-red-death-picturestart-a24-1236262085/ Sydney Sweeney In Talks To Star In ‘The Masque Of The Red Death’ From Picturestart And A24]
69. Otterson, Joe. (April 16, 2019). "Barry Jenkins' 'Underground Railroad' Series at Amazon Sets Three Main Cast Members".
70. (March 29, 2022). "Joel Edgerton To Star In ''Dark Matter'' Sci-Fi Series Adaptation At Apple TV+; Blake Crouch To Showrun".
71. "Joel Edgerton". AusStage.