Josh Charles

Early life

Joshua Aaron Charles was born on September 15, 1971, the son of Allan Charles, an advertising executive, and Laura Peyton. He is Jewish on his father's side and identifies as Jewish himself. He began his career performing comedy at the age of 9. As a teenager, he spent several summers at Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Center in New York. He attended the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he was a classmate of Jada Pinkett and Tupac Shakur.

Career

Charles' film debut was in John Waters' Hairspray in 1988. The following year, he starred alongside Robin Williams and Ethan Hawke in Dead Poets Society. Other film roles have included Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, Threesome, Pie in the Sky, Muppets from Space, S.W.A.T, Four Brothers, After.Life, Crossing the Bridge, and Brief Interviews with Hideous Men.

On television, Charles played sports anchor Dan Rydell in Aaron Sorkin's Sports Night, which ran for two years (1998–2000) and earned Charles a Screen Actors Guild nomination. In 2008, Charles played the role of Jake in season one of HBO's In Treatment. In 2009, he returned to network television in the drama The Good Wife. For his work on the series, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2011 and 2014.

Also in 2011, Charles narrated the debut episode for NFL Network's A Football Life on New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

In theater, Charles headlined a production of Jonathan Marc Sherman's *Confrontation *in 1986. In 2004, he appeared on stage in New York in a revival of Neil LaBute's The Distance from Here, which received a Drama Desk Award for Best Ensemble Cast. In January 2006, he appeared in the world premiere of Richard Greenberg's The Well-Appointed Room for the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, and he followed this with a run at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, portraying the cloned brothers in Caryl Churchill's A Number. In 2007, he appeared in Adam Bock's The Receptionist at the Manhattan Theatre Club.

He appeared off-Broadway in Annie Baker's The Antipodes at the Signature Theatre in 2017. He made his Broadway debut in Straight White Men by Young Jean Lee at the Hayes Theater in 2018.

In 2022, Charles starred in We Own This City, an HBO limited series. The series was noteworthy because it was set in Baltimore, Charles' hometown. His first film, Hairspray, was set in Baltimore and over three decades later, We Own This City was his only other role to date with ties to the city.

He appeared in Taylor Swift's music video for "Fortnight" in 2024.

In May 2025, it was announced that he was set to star in an American remake of the British series Doc Martin on Fox network titled Best Medicine in the 2025–2026 TV season.

Personal life

In September 2013, Charles married ballet dancer and author Sophie Flack, with whom he lives in New York City. On December 9, 2014, Flack gave birth to the couple's first child, a son. On August 23, 2018, Charles revealed on his Instagram that Flack gave birth to their second child, a daughter.

Charles was born, raised and educated in Baltimore, he got his first big acting break in a John Waters film, and his family still lives in the city. As a result, Charles is known for his deep ties to Baltimore and he returns frequently for visits. Charles is famously a big fan of the Ravens and Orioles, and follows city politics closely.

In 2011, he participated in a video from the Human Rights Campaign in support of same-sex marriage and also supported the 2012 Maryland same-sex marriage referendum.

He supported Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016. In 1999, the campaign of then-U.S. Senate candidate Hillary Clinton had requested a copy of a Sports Night episode in which Charles' character Dan Rydell talks about his admiration for Clinton and recounts attending a fundraiser for her off-screen.

In August 2014, he signed an open letter from members of the Hollywood community condemning Hamas rocket attacks on Israel during the 2014 Gaza War. In October 2023, he was one of many Hollywood signatories of a letter calling on President Biden to work toward the release of all Israeli hostages after the October 7 attacks.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. "Josh Charles".
2. Sandler, Gilbert. (July 16, 1996). "Baltimore Glimpses: the Hollywood trail". [[The Baltimore Sun]].
3. Josh Charles. (October 12, 2012). "My grandpa, Wilbur Heckscher".
4. Desmon, Stephanie. (February 17, 2008). "Lillian 'Libby' Charles". The Baltimore Sun.
5. Badger, Sylvia. (January 28, 1996). "Local group visits Utah to bring films into Maryland".
6. By. (February 4, 1994). "Boosting state as site for moviemaking".
7. Feinberg, Scott. (June 21, 2012). "Emmys 2012: Josh Charles on Falling in Love with 'The Good Wife' (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter.
8. "The American Israelite » Jewz in the Newz".
9. Writer, NATE BLOOMContributing. (July 8, 2011). "Jewish Stars 7/15".
10. (June 29, 2017). "kritiken/Abrahams".
11. "Josh Charles - Trivia".
12. (January 28, 2003). "Neyer: Mr. Baltimore".
13. "Josh Charles interview: 'In Treatment' (HBO), 2007/2008".
14. (May 10, 2008). "HBO: In Treatment: Jake & Amy".
15. "'Night Talk' interview with Josh Charles: 01/02/08".
16. Forsberg, Chris. "Belichick documentary set for NFL Network – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston". Espn.go.com.
17. "First Look at Josh Charles and Josh Hamilton in The Antipodes".
18. (April 30, 2017). "Signature Theatre - The Antipodes at Signature Theatre".
19. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. (May 20, 2017). "Josh Charles Teleports from The Tonight Show Using His Magic Zipper".
20. "See Straight White Men's Armie Hammer, Josh Charles, Kate Bornstein, and More Meet the Press".
21. Evans, Greg. (April 5, 2018). "Josh Charles To Make Broadway Debut In 'Straight White Men' With Armie Hammer".
22. (August 19, 2018). "2econd Stage Theater".
23. Petski, Denise. (May 19, 2021). "Jon Bernthal, Josh Charles, Jamie Hector To Star In 'We Own This City' HBO Limited Series From 'The Wire' Team". Deadline Hollywood.
24. "Native Baltimorean Josh Charles on Returning to his Hometown to Play Daniel Hersl in 'We Own This City'".
25. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. (May 7, 2024). "Josh Charles Thought He Was Being Punk'd by Ethan Hawke About Taylor Swift's "Fortnight" Video".
26. Andreeva, Nellie. (May 9, 2025). "Josh Charles To Star In Fox Adaptation Of British Hit 'Doc Martin' Ordered To Series For 2025-26".
27. Goldstein, Meredith. (October 10, 2011). "A novel life: A former dancer's new career takes shape – Boston Globe". Boston.com.
28. Webber, Stephanie. (September 7, 2013). "Josh Charles Wedding: Good Wife Star Marries Girlfriend Sophie Flack!". Us Weekly.
29. Chen, Joyce. (January 4, 2018). "The Good Wife's Josh Charles Just Snapped Up a $6.3 Million Condo in a Star-Studded NYC Building".
30. Robinson, Kara Mayer. (April 14, 2017). "How the Actor Josh Charles Spends His Sundays". The New York Times.
31. Fernandez, Jennifer. (October 16, 2024). "Inside Josh Charles and Sophie Flack's Creative Haven in Greenwich Village".
32. (December 12, 2014). "Josh Charles, Wife Sophie Flack Welcome Their First Child Together – a Baby Boy!". Us Weekly.
33. (2018). "Josh Charles Reveals The Birth of His Daughter". Instagram.
34. (November 30, 2011). "Watch Now: The Good Wife's Josh Charles Takes a Stand for Marriage Equality".
35. Linskey, Annie. (September 13, 2012). "New York star power behind Md. same-sex marriage law".
36. Hillary Clinton. (October 17, 2016). "Josh Charles on the HFA Victory Counsel {{!}} Hillary Clinton".
37. Starr, Michael. (October 12, 1999). "'SPORTS' FAN HILLARY AWAITS 'NIGHT' GUY".
38. Archerd, Army. (October 12, 1999). "'Sports' features Hillary-inspired story".
39. "Sports Night: "Special Powers"/"When Something Wicked This Way Comes"".
40. T. H. R. Staff. (August 23, 2014). "More Than 190 Hollywood Notables Sign Pro-Israel Statement Criticizing Hamas".
41. (August 25, 2014). "Creative Community For Peace - Commitment to Peace & Justice".
42. Donnelly, Matt. (October 23, 2023). "Hollywood Stars and Executives Thank President Biden for Leadership, Call for Release of All Hamas Hostages".
43. (October 24, 2023). "NoHostageLeftBehind".
44. Evans, Greg. (March 6, 2019). "'Framing John DeLorean' Trailer: Alec Baldwin Stars Alongside Real DeLorean In New Hybrid Film".
45. (April 19, 2024). "Taylor Swift Enlists Dead Poets Society Actors Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles for 'Fortnight' Music Video". Dotdash Meredith.