Joel Edgerton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Joel Edgerton
Edgerton in 2017
Born	(1974-06-23) 23 June 1974 (age 51) Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia
Alma mater	University of Western Sydney
Occupation	Actor screenwriter producer director
Years active	1995–present
Partner(s)	Christine Centenera (2018–present)
Children	2
Relatives	Nash Edgerton (brother)

Joel Edgerton (born on June 23, 1974) is an actor and filmmaker from Australia. He is famous for many roles in movies and TV shows.

You might know him as Owen Lars in the Star Wars movies Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). He played this role again in the Disney+ show Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022). He was also nominated for a big award, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, for his role in the movie Loving (2016).

In Australia, Joel Edgerton won an award for best actor for his work in the TV show The Secret Life of Us. He has been in many other Australian films like Animal Kingdom (2010) and Wish You Were Here (2012).

He has also appeared in many well-known international movies. These include Warrior (2011), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), The Great Gatsby (2013), and Black Mass (2015). More recently, he starred in The Green Knight (2021) and Thirteen Lives (2022). He also appeared in the Amazon Prime show The Underground Railroad (2021) and the Apple TV+ series Dark Matter (2024).

Joel Edgerton is also a talented filmmaker. He wrote, directed, and starred in the movie The Gift (2015). For this film, he received great reviews and was nominated for a directing award. In 2018, he wrote and directed Boy Erased. The next year, he co-wrote and starred in The King (2019) for Netflix.

Early Life and Education

Joel Edgerton was born in Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia. His father, Michael, was a lawyer and property developer. His mother, Marianne, was born in The Hague, Netherlands.

He finished high school at The Hills Grammar School in 1991. Later, he studied drama at the Nepean Drama School, which is part of the University of Western Sydney. After his studies, he started acting in plays, including at the Sydney Theatre Company.

Acting and Filmmaking Career

Edgerton at the Sydney premiere of The Great Gatsby in May 2013.

Joel Edgerton has had many important roles throughout his career. He played a young Owen Lars in the Star Wars movies Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). He returned to this role in the Disney+ show Obi-Wan Kenobi.

In 2005, he used his voice for the main character in The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello. This was an animated short film that was nominated for an Academy Award. The same year, he was in the British comedy Kinky Boots.

In 2008, he co-wrote the movie The Square, which his brother Nash Edgerton directed. He also starred in the crime drama Animal Kingdom in 2010, winning an award for his role. In 2011, he played a fictional MMA fighter in the movie Warrior.

In 2013, Joel Edgerton played Tom Buchanan in Baz Luhrmann's movie The Great Gatsby. He was honored with the 2011 Australians in Film Breakthrough Award for his international roles.

In 2014, Edgerton starred as Ramesses II in the biblical film Exodus: Gods and Kings. Ramesses II was the adoptive brother of Moses and later became a famous king.

In 2015, he directed, starred in, wrote, and produced the thriller The Gift. This movie was very successful, earning $60 million with a budget of only $5 million. He also co-starred in Black Mass (2015) as John Connolly, an FBI agent.

In 2017, he starred in the movie Bright as Officer Nick Jacoby. This character was an orc who worked as a police officer. He will play this character again in a future sequel.

In 2018, Edgerton starred with Jennifer Lawrence in the thriller Red Sparrow. He played Nathaniel Nash, a CIA agent. In 2019, he joined the cast of The King, a movie produced by Brad Pitt's company.

In 2021, Edgerton starred in the medieval fantasy film The Green Knight. In 2024, he lent his voice to a policeman character in an episode of the popular children's TV show Bluey called "The Sign".

Helping Others

Joel Edgerton is a special ambassador for The Fred Hollows Foundation. This organization helps people in poor countries get their sight back. It also works to improve the health of Aboriginal Australians.

In 2012, he visited Nepal and saw how the foundation helped people see again. He has said that helping with social causes like this is a way to escape the "materialistic life" that actors sometimes experience. The Fred Hollows Foundation is a group that teaches and provides tools for surgeons. This helps them cure blindness that can be prevented.

Personal Life

Joel Edgerton's brother, Nash, is a stuntman and filmmaker. Both brothers are part of a group of Australian filmmakers called Blue-Tongue Films. Nash directed Joel in the 2018 movie Gringo.

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

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

Filmography

Acting roles

Film

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

Filmmaking credits

Short film

Feature film

Stage Performances

Joel Edgerton has also acted in many plays. Here are some of his stage roles:

Awards and Nominations

Joel Edgerton has won and been nominated for many awards for his acting and filmmaking.

See also

In Spanish: Joel Edgerton para niños