Josh Charles
Josh Charles is an Emmy®, Golden Globe®, SAG award and Critics’ Choice-nominated film, television and stage actor. Currently, he can be seen starring in the acclaimed FX limited series “The Veil,” opposite Elisabeth Moss. Recently, Charles starred in Amazon Studios’ limited series “The Power” opposite Toni Collette as well as in Michel Franco’s “Memory,” opposite Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard. He can also be seen in the film “Mother’s Instinct,” based on Barbara Abel’s novel “Derrière la Haine,” and starring alongside Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway.
This year, Charles appeared in the Taylor Swift music video “Fortnight,” where he reunited with his “Dead Poets Society” co-star Ethan Hawke. The classic movie was released the year Swift was born and inspired the title for her latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”
Previously, Charles was seen as Daniel Hersl in the HBO limited series “We Own This City” from executive producers George Pelecanos and David Simon (The Wire). The critically acclaimed series, based on the book by former Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton, chronicles the rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force.
Charles secured his first feature film role in John Waters’ 1986 film “Hairspray.” The following year, he co-starred as Knox Overstreet in the Academy Award®-winning film “Dead Poets Society.” Other notable film roles include “Delorean,” “Norman,” “The Drowning,” “Freeheld,” “I Smile Back,” “Bird People,” “S.W.A.T.,” “Four Brothers,” “Threesome,” “Pie in the Sky,” “Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead,” “Crossing the Bridge,” “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead” and “Seeing Other People.”
On television, he spent five seasons playing Will Gardner on the CBS award-winning drama “The Good Wife” for which he received two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor on a Drama Series and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Moreover, prior to “The Good Wife,” Charles co-starred in the first season of the acclaimed HBO series “In Treatment,” as well as Aaron Sorkin’s comedy-drama series “Sports Night.” Other television work includes “Away,” “The Loudest Voice,” “Masters of Sex,” “Law and Order: True Crime,” “Wet Hot American Summer,” “Drunk History,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “Stella,” “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” and “Inside Amy Schumer.”
On stage, he was most recently seen on Broadway in Young Jean Lee’s “Straight White Men” (Drama League Nomination) and in the world premiere of Annie Baker’s “The Antipodes” for the Signature Theater. Additional theatre credits include the U.S. premiere of Neil LaBute’s “The Distance From Here” (Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble) at MCC, the world premiere of Richard Greenberg’s “The Well-appointed Roo”m for the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Caryl Churchill’s “A Number” at ACT, the world premiere of Adam Bock’s “The Receptionist” at MTC, and “The Glass Menagerie” and “A Dance Lesson” at the Long Wharf Theater.
Charles was born and raised in Baltimore, and is an avid sports fan, especially for the Ravens and Orioles. His voice can be heard narrating the NFL Films documentary series “A Football Life” on the NFL Network. Charles currently resides in New York.