Joe Absolom (born 16 December 1978) is an English actor known for his roles asMatthew Rose in theBBCsoap operaEastEnders and Al Large in theITV comedy dramaDoc Martin.^[1][2][3]

Absolom was born inLewisham,^[4]London. A former pupil ofForest Hill School, he made early appearances in the legendary Sun-Pat peanut butter advertisements before making his acting debut with the 1991 filmAntonia and Jane.

Absolom joined the BBC soap operaEastEnders in 1997 portrayingMatthew Rose. He had few storylines in his first year on the show. The storyline which gained him recognition was the murder ofSaskia Duncan, which began in February 1999. His character was framed for the murder by the real culprit,Steve Owen (played byMartin Kemp). After getting revenge on Steve Owen, his character's last appearance aired in February 2000. Absolom won Best Actor atThe British Soap Awards that same year.

After leavingEastEnders, Absolom played the leading role in the 2002 British horror filmLong Time Dead, and a supporting role in theITV seriesVincent. He soon became best known for his role inDoc Martin playing Bert Large's son, Al. The part has won him critical acclaim ever since the series began.

Absolom guest starred inThe Bill between 1992 and 2009 in different roles, and as Benny, a violent loan shark inCasualty. He appeared as a criminal in theinternet crimethrillerGirl Number Nine, also starringTracy-Ann Oberman andGareth David Lloyd.^[5] More recently, he played the part of Ivan in the 2013 horror film 'I Spit on Your Grave 2'. He won a celebrity version of TV showTotal Wipeout which aired on 18 September 2010, receiving £10,000 for charity. He played the real life murdererChristopher Halliwell in the dramaA Confession in 2019. He starred in theITV dramaThe Bay in 2021.

Absolom is also a radio actor, and has appeared in aBBC Radio 4 Play of the day "Bringing Eddie Home" by John Peacock, based on a true story of the fight by East End couple Edna and Jack Wallace to get their son's body brought home from Aden, and the ensuing fight for the rights of British Service personnel. Absolom played the role of Eddie Wallace and the play also included other ex-EastEnders actorsBill Treacher,Edna Doré,Todd Carty andTilly Vosburgh.^[6][7]

• Joe Absolom atIMDb 

• Living people
• British Soap Award for Best Actor winners
• English male soap opera actors
• English male film actors
• English male child actors
• Actors from the London Borough of Lewisham
• Male actors from London
• 20th-century English male actors
• 21st-century English male actors
• Male actors from Kent
• People educated at Forest Hill School
• 1978 births
• People from Lewisham

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from January 2023
• Use British English from March 2012
• Articles with hCards