Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt was born on February 17, 1981, inLos Angeles, California,[3] and was raised in theSherman Oaks neighborhood.[4] He has stated that he is of "100%Ashkenazi Jewish" descent,[5] from a family that is "not strictly religious".[6] His parents were among the founders of theProgressive Jewish Alliance.[7] Gordon-Levitt's father, Dennis Levitt, was once the news director for thePacifica Radio stationKPFK-FM.[8][9] His mother, Jane Gordon, ran for theUnited States Congress in California during the 1970s for thePeace and Freedom Party; she met Dennis Levitt while she was working as the program guide editor for KPFK-FM.[8] Gordon-Levitt's maternal grandfather,Michael Gordon (1909–1993), was a Hollywood film director.[8] Gordon-Levitt had an older brother, Dan,[10][11] a photographer andfire spinner who died in 2010 at the age of 36.[12] Gordon-Levitt attendedVan Nuys High School and graduated in 1999.[13]
Gordon-Levitt joined a musical theater group at the age of four and played theScarecrow in a production ofThe Wizard of Oz. Subsequently, he was approached by an agent and began appearing on television and in commercials forSunny Jim peanut butter,Cocoa Puffs,Pop-Tarts, andKinney Shoes.[8]
At age six, he starred in severalmade-for-television films. In 1991, he played both David Collins andDaniel Collins in theDark Shadows television series and appeared in the filmA River Runs Through It.[14] In the same year, he made an appearance as a boy who witnesses a murder in an episode ofQuantum Leap. During 1992–93, he played inThe Powers That Be, a sitcom starringJohn Forsythe, as a clever young boy named Pierce Van Horne. Also in 1992, he portrayedGregory Kingsley in the made-for-TV filmSwitching Parents, based on Kingsley's real-life case of "divorcing" his parents. In 1994, he starred in the Disney filmAngels in the Outfield as an orphan who sees angels. In 1996, he got the role ofTommy Solomon on the sitcom3rd Rock from the Sun. The series ran for six seasons. TheSan Francisco Chronicle noted that Gordon-Levitt was a "Jewish kid playing anextraterrestrial pretending to be a Jewish kid".[15] During the 1990s, he was frequently featured in teenager magazines. He also made an appearance onThat '70s Show in 1998 as Buddy, a gay teenager who assumes his friend (main character Eric Forman) is gay, as well, in the episode "Eric's Buddy".[16]
Gordon-Levitt has said that he made a conscious decision to "be in good movies" after returning to acting.[19] His films include 2001's dramaManic, which was set in amental institution,Mysterious Skin (2004) in which he played a gay prostitute andchild sexual abuse victim, andBrick (2005), a modern-dayfilm noir set atSan Clemente High School. InBrick, he had the lead role of Brendan Frye, a teen who becomes involved in an underground drug ring while investigating a murder.Brick received positive reviews, withTheMinnesota Daily's critic commenting that Gordon-Levitt played the character "beautifully", saying the performance was "true to (the) film's style", "unfeeling but not disenchanted", and "sexy in the most ambiguous way".[19][20] Another review describes the performance as "astounding".[21]In 2001, Gordon-Levitt made his debut on the New York stage to excellent reviews in the off-Broadway premiere ofAustin Pendleton'sUncle Bob at the SoHo Playhouse. Gordon-Levitt starred oppositeGeorge Morfogen in the gritty, two-character play. The production was directed by Courtney Moorehead and produced by Steven Sendor.[22]
He starred oppositeSteve Sandvoss as a young, judgmental missionary inLatter Days (2003), a film that centers on a sexually repressedMormon missionary (Sandvoss), who falls for his gay neighbor. He also had roles inHavoc andShadowboxer.[23]
His next role was in 2007'sThe Lookout in which he played Chris Pratt, a janitor involved in abank heist. In reviewing the film,The Philadelphia Inquirer described Gordon-Levitt as a "surprisingly formidable, and formidably surprising, leading man",[24] whileNew York magazine stated that he is a "majortabula rasa actor ... a minimalist", and his character is effective because he "doesn't seize the space ... by what he takes away from the character".[25] TheSan Francisco Chronicle specified that he "embodies, more than performs, a character's inner life".[15] His 2008 and 2009 films includeStop-Loss, directed byKimberly Peirce and revolving around American soldiers returning from theIraq War, andKillshot, in which he played a hoodlum partnered with a hired killer played byMickey Rourke.[19]
Gordon-Levitt played a lead role opposite to friendZooey Deschanel in500 Days of Summer, a well-received 2009 release about the deconstruction of a relationship.[23] His performance, described as "the real key" to what makes the film work, credits him with using "his usual spell in subtle gradations".[26]Variety's Todd McCarthy praised his performance, saying he "expressively alternates between enthusiasm and forlorn disappointment in the mannerJack Lemmon could".[27]Peter Travers ofRolling Stone said the film "hits you like a blast of pure romantic oxygen" and credited both lead actors for playing "it for real, with a grasp of subtlety and feeling that goes beyond the call of breezy duty".[28] He was subsequently nominated for aGolden Globe Award.[29]
Gordon-Levitt played a new character, Johnny, in the sequelSin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014), described by the filmmakers as "a cocky gambler who disguises a darker mission to destroy his most foul enemy at his best game".[36] In October 2013, it was reported that he was one of the frontrunners to playScott Lang / Ant-Man II forMarvel Studios' superhero filmAnt-Man, a role which eventually went toPaul Rudd.[37]
Gordon-Levitt's first film as director, the 24-minute-longSparks, was an adaptation of a short story byElmore Leonard starringCarla Gugino andEric Stoltz.Sparks was selected for the 2009Sundance Film Festival to be shown as part of a new program for short films.[50] In 2010, he directed another short film,Morgan and Destiny's Eleventeenth Date: The Zeppelin Zoo.[51] It premiered at two houses during theSouth by Southwest festival inAustin.[51]
In 2013, Gordon-Levitt wrote, directed, and starred in his screenwriting and directorial debut,Don Jon. The film also starsScarlett Johansson,Julianne Moore, andTony Danza, and it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2013. Following the premiere, the film was acquired byRelativity Media, and Gordon-Levitt stated: "I always intended this to be a movie for a mass popular audience. Everyone told me it was a long shot ... I couldn't possibly be more grateful."[53]
In September 2019, Gordon-Levitt was announced to be writing, directing, starring, and executive producingMr. Corman, a comedy-drama series produced byA24 forApple TV+.[54]
Gordon-Levitt created the platform in 2010 after a period of stagnation in his acting career. "I wanted to be creative, and no one was letting me [so I said] OK, I have to figure out something to do on my own." The company has $6.4 million in venture capital.[56]
On 6 November 2020, Gordon-Levitt releasedHong Kong Never Sleeps, a collaborative short film paying homage to Hong Kong created on hitRECord, on his Facebook page. It features photos and videos he collected from Hong Kongers since August 2020, which some themed around theHong Kong protests starting in 2019, and voice by actors he recruited in October 2020.[57][58]
In September 2025,The New York Times released an opinion video of Gordon-Levitt talking about the dangersMeta’s AI chatbot poses for kids. He said that as the father of an 8-year-old, the idea that kids were having “synthetic intimacy” with chatbots talking to minors made him “livid”. The actor calledMark Zuckerberg out for choosing “lots and lots of money” over implementing safety regulations for minors’ interactions with his company’s AI tools.[59]
On October 4, 2010, Gordon-Levitt's older brother, Daniel Gordon-Levitt, was found dead inHollywood, California,[60] at the age of 36.[61] According to the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office, Daniel's cause of death was "ketamine intoxication, with the injury occurring by intake of overdose".[62][63] Joseph Gordon-Levitt has publicly disputed the claim that his brother's death was caused by a drug overdose.[64][63]
In October 2013, Gordon-Levitt identified himself as afeminist, giving credit to his mother: "My mom brought me up to be a feminist. She was active in the movement in the 1960s and 1970s. The Hollywood movie industry has come a long way since its past. It certainly has a bad history of sexism, but it ain't all the way yet."[65]
In December 2014, Gordon-Levitt married Tasha McCauley, the founder and CEO of technology company Fellow Robots.[66][67] Their first child, a son, was born in August 2015.[68] Their second son was born in June 2017.[69] Their third child, a daughter, was born in 2022.[70] McCauley and he do not want to reveal any details of their children to the media, including their first names.[68][69] He lives with his family inPasadena, California.[71]
McCafferty, Dennis; Alan Carter; Lydia Strohl (April 2, 1999)."Favorites of a Young Rock Star". USA Today, through Rome News-Tribune.Archived from the original on March 19, 2021. RetrievedJuly 9, 2010.
^Wright, Andrew (April 6, 2006)."On Screen".The Stranger: Seattle's Only Newspaper.Archived from the original on March 19, 2021. RetrievedMarch 26, 2007.
^"Report: Joseph Gordon-Levitt weds Tasha McCauley".Newsday. January 1, 2015.Archived from the original on March 19, 2021. RetrievedJanuary 3, 2014.McCauley's Twitter and Facebook pages say she is co-founder of Fellow Robots, a robotics company in Mountain View, California, but the firm's Web page lists only James Fahn and CEO Marco Mascorro as founders.
^abcdefghi"Joseph Gordon-Levitt (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. RetrievedAugust 30, 2025. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
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