Joseph Mawle
Joseph Daniel Turner Mawle (born 21 March 1974) is an English actor. Mawle is best known for his roles as Benjen Stark in Game of Thrones, Detective Inspector Jedediah Shine in Ripper Street, Firebrace in Birdsong, Jesus Christ in The Passion and Odysseus in Troy: Fall of a City.
Joseph Mawle | |
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Born | Oxford, Oxfordshire, England | 21 March 1974
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1998–present |
Early life
Mawle was born in Oxford, England. A farmer's son outside Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. He is one of three children from a family with a history of farming. His mother was a secretary. His father Richard still farms the land.[1]
He attended primary school on the outskirts of Stratford-upon-Avon, where he was diagnosed as severely dyslexic; consequently, he went from the ages of 13 to 16 to a boarding school for special needs. Mawle left the school at 16 with a want to be an actor (he did no acting at school) but contracted labyrinthitis, leaving him 70 per cent hearing-impaired in the upper register and with tinnitus. He persuaded the director of the local college at Stratford-upon-Avon to let him study for a BTEC in performing arts while doing an assortment of jobs such as fitness instructor and dishwasher.[2] He also did some acting for the Box Clever Theatre Company and in his own production of Solo Hamlet. He won a scholarship to study at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.[2]
Career
Mawle graduated from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 2002, in the same year he appeared in the Irish Hurling TV adverts for Guinness. He left in 2002, with no agent, and worked as an assistant in a special needs school. He landed his first major role in a 2003 production of Troilus and Cressida, playing Troilus for Shakespeare at the Tobacco factory, worked at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton, in Hamlet, and in the Royal Exchange, Manchester's production of Antony and Cleopatra in 2005.
It was his performance in the television film Soundproof (2006), wherein a deaf actor was needed for the lead role, that made his biggest impact. Mawle was nominated for the RTS Breakthrough on Screen Award, and director Ed Coulthard won the BAFTA for best director in 2007.
Mawle has appeared in a number of subsequent British television productions, including Dunkirk, winner of the Huw Wheldon BAFTA Award for Factual Drama, and Adrian Shergold's Persuasion (2007) and Channel 4's gay drama Clapham Junction, in the role of Tim. Time Out said, "Mawle and Treadaway put in Bafta-winning efforts". In 2008, Mawle starred as Jesus in the BBC/HBO Films miniseries of The Passion,[3] and as a guest star in the Foyle's War "Broken Souls" episode.
In 2008, Mawle returned to the theatre in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, at the Almeida Theatre, directed by Rupert Goold. He was listed for Outstanding Newcomer by the Evening Standard Theatre Awards and nominated for WhatsOnStage Theatre Choice Awards for Best Newcomer for his performance as Judas.
In 2009, Mawle featured in multiple films: James Marsh's Nineteen Eighty (part of the Red Riding Trilogy), Philip Ridley's Heartless,[4] and Dominic Savage's Freefall opposite Dominic Cooper and Aidan Gillen. On television that year, he starred in episode 4 of Jimmy McGovern's The Street.[5]
In 2010, Mawle featured in artist David Austen's End of Love and in the short film Sometimes The Moon Is Velvet, which toured festivals. He also appeared in Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, the BBC drama Five Daughters, Dominic Savage's Dive, and Made in Dagenham starring Sally Hawkins. In 2011, he starred as Gerald Crich alongside Rosamund Pike as Crich's lover Gudrun Brangwen, in the BBC Four television adaptation of Women in Love.[6]
Also in 2011, he was featured in The Horrible Crowes' music video for their debut single "Behold the Hurricane"[7][8] and joined the HBO series Game of Thrones as Benjen Stark.[9] Mawle appeared in the pilot episode and returned to the role in Season 6.[10]
Mawle appeared in several projects in 2012, including the Working Title production of Sebastian Faulks' acclaimed novel Birdsong,[11] the Bruce Willis film The Cold Light of Day,[12] the Tim Burton-produced film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and the independent British film Shell.[13]
2013 saw Mawle portray Stephen Beaumont in The Tunnel,[14] and Detective Inspector Jedediah Shine on Ripper Street.[15] Mawle had a lead role in the horror film The Hallow.[16]
In October 2019, Mawle joined the cast of The Lord Of The Rings on Amazon Prime: he was one of the first actors to join the project, and his involvement was later confirmed (in early 2020) by Amazon themselves. He is rumored to be playing a central antagonist referred to as “Oren”.[17]
Filmography
- 1998: Merlin as Village Man (TV mini-series)
- 2002: Sir Gadabout, the Worst Knight in the Land as Sir Tificate (TV series)
- 2004: Dunkirk as Lt. Ian Cox (TV film)
- 2006: Soundproof as Dean Whittingham (TV film)
- 2006: Silent Witness as Adrian Burney in "Schism"—2 parts (TV series) –
- 2006: Dalziel and Pascoe as Charlie Barron in "The Cave Woman"—2 parts (TV series)
- 2006: The Secret Life of Mrs. Beeton as Fred (TV film)
- 2007: Persuasion as Harry Harville (TV film)
- 2007: Holby Blue as Simon Jenkins in episode "Simon Jenkins" (TV series)
- 2007: Clapham Junction as Tim (TV film)
- 2008: Foyle's War as Fred Dawson in episode "Broken Souls" (TV series)
- 2008: The Passion as Jesus in 4 episodes (TV mini-series)
- 2008: Lezione 21 as Musician
- 2009: Free Agents in 1 episode (TV series)
- 2009: Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1980 as the Ripper
- 2009: Freefall as Jim (TV film)
- 2009: After Tomorrow as James (short)
- 2009: The Street as Keiran in 1 episode (TV series)
- 2009: Heartless as Papa B
- 2009: Waking the Dead as Stefan Koscinski in 2-part episode "Substitute" (TV series)
- 2009: Merlin as Alvarr in Season 2, Episode 11 "The Witch's Quickening" (TV series)
- 2010: Five Daughters as Tom Stephens in 3 episodes (TV series)
- 2010: Sometimes the Moon is Velvet as Jack (short)
- 2010: Dive as Gary (TV film)
- 2010: Agatha Christie's Poirot as Antonio Foscarelli in 1 episode "Murder on the Orient Express" (TV series)
- 2010: Deathless as Max Serloom (short film)
- 2010: Made in Dagenham as Gordon
- 2011: Women in Love as Gerald Crich in 2-part episode (TV series)
- 2011; 2016–2017: Game of Thrones as Benjen Stark in 6 episodes (TV series)
- 2011: The Awakening as Edward Judd
- 2012: The Cold Light of Day as Gorman
- 2012: Birdsong as Jack Firebrace (TV film)
- 2012: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter as Thomas Lincoln
- 2012: Shell as Pete
- 2013: Half of a Yellow Sun as Richard
- 2013: The Tunnel as Stephen Beaumont
- 2013; 2016: Ripper Street as Det. Insp. Jedediah Shine
- 2015: The Hallow as Adam Hitchens
- 2015: Sense8 (TV series) as Nyx
- 2015: In the Heart of the Sea as Benjamin Lawrence
- 2018: Troy: Fall of a City as Odysseus
- 2019: Mr. Jones as George Orwell
- 2019: MotherFatherSon (TV series) as Scott Ruskin
- 2021: The Lord Of The Rings (TV series) as Oren
Theatre
- 2003: Troilus and Cressida as Troilus (Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory)
- 2004: Hamlet (the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton)
- 2005: Antony & Cleopatra (Royal Exchange, Manchester)
- 2008: The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (the Almeida Theatre)
References
- Laws, Roz (3 August 2009). "Dyslexic deaf actor Joseph Mawle is top of his game". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
- Jardine, Cassandra (14 March 2008). "Joseph Mawle: Playing Jesus". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
- Jardine, Cassandra. "Joseph Mawle: Playing Jesus". Telegraph. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- "Lionsgate UK Tests 'Heartless' on Multiple Platforms". Bloody Disgusting.
- Laws, Roz (2 August 2009). "Dyslexic deaf actor Joseph Mawle is top of his game". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- Kenny, Ursula (19 March 2011). "Joseph Mawle: 'I've played some despicable characters'". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- The Horrible Crowes – "Behold the Hurricane"
- Music video for The Horrible Crowes' "Behold the Hurricane"
- "Joseph Mawle on Benjen Stark, Sean Bean & Kit Harington". flicksandthecity.com. 15 November 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- "Game of Thrones Recap: Season 6, Episode 6, "Blood of My Blood"". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 29 September 2016."Game of Thrones Recap: Season 6, Episode 6, "Blood of My Blood"". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- "Joseph Mawle: Interview". guru.bafta.org. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- "The Marvels of Joseph Mawle". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- Wilkinson, Amber (5 November 2012). "Game of Thrones star Joseph Mawle reveals challenges he faced filming new movie in Scottish Highlands". Daily Record. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- "Joseph Mawle Talks The Tunnel". flicksandthecity.com. 8 January 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- "IndieLondon: Joseph Mawle and Damien Molony join Ripper Street - Your London Reviews". www.indielondon.co.uk. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- "HCF Exclusive Interview with Corin Hardy and Joseph Mawle on THE HALLOW #Grimmfest2015". horrorcultfilms.co.uk. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- Nellie Andreeva (21 October 2019). "'The Lord Of The Rings': Joseph Mawle To Star In Amazon Series". Deadline. Retrieved 11 March 2020.