Justin Chatwin

Chatwin began his career in 2001, at the age of 19, his film debut being in the musical comedy Josie and the Pussycats. Soon after, he starred as John Spencer in the two-part miniseries Christy, Choices of the Heart. Chatwin made guest appearances in a couple of television series such as Smallville, Mysterious Ways, Night Visions, Just Cause, Glory Days, Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction and Taken, playing also the main bully in the television film The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie (2003). Next, Chatwin had supporting roles in two unsuccessful movies, Taking Lives and Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2, the latter being often regarded also as one of the worst films of all time. In 2004, Chatwin gained recognition for his role as Tyler McKay in the miniseries Traffic,[16] and took a supporting role opposite Kate Mara in The WB pilot Prodigy, about a young girl, played by Mara, who hides her music talents from her family, which is busy focusing their attention on her younger brother prodigy.[17]

Next, he was chose out of several young actors to play Tom Cruise's rebellious adolescent son in the alien invasion film War of the Worlds (2005), directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the 1898 novel by H. G. Wells.[18] It was a commercial success and garnered generally favorable reviews.[19][20] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle considered the film "meticulously detailed and expertly paced and photographed",[21] while Roger Ebert was not very impressed and called it just "a big, clunky movie containing some sensational sights but lacking the zest and joyous energy we expect from Steven Spielberg". Ebert also found the human characters as being "one-dimensional".[22] Chatwin's performance in War of the Worlds earned him a 'Breakthrough Award' from Hollywood Life Magazine.[23] In 2005, Chatwin also starred as teenage drug dealer Billy Peck in the independent black comedy The Chumscrubber, alongside Camilla Belle and Jamie Bell. Arie Posin's directorial debut about a group of superficial parents and young adults who are living in a seemingly perfect suburbia, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival,[24] but received a mixed to negative response; writing for Rolling Stone, Peter Travers criticized the film for being "an appallingly clumsy and stupid take on drugs, kidnapping and suicide in suburbia".[25] Although Keith Phipps from The A.V. Club praised Posin's technical direction and the cast, he wrote that the film still fell "flat on its face".[26] Later that year, Chatwin played the troubled homosexual son of Kevin Nealon's character in the Showtime series Weeds, appearing only in the pilot episode and the series finale.

The following year, Chatwin had a guest appearance as the undercover cop Eddie Colburn in the ABC drama series Lost. Around the same time, he was attached to star in and produce a film adaptation of Michael Turner's novel The Pornographer's Poem (1999), which was set to be directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik.[27][28][29] Later in 2006, Chatwin made his off-Broadway debut in Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's play Dark Matters at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Directed by Trip Cullman, the story centers on the dysfunctional Cleary family, whose limits are pushed even further when the mother goes missing and suddenly reappears, talking about strange visions and extraterrestrial life. He starred as Jeremy, the eccentric, but intelligent 16-year-old son of Michael (Reed Birney) and Bridget (Elizabeth Marvel). The play ran from November 10 to December 22.[30][31][32]

In 2007, The Invisible was released, a remake of the Swedish film Den Osynlige, which marked his first leading role.[33] David S. Goyer-directed thriller centers on high school senior Nick Powell, who is brutally beaten and left in an intermediate state. Chatwin liked the script because "it’s about all these polar opposites – life and death, love and hate – and also about the idea that when you think something is black or white, you might suddenly find that there’s gray to it".[34] The movie ended up being a commercial and critical failure;[35][36] Film critic John Campea noticed complexity and a "subtle strength" in Chatwin's performance, adding, "nothing really ever went over the top, nor did he ever come off as forced", but criticized the film overall for its "lack of depth" and "dramatic tension".[37] That same year, he returned to the stage to act in Elizabeth Meriwether’s The Mistakes Madeline Made at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, Colorado. Directed by Jamie Wollrab, the story centers on a young woman, Edna (Shannon Woodward), who starts to develop ablutophobia, a fear of bathing.[38] Chatwin plays Wilson, the protagonist's co-worker, "with lots of nervous energy, and generates laughs along the way" according to one critic.[39]

Next, Chatwin was cast in Middle of Nowhere (2008), a coming-of-age drama directed by John Stockwell, also starring Anton Yelchin and Eva Amurri.[40] The independent film had the world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival,[41] followed by a straight-to-DVD release two years later.[42] In 2009, Chatwin portrayed Goku in Dragonball Evolution, the first big screen adaptation of the popular Japanese Dragon Ball manga by Akira Toriyama.[43] He described the role as the most physically demanding he had ever played, as he had to train in martial arts and adopt a strict diet with no sugar and carbohydrates.[44][45] Dragonball Evolution was critically panned on release. Slant Magazine's Rob Humanick thought the filmmakers made "no effort to craft a cinematic context in which its mythology can function",[46] while Ross Miller from Screen Rant, described it as a "badly written film with horrible dialogue, lackluster action and a sense of fun that's nowhere to be found". Miller also felt that Chatwin was "completely miscast" as Goku.[47] He was set to reprise his role in two sequels, but after the film's poor box office performance, all the plans for a potential franchise were canceled.[48] In the same year, Chatwin teamed up again with Jamie Wollrab for Adam Rapp's three-person play Red Light Winter at the Dairy Arts Center, during Boulder International Fringe Festival. John Markland directed the story about two friends, Matt (Wollrab) and Davis (Chatwin), who are caught in a strange love triangle with Christina (Anna Rose Hopkins), a young prostitute they encounter in Amsterdam.[49][50]

Chatwin alongside William H. Macy at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con to promote Shameless

In December 2009, Chatwin was filming the Showtime pilot Shameless, an adaptation of Paul Abbott's British series, starring opposite William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum (with whom he also starred in 2009's Dragonball Evolution).[51] In the spring of 2010, the network green-lit the show with a 12-episode order.[52] During the course of three years, he was a series regular, playing Jimmy Lishman / Steve Wilton, Rossum's love interest, a car thief who hides the fact that he comes from a wealthy family. Chatwin returned in the fourth season finale,[53] and appeared in the fifth season as a special guest star in the 6th and 7th episodes.[54] The series received mostly positive reviews. Chatwin was complimented for bringing "the right vibe of scruffy determination" to his role,[55] doing "an excellent job playing a character you can love or hate from week to week".[56] He was also praised for having a "very intense and intimate chemistry" with Rossum,[57] a fact that he also acknowledged: "We have chemistry that I’ve never had with any actress, the kind you can’t create, you can’t buy. It’s just... we have something that’s indescribable with words. It’s really special, and I am so grateful for it".[58] During an interview, when asked about one of show's most controversial aspects, the frequent use of sex and nudity, Chatwin said:

One of the things that attracted me to the project, in the first place was getting past my own psychological barriers of being naked in front of people. We all have it. We’re all afraid ... I think that we come out of such a Calvinistic, religious, repression era, and I think there’s a lot to be said in exploiting our bodies in healthy ways, so that we can towards more liberal, healthy sexual practices. I think this show walks the line with that, and I don’t think it’s gratuitous".[59]

After an appearance in the third season of The Listener opposite Craig Olejnik,[60] Chatwin starred as a young detective who hunts down a rare breed of flesh eating criminals in the TNT pilot Breed (2015).[61][62] He then secured a recurring role in the third season of Orphan Black, opposite Tatiana Maslany and Kristian Bruun.[63] The following year, Chatwin landed the role of cartoonist Cameron Hawthorne in the CBS summer series American Gothic, working with Antony Starr, Virginia Madsen and Megan Ketch.[64] The drama about a white-collar family who suspect that one of its members might be a serial killer, received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances, but calling it a "very standard and quite bland murder mystery",[65] who is "destined to be forgotten".[66] American Gothic underperformed in the ratings, as a result, CBS cancelled the show after one season.[67] Later that year, Chatwin portrayed superhero Grant Gordon / The Ghost on the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who in 2016 Christmas special "The Return of Doctor Mysterio". The episode pays homage to the comic book films, using also the theme of secret identity.[68] His character was modeled by the screenwriter Steven Moffat as a cross between Christopher Reeve's Superman and Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man.[69] The episode and his performance garnered favorable reviews, Vulture critic Ross Ruediger writing that "Chatwin is so at home in this universe, it might be fun to someday see the return of the Ghost", adding "the look Grant gives Lucy - that sort of 'Yeah... it's me' - is a quiet exclamation mark on a splendid performance from Chatwin".[70]

Chatwin starred in the ABC pilot The Doomsday Project (2017) as Navy SEAL instructor Chris Wyatt, one of the seven brilliant members of a team who is tasked by the american government to dream up man-made disaster scenarios and their possible solutions.[71] The pilot, directed by Joachim Rønning, was not picked up, but shortly after, it was announced that Sony Pictures Television was considering a series order for the project.[72] Couple of months later, VJ Boyd, the co-writer of the screenplay, confirmed the idea was dropped too.[73]

Since 2019, Chatwin plays scientist Erik Wallace in the ongoing television series Another Life.[74]

Although during the early years Chatwin starred mostly in studio films, his work in the 2010s consisted primarily in independent feature films who had the world premiere at various film festivals. In 2011, he starred in the canadian film Funkytown, working with Patrick Huard and Paul Doucet. Helmed by Daniel Roby and set in Montreal, the feature follows a group of characters and the events that changed their lives during the disco era.[75] He plays Tino DeiFiori, a young italian dancer who is living a secret life. Chatwin was drawn to the part because he "haven’t danced a day" in his life. "I’m the guy who sits in the corner at the club and doesn’t move".[76] Funkytown was released straight-to-dvd in the United States in 2012.[77] Also in 2011, Chatwin made a short film, Brink, written and directed by Shawn Christensen, who was accepted at Tribeca Film Festival, being nominated at the "Best Narrative Short" category.[78][79]

Chatwin subsequently appeared as rock star Bobby Shore in Jeffrey St. Jules' surreal sci-fi musical Bang Bang Baby (2014), with co-stars Jane Levy and Peter Stormare.[80] Set in the early 60's, the indie stars Levy as Stepphy, a teenager who believes her dreams of becoming a famous singer will come true after an encounter with his character, which was based on Vanilla Ice, Justin Bieber and Elvis Presley.[81] Bang Bang Baby won the award for Best Canadian First Feature Film at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival,[82] and garnered also two nominations at the third edition of Canadian Screen Awards, for Best Supporting Actor (Chatwin) and Best Overall Sound.[83] In her review, Linda Barnard of Toronto Star praised the cast for their efforts, saying that "Jane Levy demonstrates great screen presence as Stepphy and Chatwin is fun as Bobby".[84] The Young Folks critic Josh Cabrita thought Chatwin "perfectly balances celebrity charm, self-absorption, and wooden caricature".[85] The romantic comedy No Stranger Than Love (2015), with Alison Brie and Colin Hanks,[86] closed the 16th annual Newport Beach Film Festival.[87] He plays a tormented and poetic soul, who teams up with a young woman to find an unfaithful man who fell into a black hole. Upon the simultaneous release in theaters and on Video on demand platforms, the film received negative reviews from critics.[88] Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com opined the film was "a wasted opportunity to explore its concept's depth",[89] while another critic wrote that the story has "a whole lot of nothing where there should be metaphor, playfulness, all that juicy, enigmatic, magical-realism stuff that helps films like Being John Malkovich and its many knockoffs become fodder for film-studies essays".[90] Next, Chatwin portrayed a troubled man in searching for his bike in The Cycle. Written and directed by Joey Indrieri, the short film has Addison Timlin playing the female lead.[91]

2016 saw Chatwin appear in four independent films. First was Robert Scott Wildes' western Poor Boy, in which he teamed up again with Lou Taylor Pucci, after they worked on The Chumscrubber. The film had its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival, during the Viewpoints section,[92] and received only a limited release two years later.[93] In the summer, Chatwin starred as free-spirited artist Jason in Lionsgate Premiere thriller Urge, opposite Pierce Brosnan.[94] The allegorical tale about seven friends who try a new drug that makes people lose their inhibitions, was panned by critics. In her 1-star review, Christy Lemire from Roger Ebert.com called Aaron Kaufman's first directorial effort "a movie that’s as empty and unlikable as the characters themselves".[95] The romantic comedy Unleashed, written and directed by Finn Taylor, tells the story of Emma, played by Kate Micucci, a young woman whose cat and dog are transformed into full-grown handsome men (Chatwin and Steve Howey).[96] It won the Audience Award at the Mill Valley Film Festival,[97] and garnered a positive reception; Los Angeles Times critic Katie Walsh wrote that "Chatwin and Howey are the most valuable players, giving truly inspired physical performances",[98] while Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter gave also a positive review, stating, "although it never quite lives up to the satirical possibilities of its high-concept premise, Unleashed delivers some mildly enjoyable laughs thanks to its engaging female lead and the exuberantly physical performances of her co-stars".[99] In preparation for his role, Chatwin studied animal movement with Jean-Louis Rodrigue and Kristof Konrad, in order to embody the specific mannerisms and behavior.[100][101] Finally, he teamed up with Anna Camp to play a couple who try to fix the wrongs and save their relationship in the time travel drama One Night.[102] Minhal Baig's directorial debut was first seen in the fall at the Austin Film Festival,[103] before opening in select theaters early next year.[104] The feature received a mixed-to-negative response; writing for Los Angeles Times, Kimber Myers praised the "solid" performances of the cast, but thought the film "doesn’t develop its interesting concept beyond the initial idea".[105]

In 2017, Chatwin portrayed modern cowboy Hugh Jay Linder in the film adaptation of Nancy Pickard's novel The Scent of Rain and Lightning, which is about a young woman who finds out that the man responsible for murdering her parents (Chatwin and Maggie Grace) has been released from prison.[106] The feature received a positive response, one critic calling it a "well-acted, intelligent thriller".[107] JoBlo's James Oster thought Chatwin performed well, considering he "doesn’t have as showy of a part as the husband".[108] Next, Chatwin played a supporting role in independent drama We Don’t Belong Here, sharing the screen with Riley Keough, and again with Anton Yelchin.[109] He also had a cameo role as Vincent D'Onofrio's drug addicted son in the action-comedy CHiPs, directed by Dax Shepard, based on the television series of the same name.

Chatwin starred in Crackle’s original movie In the Cloud alongside Gabriel Byrne, in which he plays a computer scientist who develops a revolutionary technology able to access people's brain after they die.[110] The futuristic sci-fi premiered on the streaming service at the beginning of 2018.[111] In the dramatic thriller The Assassin's Code, he stars as a rookie detective who works on his first major case, not knowing that a dangerous assassin has been hired to stalk him.[112] It screened at Cleveland International Film Festival.[113] Chatwin also featured in the ensemble coming-of-age drama Summer Night (2019), directed by Joseph Cross in his directorial debut.[114] The film follows a couple of young friends as they make decisions about their future. He plays hedonistic bartender Andy, the older guy in the gang. Upon release, critical reception was divided; Carlos Aguilar of Los Angeles Times called it "mediocre and forgettable",[115] while The Hollywood Reporter's critic thought "the cast shines even when the material doesn't," and complimented Chatwin, who was, in his opinion, "very funny" providing the comic relief.[116]

In 2021, Chatwin is set to appear in the romantic crime film Die in a Gunfight, co-starring opposite Diego Boneta, Alexandra Daddario and Travis Fimmel. In addition, he is attached to star in the upcoming In the Lost Lands, a fantasy-adventure film based on three short stories by A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin.[117]

Chatwin appeared in the music videos for David Vertesi's "Learn to Run", Brad Carter's "Doin' Wrong with You", and Hayley Taylor's "Slow Motion".

Chatwin featured in the 2013 documentary Isolated, written and directed by Justin Le Pera, about a group of surfers in search of untouched waves. Ryan Phillippe served as narrator and executive producer.[118] In 2016, he appeared in Behind the Storm: The Making of the Scent of Rain and Lightning, a short documentary film who offers a behind the scenes look at the making of the film The Scent of Rain and Lightning.[119] Chatwin will led the upcoming documentary series The Rider Diaries, which follows his motorcycle road trips around the world alongside his friends.[120]

In 2015, he recorded alongside Jake Abel and Alexandra Daddario, the audio version of Celeritas, a screenplay who featured on 2014 Black List.[121]

Chatwin said many times that his biggest passion are motorcycles. He owns a Harley-Davidson Night Train which he named Charlie Crowe.[122] Talking about the beginnings, he said: "I had bought my first motorcycle after riding a scooter on the Amalfi Coast in 2009. Five years later, and a full blown obsession under my belt, I’m back in Italy standing at the epic Ducati factory, the size of a football field, in Bologna, Italy." He adds, "A perfect day for me is when I wake up and know that all I have to do is ride my motorcycle for the next ten hours in a particular direction."[123]

Chatwin has been in many trips with his former Shameless co-stars, William H. Macy and Steve Howey. They have been riding from Los Angeles to Colorado, San Francisco and Aspen, sponsored by Harley-Davidson.[124][125] In 2014, he embarked on a trip across Europe with producer Ford Smith and actor Martin Henderson, testing the new Ducati motorcycles.[126]

In order to learn more and improve his skills, in November 2016, over the course of one weekend, Chatwin attended the Keith Code's California Superbike School, alongside actor Nicholas Hoult, motorcycle journalist Sean MacDonald, singer and music producer Albert Hammond Jr. and entrepreneur Jesse Waits. From there, he was invited to test the new AGV Corsa R helmets at Buttonwillow Raceway Park.[128][129]

In 2017, Chatwin was invited at the inaugural edition of Moto Beach Classic Festival in Southern California. The one-day event was established to promote the moto culture, bringing together artists, bike builders and fans. He took part at the BMX Boxer Cup challenge against former professional freestyle motocross racer Andy Bell, custom builder Maxwell Hazan and seasoned photographer Preston Burroughs.[130]

Chatwin is also part of WLF Enduro, a community of people from different backgrounds of work, such as teachers, salesmen or construction workers, brought together to ride 200 miles in 2 days every year, throughout Southern California. Their mission is "Unifying riders around the globe with the common passion of two wheels and a throttle."[131] About his decision to join the crew, he said, "This is my hobby. This is my community. This is how I stay happy in a work oriented world. These things are important to me. Because when we die these will be the memories that remain."[132]

The American web documentary series was released on the internet on July 29, 2020, and stars Chatwin and Nik Markovina (credited Nik Dean), both serving also as executive producers.[133][134][135] The 7-episode documentary centers on Chatwin and one of his best friends, a fellow actor and former model, now the co-founder of Lords of Gastown, a company specialized on clothing and accessories for motorcycles.[136] After a couple of long rides, they decide to embark on the ultimate journey from Vancouver to Patagonia on their motorcycles named Charlie Crowe and Bobby Valentine. From Santiago to Ecuador and Bariloche, the duo visit sacred places and meet interesting people, including indigenous rights activist Nina Gualinga. Chatwin stated that he has always been inspired by Bruce Chatwin, his favorite travel writer. They are not related although they share the same surname.[137] Even though the series was released in 2020, the events depicted in it took place in 2016.

In 2011, Chatwin took part on a charitable motorcycle ride for amfAR, an american foundation for AIDS research,[138] and was one of the celebrities who attended at "Stand Up To Cancer", a special event and auction established in order to raise money in the fight against cancer, hosted by Jaime King and Nicky Hilton Rothschild.[139]

In 2013, Chatwin joined Beau Garrett, Mark Foster and Kenna on the new edition of Summit on the Summit project, climbing Kilimanjaro. The purpose was to bring attention on the global water crisis and raise money for the people in need. Regarding the cause, he said, "We just need government will to change these things. It’s something I really responded to... everyone in the world should have access to water."[140][141]

Chatwin was also one of the celebrities who protested against the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. In order to show how the future could be for the environment, he starred alongside Amy Smart in Keystone Horror trailer.[142]

In 2017, Chatwin teamed up for a special ride with Vancouver-based motorcycle company "Lords of Gastown", and charitable organization "Waves for Water", which is dedicated to provide clean water for everyone who needs it. Riding across Central America, the goal was raising money in order to purchase and install clean water filters for the communities living in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua.[143] He is also one of the Canadian ambassadors for Operation Smile.[144]