From TDKR Star to MIA: What Happened to Joseph Gordon-Levitt?

Summary

• Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been working in Hollywood since the age of 7.
• His filmography includes a wide range of genres and an impressive number of hits.
• In 2018, the actor took a break to spend time with his family.
• Since then, he’s returned to the scene as a performer, writer, and director.

You’ve seen Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s face on your screen since he was a little kid. But more than twenty years later, he seemed to drop off the map. So what happened?

The Only Healthy Child Star

After working hard in Hollywood since the early 90s, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (or JGL, as I will call him to save my fingers) landed the coveted role of Bruce Wayne’s young sidekick John Blake (surprise – he goes by Robin!) in The Dark Knight Returns.

But shortly after this huge coup, the actor took a step out of the spotlight. Unlike most former child stars, this wasn’t because of an arrest, drug bust, mental breakdown, or rehab stint. Instead, the actor took a well-deserved break.

From 2018 to 2020 JGL mostly stayed at home with his wife and two kids, prioritizing being a dad over making movies. The couple has steadfastly refused to release the names of their children, preferring to keep their private lives private.

However, the actor has since revamped his career – not only by picking up acting roles, but also by directing, producing, and writing his own work.

Small Screen To Bat-Screen

JGL began his acting career as a child, appearing in his first television film at the age of 7. It didn’t take long for him to become a bona-fide child star, with roles in A River Runs Through It, Beethoven, and several more films and tv shows.

In 1996 NBC premiered 3rd Rock from the Sun, a comedy series about four aliens who come to Earth and disguise themselves as a family in order to observe the behavior of human beings. Gordon-Levitt was only a baby-faced 14 year old when the show began filming, but his onscreen presence meant that he was able to hold his own with much more experienced co-stars.

Moving Up in Hollywood

JGL is one of the lucky (and rare) child stars who kept working even when he hit adulthood. It would take all day to list all of his credits, so here is a highly subjective list of my faves:

1. Angels in the Outfield (1994). Is this movie as good as I remember it? According to Rotten Tomatoes, nope! It has a 31% rating. But do I care? Also nope. I grew up in the 90s, so I still get choked up when I think of that stadium full of people standing up and flapping their arms. And 12-year-old JGL is amazing for his age.

2. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) He hit the awkward teenage years, but JGL still managed to pick banger scripts. Loosely based on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, this ensemble comedy is hilarious, utterly charming, and surprisingly touching. 25 years later, it remains one of the best high school rom-coms of all time.

3. Looper (2012). In this excellent sci-fi action thriller, JGL plays an assassin for a Kansas City crime syndicate who sends their targets back in time to be killed. The actor also produced this critical darling, which was praised for its smart writing and taut acting. It was written and directed by Rian Johnson, who has worked with the actor in most of his movies. And that includes…

4. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022). Yes, he starred in Inception and The Dark Knight Rises and 500 Days of Summer and dozens of other famous movies. But let’s not forget JGL’s most important role: being the voice of the “hourly dong” in Glass Onion.