# Joseph Cross (actor)
**Joseph Cross** (full name Joseph Michael Cross) is an American actor, producer, and director born in 1986 in [New Brunswick, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-brunswick-new-jersey), who began performing on screen at age 11 and is known for child roles in the late 1990s, a Satellite Award-winning lead performance in *Running with Scissors* (2006), and supporting roles in ensemble films such as *Flags of Our Fathers* (2006), *Milk* (2008), and *Lincoln* (2012)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/bio/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/joseph_cross).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1986, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA; full name Joseph Michael Cross[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/bio/) |
| Screen debut | *Northern Lights* (Disney Channel, 1997), opposite Diane Keaton, at age 11[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/joseph_cross) |
| Signature role | Augusten Burroughs in *Running with Scissors* (2006); 2006 Satellite Award winner, Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/joseph_cross) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/awards/) |
| Ensemble credits | Franklin Sousley in *Flags of Our Fathers* (2006), Dick Pabich in *Milk* (2008), John Hay in *Lincoln* (2012)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/joseph_cross) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200) |
| Directing | First feature *Summer Night* (2019), about young musicians in small-town America; also its producer[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/bio/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/joseph_cross) |
| Ratings spread | On Rotten Tomatoes his highest-rated film is *Milk* at 93% and his lowest is *Untraceable* at 16%[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/joseph_cross) |
| Awards total | 1 win and 10 nominations, per IMDb[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/awards/) |
## Child actor, 1997 to 2000
Cross's first screen role was the lead opposite [Diane Keaton](https://www.edgepedia.org/diane-keaton) in the made-for-television film *Northern Lights* ([Disney Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/disney-channel), 1997), directed by Linda Yellen[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/bio/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/joseph_cross). The following year he made his motion picture debut as ten-year-old Joshua in [M. Night Shyamalan](https://www.edgepedia.org/m-night-shyamalan)'s *Wide Awake* (1998)[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200), in which Joshua sets out to find answers to what the film calls life's eternal questions[5](https://www.miramax.com/profile/joseph-cross).
1998 brought three film roles. Besides *Wide Awake*, Cross appeared in the thriller *Desperate Measures*, directed by [Barbet Schroeder](https://www.edgepedia.org/barbet-schroeder) and co-starring [Michael Keaton](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-keaton) and Andy Garcia, and in *Jack Frost* as Charlie Frost, Keaton's son, alongside [Kelly Preston](https://www.edgepedia.org/kelly-preston)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/bio/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/joseph_cross). Working with Keaton on two films in the same year is listed among his career trivia[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/bio/).
In 1999 he moved into daytime television as Casey Hughes on the CBS soap opera *As the World Turns*, a role he held until 2004[6](https://prabook.com/web/joseph.cross/2248887). Guest appearances on *Third Watch*, *Law & Order*, *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit*, and *Smallville* followed[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/bio/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/joseph_cross). His child-era work earned three [Young Artist Award](https://www.edgepedia.org/young-artist-award) nominations, for *Northern Lights*, *Wide Awake*, and *As the World Turns*, plus a YoungStar Award nomination in 1999[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/awards/).
## Transition to adult roles
Cross's stage debut came in 2003 at the Williamstown Playhouse in John Guare's play *Landscape of the Body*, directed by Michael Greif and co-starring [Lili Taylor](https://www.edgepedia.org/lili-taylor) and Michael Gaston[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/bio/). He appeared in the film *Strangers with Candy* (2005), the prequel to the [Comedy Central](https://www.edgepedia.org/comedy-central) series, directed by [Paul Dinello](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-dinello) and co-starring Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, and Greg Hollimon, which debuted at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200).
The turning point was the starring role as the young [Augusten Burroughs](https://www.edgepedia.org/augusten-burroughs) in the 2006 adaptation of Burroughs's memoir *Running with Scissors*, acting opposite [Annette Bening](https://www.edgepedia.org/annette-bening) and [Jill Clayburgh](https://www.edgepedia.org/jill-clayburgh)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/joseph_cross). The performance won the 2006 Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical and drew a 2007 Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Young Actor[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/awards/). The same year he played real-life Marine Franklin Sousley in Clint Eastwood's World War II film *Flags of Our Fathers*[6](https://prabook.com/web/joseph.cross/2248887). In 2008 he played activist Dick Pabich in Gus Van Sant's political biopic *Milk*, alongside Sean Penn; the cast shared a Screen Actors Guild-style nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the Actor Awards[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/joseph_cross) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/awards/).
By his own account, quoted in [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide)'s profile, he valued the rarity of the part: "It's very rare that someone my age gets to play a part like this. You usually have to wait until you're in your thirties to play a really meaty role, like I got to"[7](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/joseph-cross/bio/3000237729/).
## Later film, television, and directing work
After 2008 Cross moved between studio productions and independent films, including *Jimmy P.* (2013), *The Automatic Hate* (2015), *Tilt* (2017), and *Everything Beautiful Is Far Away* (2017)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/joseph_cross). He played John Hay, the president's private secretary, in Steven Spielberg's *Lincoln* (2012), a role IMDb lists among those he is known for, and received ensemble-cast nominations from the Awards Circuit Community Awards and the Gold Derby Awards for the film[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/awards/).
**Move behind the camera.** Cross directed his first feature, *Summer Night* (2019), about a group of young musicians in small-town America, and produced it[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/bio/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/joseph_cross). The Georgia Film Critics Association nominated the film for its Oglethorpe Award for Excellence in Georgia Cinema in 2020[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/awards/).
Recent acting credits include Matthew in Paul Thomas Anderson's *Licorice Pizza* (2021), *Devotion* (2022), and *Affection* (2025), and he produced *O Horizon* (2025)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/joseph_cross). His Rotten Tomatoes filmography also lists *Son of Morning* (2011) as actor and producer[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/joseph_cross).
## Family and other activities
Cross is the oldest of five children of Maureen Toumey and Michael J. Cross[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/bio/). His IMDb trivia lists him as a guitarist for the rock band Roostir, which changed its original name after school officials objected, and as having played William "Fred" Parsons in a British stage adaptation of *Breakfast at Tiffany's*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/bio/).
## References
1. [Joseph Cross Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/bio/)
2. [Joseph Cross Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/joseph_cross)
3. [Joseph Cross Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200/awards/)
4. [Joseph Cross (I), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189200)
5. [Joseph Cross, Miramax](https://www.miramax.com/profile/joseph-cross)
6. [Joseph Cross, World Biographical Encyclopedia (Prabook)](https://prabook.com/web/joseph.cross/2248887)
7. [Joseph Cross Biography, Celebrity Facts and Awards, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/joseph-cross/bio/3000237729/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Co to C*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license