The Jewish Chronicle
On this day: Joseph Gordon Levitt is born
February 16 1985: From Third Rock to Inception
February 17, 2011 16:43
February 16 1985: From Third Rock to Inception
February 17, 2011 16:43After making his film debut in the dog comedy Beethoven, Joseph Leonard Gordon Levitt shot to television fame with a role in the alien comedy 3rd Rock from the Sun.
A graduate of Columbia University, he was born in Los Angeles to a radio presenter father and political activist mother. In 1999 he starred opposite Heath Ledger in the Shakespeare-inspired teen comedy Ten Things I Hate About You.
As an adult he has tended to choose quirkier independent films over mainstream big budget ones, from his turn as a student-turned detective in Brick to his role as a street hustler with a dark past in Mysterious Skin. In 2006 the JC tipped him as one of Hollywood's Jewish stars in waiting.
His turn as a broken hearted architect in the romantic comedy (500) Days of Summer earned him a Golden Globe nomination, while he was critically praised for his appearance in Christopher Nolan’s summer smash hit Inception.
