Joseph Francis Mazzello III (born September 21, 1983) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and played Tim Murphy in Jurassic Park and Roarke Hartman in The River Wild. As an adult, Mazzello is best known for his portrayal of real-life figures Eugene Sledge in the HBO miniseries The Pacific, Dustin Moskovitz in The Social Network, and John Deacon in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
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Early life
Joseph Francis Mazzello III was born on September 21, 1983, in Rhinebeck, New York, and raised in Hyde Park, New York, the son of Virginia (née Strong) and Joseph Francis Mazzello Jr., who owned a dance studio. Mazzello went to the Catholic school Our Lady of Lourdes. He is an alumnus of the University of Southern California, entering the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 2001 following a recommendation letter from director Steven Spielberg. Mazzello paid for school with his salary from a small appearance in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), something the actor jokingly referred to as his graduation present from Spielberg.
Career
1990–2000: Early career
Mazzello's first film appearance was a small role in the 1990 legal thriller Presumed Innocent, starring Harrison Ford. He then went on to appear in Radio Flyer, Jersey Girl and the TV film Desperate Choices: To Save My Child in 1992. In 1993, Mazzello got his first big breakthrough when he portrayed Tim Murphy in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park. His character in Jurassic Park is the grandson of John Hammond, played by Richard Attenborough. Later in the same year, Mazzello also co-starred in Richard Attenborough's film Shadowlands, and in The River Wild as Roarke Hartman.
In 1995, Mazzello had roles in The Cure and Three Wishes. Both films were critical and commercial failures. Mazzello continued his film career with lead roles in Star Kid in 1997, and in Simon Birch with Ian Michael Smith in 1998, which were also critical and commercial flops. He also provided voice-over work in the English dub of The Adventures of Buratino.
2001–2009: Television debut and directorial debut
Mazzello's first film role in the 2000s was in 2001's Wooly Boys with Peter Fonda and Kris Kristofferson. In 2002, Mazzello made his television debut on Providence. He then appeared on CBS' hit shows CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Without a Trace. Afterwards, he appeared in films Raising Helen (2004), The Hollow (2004), The Sensation of Sight (2006), and the short film Beyond All Boundaries (2009). In 2007, Mazzello made his directorial debut with the short film Matters of Life and Death.
2010–2022: Further work
In 2010, Mazzello played Dustin Moskovitz, one of the co-founders of Facebook, in the David Fincher-directed biographical drama film The Social Network. His performance was well-received by critics and he and the cast were nominated for several awards. During this, he played Eugene Sledge on the mini-series The Pacific. Between 2011 and 2012, Mazzello appeared in the short films Allison and First Kiss, and the A&E miniseries Coma.
In 2013, Mazzello played a recurring role on the FX series Justified as Billy St. Cyr, and in the independent film Dear Sidewalk, directed by Jake Oelman. He also contributed to a brief supporting role in G.I. Joe: Retaliation as Mouse. In 2016, he made his feature film directoral debut in the sports comedy-drama Undrafted. He then portrayed John Deacon in the 2018 Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, reuniting with his co-star from The Pacific, Rami Malek. From 2014 to 2021, Mazzello made appearances on television series such as Person of Interest, Elementary, and Impeachment: American Crime Story.
In 2026 he starred alongside Jon Voigt (who played his father) in the Bryan Singer-directed film Monument. Film Threat opined: "Mazzello is superb, bringing warmth and understanding to a part that could’ve been boring in the wrong hands."
