Joseph Michael Cross (born May 28, 1986) is an American actor and producer. He began work as a child actor, starring in the 1998 films Desperate Measures, Wide Awake, and Jack Frost. He won the Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture for Running with Scissors (2006), and co-starred in Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Untraceable (2008), Milk (2008), and Lincoln (2012).
From 1999 to 2004, Cross starred as Casey Hughes in the CBS soap opera As the World Turns. In 2017, he appeared in the HBO limited series Big Little Lies and the Netflix crime drama series Mindhunter.
Early life Cross was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the son of Maureen (née Toumey), a real estate agent, and Michael J. Cross, who worked in marketing. He has four siblings. Cross grew up in Pelham, New York, and attended Pelham Middle School and Pelham Memorial High School. For his undergraduate studies, Cross transferred from Hartford's Trinity College to Columbia University.
Career As a child actor, Cross appeared in the Disney Channel Original television film Northern Lights (1997), and starred in the action-thriller Desperate Measures, comedy-drama Wide Awake, and Christmas fantasy film Jack Frost, all of which were released in 1998. He subsequently appeared in several television roles, notably portraying Casey Hughes in the CBS daytime soap opera As the World Turns (1999–2004).
In 2006, Cross played the young Augusten Burroughs in Running with Scissors, a drama also featuring Annette Bening and Evan Rachel Wood, and appeared as real-life Marine Franklin Sousley in the big-budget Flags of Our Fathers, a Clint Eastwood-directed war film. Cross has said that he enjoyed the transition from appearing in Running with Scissors, which he has described as "very character driven and smaller" to the high-profile "epic" Flags of Our Fathers. Running with Scissors has been described by media sources as his "breakout performance", and he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer and won the Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
In 2008, Cross starred in the thriller film Untraceable (2008) with Diane Lane, and portrayed gay rights activist Dick Pabich in the Academy Award-nominated Harvey Milk biopic Milk (2008). He won the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble with his Milk co-stars. The following year, he played William "Fred" Parsons in the West End production of Breakfast at Tiffany's, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, opposite Anna Friel. In 2012, Cross had a leading role as Declan Truss in Doug Karr's comedy film Art Machine. He portrayed the lead role of Davis Green in the drama film The Automatic Hate (2015), alongside Deborah Ann Woll. He portrayed the lead role of Lernert in the science-fiction film Everything Beautiful Is Far Away (2017), alongside Julia Garner. Cross made his directorial debut with the coming-of-age film Summer Night (2019), executive produced by James Ponsoldt.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 1998 Desperate Measures Matthew Conner Wide Awake Joshua Beal Nominated – Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor Jack Frost Charlie Frost 2005 Homecoming Young Barry Griffith Strangers with Candy Derrick Blank 2006 Flags of Our Fathers Franklin Sousley Running with Scissors Augusten Burroughs Won – Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated – Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer 2008 Untraceable Owen Reilly Milk Dick Pabich Nominated – Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble 2009 Falling Up Henry O'Shea 2011 Son of Morning Philip Katz Citizen Gangster Val Kozak Born to Race Danny Krueger 2012 Art Machine Declan Truss Mine Games Michael Lincoln John Hay 2013 Jimmy P. Robert R. Holt 2014 Last Weekend Roger Green 2015 The Automatic Hate Davis Green 2016 The Last Film Festival Junior Agent 2017 Tilt Joseph Burns Everything Beautiful Is Far Away Lernert 2020 Mank Charles Lederer 2021 Licorice Pizza Matthew 2022 Devotion Charlie Ward 2025 Affection Bruce
Television Year Title Role Notes 1997 Northern Lights Jack Blumstein TV filmNominated – Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Movie/Pilot/Mini-Series – Leading Young Actor Dellaventura Daniel Webb Episode: "The Biggest Miracle" 1998 Saint Maybe Young Thomas Bedloe TV film Touched by an Angel Petey Carmichael Episode: "Psalm 151" 1999–2004 As the World Turns Casey Hughes Series regularNominated – Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Soap Opera – Young Actor Nominated – YoungStar Award for Best Young Actor in a Daytime TV Program 2000 The Spring Nick Conway TV film 2003 Third Watch Eric Beckman 2 episodes The O'Keefes Danny O'Keefe 8 episodes 2004 Smallville Jordan Cross Episode: "Hereafter" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Adam Nesbit Episode: "Home" 2005 Law & Order Will Shea Episode: "Obsession" 2015 Elementary Petros Franken Episode: "One Watson, One Holmes" 2017 Big Little Lies Tom 6 episodes 2017 Mindhunter Benjamin Barnwright 2 episodes 2018 Medal of Honor Sylvester Antolak 8 episodes 2023 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Martin Parish Episode: "Bubble Wrap"2025Sub/liminalJack2026Criminal Minds EvolutionMarvin BancroftEpisode: "Requiem for a Dream"
References
External links