Joe Locke (actor)
Joseph William Locke (born 24 September 2003) is a Manx actor. He is known for his lead role as high school student Charlie Spring in the Netflix teen series Heartstopper (2022–present), for which he received a nomination for the inaugural Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Performance.[1][2]
Joe Locke | |
|---|---|
Locke in 2022 | |
| Born | Joseph William Locke 24 September 2003 |
| Nationality | Manx |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2021–present |
Early life and education
Joseph William Locke was born on 24 September 2003. He grew up in Douglas, Isle of Man.[3][4][5][6] He attended Ballakermeen High School.[7][8] He told ITV's This Morning in April 2022 that he was studying for A-Level exams in politics, history and English.[9]
While in high school, Locke and three fellow students submitted a petition to government officials to investigate the feasibility of welcoming Syrian refugees to the Isle of Man.[3]
Career
Locke participated in the 2020 National Theatre Connections as well as productions at the Gaiety Theatre and with the Kensington Art Centre's youth group.[10][11]
In April 2021, it was announced Locke would star as lead character Charlie Spring in his debut television role in the 2022 Netflix coming-of-age series Heartstopper, an adaptation of the webcomic and graphic novel of the same name by Alice Oseman.[12] He was chosen out of 10,000 other potential actors who were up for the role through an open casting call.[13][14] While Locke was 17 at the time of the filming, his role has him playing a 14–15-year-old student in an English boys' grammar school.[14][15]
In November 2022, it was announced that Locke had been cast in Marvel Studios' WandaVision spin-off television series Agatha (miniseries) for Disney+.[16]
On 31 January 2024, Locke took on the role of Tobias Ragg in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street on Broadway.[17]
Personal life
Locke came out on Instagram when he was 12 years old and told his mother he was gay. Realising he was ready to be out to his family but not the world, he deleted the Instagram post. He did not come out again until he was 15.[18] Locke has spoken about his experiences of being a young gay man from the Isle of Man and their parallels with Charlie's story in the Heartstopper series.[19][20]
In August 2022, the Isle of Man's health minister, Lawrie Hooper, announced that the government would change its blanket ban on gay men donating blood after Locke called for the "archaic" rule to be changed in a video message played at the island's annual pride celebration.[21][22]
Filmography
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022–present | Heartstopper | Charlie Spring | Main role |
| 2024 | The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer | Himself / contestant | One episode[23] |
| 2024 | Agatha† | TBA | Post-production[24] |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | The Trials | Noah | Donmar Warehouse | [25] |
| 2024 | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Tobias Ragg | Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Broadway | [26] |
Accolades
| Award | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children's and Family Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Lead Performance | Heartstopper | Nominated | [27] |
| National Television Awards | 2022 | Rising Star | Heartstopper | Nominated | [28] |
| Queerty Awards | 2023 | Performance – TV | Heartstopper | Won | [29] |
| WhatsOnStage Awards | 2023 | Best Professional Debut Performance | The Trials | Won | [30] |
References
- ^ Williams, K-Ci (22 April 2022). "Netflix's Heartstopper Stars Want Everyone to See 'How Amazing and Beautiful Queerness Is'". Teen Vogue. from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (1 November 2022). "Netflix Leads Nomination Tally for First-Ever Children's & Family Emmys". Variety. from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ a b Turton, Sam (29 November 2019). "Students present Syria petition". Isle of Man Today. from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ Cleal, Sam (producer) (29 April 2022). Kit Connor and Joe Locke take the BFF Test. BuzzFeed UK (Online video). from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ @joelocke03 (24 September 2021). "Apparently I'm an adult now?!". Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022 – via Instagram.
- ^ "Heartstopper's Joe Locke in running for National Television Award". ITV News. 27 May 2022. from the original on 2 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- ^ "Students petition Tynwald to reverse Syrian refugee position". Manx Radio. 26 November 2019. from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- ^ "Netflix show starring Manx actor streams next week". Manx Radio. 17 April 2022. from the original on 17 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
- ^ Duke, Simon (28 April 2022). "Heartstopper actors force hasty change to This Morning schedule". ChronicleLive. from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Joe's heart-stopping moment, as he gets picked for lead Netflix role". Isle of Man Today. 2 May 2021. from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Manx actor lands role in Netflix series". 24 April 2021. from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ Stroude, Will (22 April 2021). "Heartstopper: Kit Connor and Joe Locke to star in Netflix adaption of gay graphic novel". Attitude. from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Joe Locke". 1883 Magazine. 21 April 2022. from the original on 24 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ a b Harrison, Ellie (25 April 2022). "Heartstopper's Joe Locke: 'Lots of queer teenagers feel like they don't deserve love'". The Independent. from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
- ^ "Who Plays Charlie Spring In Netflix's Heartstopper? Everything You Need To Know About Joe Locke". Capital FM. 22 April 2022. from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (1 November 2022). "Heartstopper Star Joe Locke Joins WandaVision Spinoff Agatha: Coven of Chaos for Disney+ (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. from the original on 1 November 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ Warner, Sam (1 February 2024). "Broadway debut in Sweeney Todd: The Musical". DigitalSpy. from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ Piepenburg, Erik (29 July 2023). "They Put the Heart in 'Heartstopper'". The New York Times. from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ James, Alastair (13 April 2022). "Heartstopper's young stars are ready to share the love in Netflix's most uplifting LGBTQ series yet". Attitude. from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
The conversation then turns to how the actors relate to their characters. As a young gay man, Joe, who is 18 and from the Isle of Man, compares his schooldays with what Charlie goes through.
- ^ Levesley, David (3 June 2022). "Joe Locke: 'I'd love to play the first queer Disney prince or Marvel superhero'". Soho House. from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
While his generation are universally well equipped on navigating sexuality thanks to social media, and growing up gay, he says, wasn't too big a deal at school, the Isle of Man's policies on it have not always been as forward-thinking.
- ^ "Manx actor Joe Locke calls for gay men blood donation U-turn". BBC News. 15 August 2022. from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
- ^ Wakefield, Lily (17 August 2022). "Isle of Man vows to drop queer blood ban after Heartstopper actor calls out 'archaic' rule". PinkNews. from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
- ^ "The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off". thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk. 5 February 2024. from the original on 18 March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ "Marvel's Agatha: Coven of Chaos series wraps filming in Atlanta for Disney+". from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- ^ Millward, Tom (29 June 2022). "Heartstopper's Joe Locke and William Gao among the cast of The Trials at Donmar Warehouse". WhatsOnStage. from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- ^ "Playbill". from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (11 December 2022). "Heartstopper Leads All Winners at 1st Annual Children's & Family Emmys (FULL LIST)". Variety. from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ Earp, Catherine (13 October 2022). "National Television Awards: Full winners list". Digital Spy. from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "Performance TV Winners". The Queerties. from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ "The 23rd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards – full list of winners". WhatsOnStage.com. 12 February 2023. from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
External links
- Joe Locke at IMDb