ACTOR · BORN 1981

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Born: 17 February 1981, Los Angeles, California, USA
Known for: Inception (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), The Lookout (2007)

13 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (born 17 February 1981) is an actor best known for Inception, The Dark Knight Rises and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt over the years

13 Interesting Facts About Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Interesting Facts (3)

#001
Born on exactly the same date as Paris Hilton.
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#002
London, England, United Kingdom: Filming The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
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#003
Beijing, China: Filming his movie Looper (2012).
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Production Story (2)

#004
Originally, James Franco was set to play the role of Arthur in Inception (2010); however, due to scheduling conflicts, James was forced to drop out of the film and the director of the film, Christopher Nolan, later gave the role to Joseph.
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#005
Auditioned for the role of Elder Aaron Davis in Latter Days (2003) before winning the role of Elder Paul Ryder.
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Characters & Cast (1)

#006
He has said that he has been told many times by producers that he needed to pack on some weight because he appeared "too skinny" on screen. He did bulk up recently, but only to more greatly resemble a young Bruce Willis in their film Looper (2012).
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Career & Awards (4)

#007
When Marion Cotillard was honored at Hollywood Film Festival in 2012, he presented the tribute to her in French, Cotillard's native language. Levitt and Cotillard were co-stars in Inception (2010) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
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#008
As of 2021, he has appeared in three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Inception (2010), Lincoln (2012) and The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020).
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#009
He has said that he has been told many times by producers that he needed to pack on some weight because he appeared "too skinny" on screen. He did bulk up recently, but only to more greatly resemble a young Bruce Willis in their film Looper (2012).
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#010
His acting mentor is John Lithgow.
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Life & Family (3)

#011
Always wears colorful, mismatched socks as a tribute to his late brother.
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#012
He is entirely of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.
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#013
Joseph's parents, Jane Gordon and Dennis Levitt, met as political activists in California. Gordon ran for Congress, in 1970, with the Peace and Freedom Party. Both are founders of the Progressive Jewish Alliance.
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Related pages

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Beethoven — Joseph Gordon-Levitt comes up in the facts on that page

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Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

Wikipedia English Wikipedia article
IMDb IMDb name page (biography and trivia)

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