Josh Charles (born 15 September 1971) is an American stage, film and television actor. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Mr Charles is an alumnus of the noted Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts summer program in New York. His film debut was in fellow Baltimore resident John Waters’s Hairspray (1988), followed in 1989 by a memorable performance as Knox Overstreet in the classic Dead Poets Society. Mr Charles’s other work includes the made-for-television movies Murder in Mississippi, in which he portrayed murdered Civil Rights activist Andrew Goodman (1990), Norma Jean and Marilyn (1996) and Our America (2002). His other films include a stellar performance as “sexually ambivalent” Eddie in Threesome (1994), Little City (1997) and S.W.A.T., as well as a cameo role opposite Miss Piggy in Muppets From Space (1999).
In 1998, Mr Charles was cast in the leading role of sports anchor Dan Rydell in the highly acclaimed TV comedy/drama Sports Night, a show that garnered critical accolades and a loyal and enduring fanbase for its intelligent writing and multi-faceted characters. The series lasted only two seasons, but its, and Mr Charles’s, popularity have endured.
Josh Charles’s most recent stage appearance was in a revival of Neil LaBute’s The Distance From Here in New York in 1994, which received a Drama Desk award for Best Ensemble Performance.