Life and career

Cross was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey

New Brunswick, New Jersey

New Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...

, the son of Maureen and Michael Cross. He has four siblings. Cross grew up in Pelham, New York

Pelham, New York

Pelham, New York is the name of two locations in Westchester County, New York:*Pelham , New York, the Town of Pelham*Pelham Manor , New York, the Village of Pelham Manor*Pelham , New York, the Village of Pelham...

 and attended Pelham Middle School and Pelham Memorial High School.

As a child actor, Cross appeared in the 1997 Disney Channel Original Movie  Northern Lights

Northern Lights (1997 film)

Northern Lights is the first Disney Channel Original Movie and it starred Academy Award-winner Diane Keaton.-Plot summary:A stranger's call informs Roberta that her estranged brother Frank has died in a small town under bizarre circumstances...

and Hollywood films Desperate Measures, Wide Awake and Jack Frost

Jack Frost (1998 film)

Jack Frost is a 1998 Christmas film, starring Michael Keaton and Kelly Preston. Keaton stars as the title character, a man who dies in a car accident and comes back to life as a snowman...

, all of which were released in 1998. Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, he also appeared in several television roles, and played Casey Hughes

Casey Hughes

Casey Robert Hughes is a fictional character on the soap opera As the World Turns. He is the only child of Margo Montgomery and Tom Hughes. He was last played by Zach Roerig from January 18, 2005 to May 2, 2007. Since January 29, 2008, newcomer Billy Magnussen has taken over the role.- Character...

 on As the World Turns

As the World Turns

As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...

between 1999 to 2004.

In 2006, Cross played the young Augusten Burroughs

Augusten Burroughs

Augusten Xon Burroughs is an American writer known for his New York Times bestselling memoir Running with Scissors .- Life :...

 in Running with Scissors

Running with Scissors (film)

Running with Scissors is a 2006 American comedy-drama film based on Augusten Burroughs' 2002 memoir of the same name, written and directed by Ryan Murphy, and starring Joseph Cross, Annette Bening, Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Evan Rachel Wood, Alec Baldwin, Jill Clayburgh, and Gwyneth Paltrow with...

, a drama also featuring Annette Bening

Annette Bening

Annette Carol Bening is an American actress. Bening is a four-time Oscar nominee for her roles in The Grifters, American Beauty, Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right, winning Golden Globe Awards for the latter two films...

 and Evan Rachel Wood

Evan Rachel Wood

Evan Rachel Wood is an American actress and singer. She began her acting career in the late 1990s, appearing in several television series, including American Gothic and Once and Again...

, and appeared as real-life Marine Franklin Sousley

Franklin Sousley

Franklin Runyon Sousley was one of the six men in the famous photograph of United States Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima in World War II.-Childhood:...

 in the big-budget Flags of Our Fathers

Flags of Our Fathers (film)

is a 2006 American war film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles, Jr. and Paul Haggis. It is based on the book of the same name written by James Bradley and Ron Powers about the Battle of Iwo Jima, the five Marines and one Navy Corpsman who were involved...

, a Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood

Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...

-directed war film

War film

War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...

. 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 Cross's "breakout performance". Cross was also in the film Untraceable

Untraceable

Untraceable is a 2008 American thriller film starring Diane Lane, Colin Hanks, Billy Burke, and Joseph Cross. It was directed by Gregory Hoblit and distributed by Screen Gems...

, in which he played the role of Owen Reilly who is the killer in the film which (Diane Lane

Diane Lane

Diane Lane is an American film actress.Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at the age of 13 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film A Little Romance, starring opposite Sir Laurence Olivier. Soon after, she was featured on the cover of Time magazine...

) is trying to find.

Cross portrayed gay rights activist Dick Pabich in the 2008 Oscar-nominated biopic Milk, starring Sean Penn

Sean Penn

Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...

 as Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk

Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...

.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Northern Lights Northern Lights (1997 film) Northern Lights is the first Disney Channel Original Movie and it starred Academy Award-winner Diane Keaton.-Plot summary:A stranger's call informs Roberta that her estranged brother Frank has died in a small town under bizarre circumstances...	Jack	TV movies
1998	Saint Maybe Saint Maybe Saint Maybe is a 1991 novel by American author Anne Tyler.Tyler's plot explores the ways ordinary people react to disastrous events with quietly heroic behavior. When seventeen-year-old Ian Bedloe confronts his older brother Danny with his belief that the latter's wife, Lucy, is having an affair,...	Thomas at 10
	Desperate Measures	Matthew Conner
	Wide Awake	Joshua Beal
	Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della...	Petey	Episode: "Psalm 151"
	Jack Frost Jack Frost (1998 film) Jack Frost is a 1998 Christmas film, starring Michael Keaton and Kelly Preston. Keaton stars as the title character, a man who dies in a car accident and comes back to life as a snowman...	Charlie Frost
1999	As the World Turns As the World Turns As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...	Casey Hughes Casey Hughes Casey Robert Hughes is a fictional character on the soap opera As the World Turns. He is the only child of Margo Montgomery and Tom Hughes. He was last played by Zach Roerig from January 18, 2005 to May 2, 2007. Since January 29, 2008, newcomer Billy Magnussen has taken over the role.- Character...	1999–2000
2000	The Spring	Nick Conway
2002	As the World Turns As the World Turns As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...	Casey Hughes	2002–2004
2003	Third Watch Third Watch Third Watch is an American television drama series which first aired on NBC from 1999 to 2005 for a total of 132 episodes, broadcast in 6 seasons of 22 episodes each....	Eric Beckman	Episode: "Snow Blind" Episode: "In Confidence"
	The O'Keefes The O'Keefes The O'Keefes is an American television sitcom, that aired on The WB Television Network. It premiered on May 22, 2003 and ended on June 12, 2003.-Premise:...	Danny O'Keefe	TV series
2004	Smallville Smallville Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...	Jordan Cross	Episode: "Hereafter"
	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...	Adam Nesbit	Episode: "Home"
2005	Homecoming	Young Barry
	Strangers with Candy Strangers with Candy (film) Strangers with Candy is a 2005 comedy film released by THINKFilm, first screened at the Sundance Film Festival. It serves as a prequel to the TV series of the same name...	Derrick Blank
	Law & Order Law & Order Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...	Will Shea	Episode: "Obsession"
2006	Flags of Our Fathers Flags of Our Fathers (film) is a 2006 American war film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles, Jr. and Paul Haggis. It is based on the book of the same name written by James Bradley and Ron Powers about the Battle of Iwo Jima, the five Marines and one Navy Corpsman who were involved...	Franklin Sousley
	Running with Scissors Running with Scissors (film) Running with Scissors is a 2006 American comedy-drama film based on Augusten Burroughs' 2002 memoir of the same name, written and directed by Ryan Murphy, and starring Joseph Cross, Annette Bening, Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Evan Rachel Wood, Alec Baldwin, Jill Clayburgh, and Gwyneth Paltrow with...	Augusten Burroughs Augusten Burroughs Augusten Xon Burroughs is an American writer known for his New York Times bestselling memoir Running with Scissors .- Life :...	Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2008	Untraceable Untraceable Untraceable is a 2008 American thriller film starring Diane Lane, Colin Hanks, Billy Burke, and Joseph Cross. It was directed by Gregory Hoblit and distributed by Screen Gems...	Owen Reilly
	Milk Milk (film) Milk is a 2008 American biographical film on the life of gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...	Dick Pabich	Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2009	Falling Up Falling Up (film) Falling Up is a 2009 romantic comedy film that was released direct-to-video in late 2009 or early 2010 depending on region.-Plot:...	Henry O'Shea
2011	The Last Film Festival The Last Film Festival The Last Film Festival is an upcoming American comedy film starring the late Dennis Hopper, Chris Kattan and Jacqueline Bisset. It is written and directed by Linda Yellen. Yellen hosted a special screening of the film on 15 September in New York City...	Junior Agent	Completed
	Son of Morning	Philip	Post-production
	Art Machine	Declan Truss	Post-production
	Edwin Boyd	Val Kozak
	Mine Games	Michael			Born To Race
2012	Lincoln

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