Joshua Elijah Reese

Last updated
Joshua Elijah Reese
Born
Joshua Elijah Reese

(1984-07-14) July 14, 1984 (age 38)
OccupationActor
Years active2000s-present
Website www.joshuaelijahreese.com

Joshua Elijah Reese (born July 14, 1984) is an American actor.

Contents

Early life

Joshua Elijah Reese was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a child, he enjoyed performing with his elementary and middle school choirs. In high school, he had aspirations of pursuing a variety of sports especially basketball. The dream ended when he failed to make the school’s basketball team. He was disappointed but encouraged by his English teacher to audition for the annual high school musical. He landed a role and has never looked back. Throughout his high school experience, he had the opportunity to play increasingly challenging roles, including the character Baker in Into the Woods . The role earned him a Best Actor nomination from the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera’s Gene Kelly Awards. Reese is a graduate of Perry Traditional Academy high school (Pittsburgh Perry) and earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre from Point Park University.

Career

He started his professional acting career while still in college performing in numerous theatrical stage productions in Pittsburgh's theatre scene: City Theatre (The Brothers Size; Flight), Pittsburgh Public Theater ( Ain’t Misbehavin’ ), Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre ( Julius Caesar ), Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company (James McBride; Corps Values; A Question of Taste; Jitney ), and Kuntu Repertory Theatre ( Sarafina ). [1]

In 2007, he attained his first television role in The Kill Point , an eight episode television series that is distinguished as the first original drama to air on Spike TV. [2] [3] He played the key role of Derzius, a US Marine recently returned from serving in Iraq. The series follows the action that ensues when Derzius, along with his marine cohorts, attempt to pull off a major bank heist. The next year, Reese played the character of Billick in the indie-thriller film Homecoming starring Mischa Barton. The film has become an instant cult classic. [4] In 2009, Reese was named one of the Young Pittsburghers to watch by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . [5] The same year he filmed two movies, the independent film Trapped and the Twentieth Century Fox film Unstoppable starring Denzel Washington.

Reese returned to the stage in 2010, starring in the world premiere of playwright Cori Thomas’ When January Feels Like Summer at the Pittsburgh City Theatre which won the Elizabeth Osborn New Play Award for an emerging playwright. In the spring, he took on the role of Darnell aka Youngblood in his first August Wilson production, Jitney , with the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company. Later that summer, he played the role of Ogun Size in the west coast premiere of playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney’s The Brothers Size at the Magic Theatre (San Francisco, California). [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] It is the second time that Reese will appear in a production of The Brothers Size. He played Elegba in the Pittsburgh City Theatre production.

He appeared in Val Kilmer’s independent film Riddle and the film One for the Money starring Katherine Heigl.

Filmography

Television credits

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joshua Jackson</span> Canadian-American actor (born 1978)

Joshua Carter Jackson is a Canadian-American actor. He is known for his starring role as Charlie Conway in Mighty Ducks, as Pacey Witter in The WB teen drama series Dawson's Creek (1998–2003), Peter Bishop in the Fox science fiction series Fringe (2008–2013), Cole Lockhart in the Showtime drama series The Affair (2014–2018), Mickey Joseph in the drama miniseries When They See Us (2019), Bill Richardson in the drama miniseries Little Fires Everywhere (2020), and Dr. Christopher Duntsch in Dr. Death (2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August Wilson</span> American playwright (1945–2005)

August Wilson was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called The Pittsburgh Cycle, which chronicle the experiences and heritage of the African-American community in the 20th century. Plays in the series include Fences (1987) and The Piano Lesson (1990), both of which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, as well as Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (1984) and Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1988). In 2006, Wilson was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mischa Barton</span> British-American film, television, and stage actress

Mischa Anne Marsden Barton is a British-American film, television, and stage actress. She began her career on the stage, appearing in Tony Kushner's Slavs! and took the lead in James Lapine's Twelve Dreams at New York City's Lincoln Center. She made her screen debut with a guest appearance on the American soap opera All My Children (1996), and voicing a character on the Nickelodeon cartoon series KaBlam! (1996–97). Her first major film role was as the protagonist of Lawn Dogs (1997), a drama co-starring Sam Rockwell. She appeared in major pictures such as the romantic comedy Notting Hill (1999) and M. Night Shyamalan's psychological thriller The Sixth Sense (1999). She also starred in the indie crime drama Pups (1999).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Roberts</span> American actor (born 1956)

Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with a leading role in King of the Gypsies (1978) for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination. He was nominated again at the Golden Globes for his role in Bob Fosse's Star 80 (1983). Roberts' performance in Runaway Train (1985), as prison escapee Buck McGeehy, earned him a third Golden Globe nod and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He is the older brother of actress Julia Roberts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Manganiello</span> American actor

Joseph Michael Manganiello is an American actor. His professional film career began when he played Flash Thompson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. His breakout role was as werewolf Alcide Herveaux in five seasons of the HBO series True Blood.

<i>Jitney</i> (play) 1982 play by American playwright August Wilson

Jitney is a play by American playwright August Wilson. The eighth in his "Pittsburgh Cycle", this play is set in a worn-down gypsy cab station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in early autumn 1977. The play premiered on Broadway in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen McKinley Henderson</span> American actor

Stephen McKinley Henderson is an American actor and director. Henderson trained at Juilliard School for acting and later became a resident member of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis from 1976 to 1981. He came to prominence as a character actor often performing the plays of August Wilson. He's received nominations for a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Vulture Magazine named Henderson as one of "The 32 Greatest Character Actors Working Today".

The Culture of Pittsburgh stems from the city's long history as a center for cultural philanthropy, as well as its rich ethnic traditions. In the 19th and 20th centuries, wealthy businessmen such as Andrew Carnegie, Henry J. Heinz, Henry Clay Frick, and nonprofit organizations such as the Carnegie Foundation donated millions of dollars to create educational and cultural institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russell Hornsby</span> American actor

Russell Hornsby is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Edward "Eddie" Sutton on ABC Family's Lincoln Heights, as Luke on the HBO drama In Treatment, as Detective Hank Griffin on the NBC series Grimm, and as Lyons in the movie Fences. He also played Carl Gatewood in the Showtime TV series The Affair, and as Charles Flenory in Black Mafia Family.

The Kill Point is an American television series that follows a group of U.S. Marines recently returned from serving in Iraq as they come together to pull off a major bank heist of a Three Rivers Bank branch in Pittsburgh. The series, produced by Mandeville Films and Lionsgate Television, is the first drama for the Spike TV network. The film of the series had the working title The Kill Pitt.

The Magic Theatre is a theatre company founded in 1967, presently based at the historic Fort Mason Center on San Francisco's northern waterfront. The Magic Theatre is well known and respected for its singular focus on the development and production of new plays. Sean San José is the Artistic Director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarell Alvin McCraney</span> American actor and playwright

Tarell Alvin McCraney is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. He is the chair of playwriting at the Yale School of Drama and a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble.

<i>Homecoming</i> (2009 film) 2009 American independent horror-thriller film by Morgan J. Freeman

Homecoming is a 2009 American independent horror-thriller film, directed by Morgan J. Freeman and written by Katie L. Fetting, Jake Goldberger and Frank Hannah. The film follows a student couple, Mike and Elizabeth, on their homecoming. Elizabeth is taken home by Mike's ex-girlfriend Shelby after a road accident. Shelby is soon revealed to be fixated on Mike and subsequently treats Elizabeth in a cruel and deranged manner. The film was poorly received by critics but was a box office success, grossing $8.5 million against a $1.5 million budget.

Zachary Booth is an American actor. He appeared in several productions with the Peterborough Players in Peterborough, New Hampshire, before starring in The N's What Goes On and on FX's Damages. Booth is a 2004 BFA graduate of the University of Michigan.

Israel Theo Hicks was an American theatre director who produced works at regional theaters around the country and Off Broadway, and was best known for his stagings of the entire series of plays by August Wilson about the African-American experience in the U.S. during and following the Great Migration.

Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company is a professional theatre company located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003 by artistic director Mark Clayton Southers, the company originally held productions at the Penn Theater in Garfield and moved to a new space on Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh's Cultural District. Between 2011 and 2018, it held productions in a space on Liberty Avenue in the same building used by Bricolage Production Company, as well as the August Wilson Center for African American Culture, where Southers was artistic director of theatre initiatives, and at other locations. In 2022, it moved into the former Madison Elementary School in Pittsburgh's historic Hill District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theatre in Pittsburgh</span> Overview about theatre in Pittsburgh

Theater in Pittsburgh has existed professionally since the early 1800s and has continued to expand, having emerged as an important cultural force in the city over the past several decades.

Cup-A-Jo Productions is a theatre company located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Established in 2004 by Joanna Lowe, the company's mission is to "further new & established works in an effort to focus on the artist by tackling a variety of subjects, exploring non-traditional venues & styles, & mixing theatre with film, dance, music & poetry." The company has produced established contemporary and classic plays, such as Medea, No Exit, A Thurber Carnival, and Hospitality Suite, as well as original works such as Life and Other One-Man Shows. Cup-A-Jo Productions has also produced original one-act plays in conjunction with the Pittsburgh New Works Festival. The company has held productions in numerous venues throughout the Pittsburgh area, including Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, Garfield Artworks, and the University of Pittsburgh Studio Theatre.

<i>A Resurrection</i> (film) 2013 American film

A Resurrection is an American horror-thriller film written and directed by Matt Orlando. The film stars Mischa Barton, Michael Clarke Duncan and Devon Sawa. On 12 November 2012 a trailer was released. The film premiered in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles on 19 March 2013. This was followed by a limited theatrical release in the United States on 22 March 2013.

Michael Louis Chernus is an American actor. He has acted on film, television, and the stage. He is perhaps best known for his role as Cal Chapman on the Netflix original comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019). Chernus played Phineas Mason / Tinkerer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: Homecoming, which was released on July 7, 2017.

References

  1. "Pittsburghcitypaper.ws".
  2. Keveney, Bill (2007-07-19). "Spike's aiming higher with 'The Kill Point'". USA Today . Archived from the original on 2009-06-15.
  3. "The Kill Point". IMDb . 22 July 2007.
  4. "Movie Review: Homecoming Starring Mischa Barton | Cleveland Leader". Archived from the original on 2010-12-14. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  5. "Young Pittsburghers to watch in 2009".
  6. "Theater review: 'The Brothers Size'". 23 September 2010.
  7. "Theater Review: 'The Brothers Size' scorches San Francisco". 22 September 2010.
  8. "Pittsburghcitypaper.ws".
  9. "Playwrights Theatre takes August Wilson's 'Jitney' for gritty trip".
  10. "Production History – Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company".