Netflix will soon release a new superhero movie Project Power starring Jamie Foxx and
Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The film chronicles a man’s quest to rescue his daughter from
the sinister forces behind the drug while assisting new allies.
Fans are looking forward to another appearance of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, for whom it is his
second movie after a lengthy break in Hollywood. The big return happened with “7500,” a
taut thriller that is set almost entirely in the cockpit of an airplane hijacked by
terrorists. The actor described it as the most difficult and challenging acting job
in his career, which he by the way started at the age of six.
Speaking of challenges, the 39-year-old has faced quite a number of them - something that
not many are really aware of. They include two lengthy breaks in acting, loss of a sibling
and even fear of social media.
Stay with us and we will tell you the true story of Joseph Gordon-Levitt. But before
we continue, subscribe to Rumour Juice Youtube channel for exciting celebrity stories.
It looks like Gordon-Levitt barely had any childhood at all, since he made a debut aged
just 7 in the 1988 film Stranger on my Land alongside Tommy Lee Jones. His breakout roles
came really quickly - and you have probably guessed we are talking about 10 Things I Hate
About You and, most importantly his iconic TV part on '3rd Rock from the Sun'. And then
he suddenly disappeared, to be more specific: he quit the show that catapulted him to fame
to focus on his studies. 20-year-old Joseph instantly regretted this decision that threw
him into a bout of depression, because he was sure that this move would be detrimental
to his acting career and that he would never be able to find work in acting again.
"I was scared and depressed for a while. Not that I had any reason to f**king be depressed
- I mean, I was going to college and everything. It was not like I was hungry. But absolutely,
I was like, 'S**t, I don't know if anybody's gonna let me act. They'll let me be in another
sitcom, but I don't want to do that. This is terrible.'"
A decade later Gordon-Levitt would share his thoughts on depression anxiety tweeting:
If depressed you're living in the past. If anxious you're living in the future. If at
peace you're present.
https://twitter.com/hitRECordJoe/status/37677701363924992
Luckily, the future was still bright for Joseph and soon he returned to our screens with brand
new roles. He broke our hearts playing a sensitive romantic in 500 Days of Summer - the movie
which to our days remains in the top of must-see rom-coms. It is worth mentioning that Some
claimed that Gordon-Levitt would be typecast after that role, but those claims crashed
after his brilliant performance in such blockbusters as Inception and The Dark Knight Rises.
Not only was he actively involved in filming, but he also founded a collaborative media
platform with his older brother Dan whom he referred to as his superhero. In 2010 Dan
was found unresponsive at his Hollywood home. Even though the cause of death was never officially
provided, it was alleged the 36-year-old passed away from an accidental drug overdose.
Joseph, who was very close with his sibling despite the big age gap, was outraged by the
overdose claims calling them incorrect and based on rumours. The actor noted that using
the word 'alleged' in an article can cover all matters of factual error.
Last year he shared an emotional tribute to his late brother on his birthday saying:
"Almost nothing thrilled him more than inspiring someone else to be creative."
Gordon-Levitt is passionate about supporting creativity. He even held a TedTalk titled
How Craving Attention Makes You Less Creative that now has around 2.5 millions views on
Youtube. The actor believes that social media are training us to get addicted to the attention
thus killing creativity.
It affected his life, too. Gordon-Levitt shared that he was addicted to Instagram so badly
that he started comparing his following to that of other actors.
"I see that their number is higher than mine and I feel terrible about myself."
Another reason the Hollywood star is not so happy with the largest Internet platforms
is connected with his portrayal of Edward Snowden, an American whistleblower who leaked
classified information showing that the NSA had been spying on everyday citizens.
To prepare for the role, he had to learn "quite a bit" about the US government's policy of
mass surveillance.
"The more I looked into it, I was like, 'Oh man, what Google and Facebook are doing makes
what the NSA is doing look like nothing,"
In terms of his career, Gordon-Levitt was pretty much everywhere! And we all liked it.
From 2005 to 2016 he was part of at least one well-regarded movie every year, he worked
with the industry titans and even wrote and directed his own film which was warmly received.
But then at some point he disappeared. Again! But this time he was on a 2-year break to
dedicate time to his family.
"I’m incredibly grateful for all of the things that I’ve gotten to do, but stopping
wasn’t because I wanted to stop acting or stop working. It was because I wanted to spend
time with my kids."
So, during that super intense filming period Joseph also managed to get married with Tasha
McCauley, the founder and CEO of tech company Fellow Robots, and to welcome 2 kids with
her.
After putting his career on hold and returning with the already mentioned film 7500, Gordon-Levitt
feels more comfortable balancing his career and family life. He told the Hollywood Reporter:
"So, now I’m finding that balance. And whereas I used to go shoot three movies a year, now
I’ve shot one a year."
Interestingly, in the past two years people have been saying that Joseph Gordon-Levitt
has started resembling his highly-admired late colleague Heath Ledger. It is hard to
say how the actor himself feels about this comparison, but it is the highest level of
praise, minding the brilliance of Ledger.
First of all: they starred together in 10 Things I Hate About You. They both were in
Batman films.
Both gained special recognition for diving deep into their characters. For Ledger the
role that demonstrated this point best was Joker. After the actor's death from accidental
prescription drug overdose, his father confirmed that Heath had put himself into a self-imposed
exile and had kept a rather dark diary to prepare for the role. Some even alleged that
Ledger pushed himself too hard to get into character and that it could have affected
his mental health.
Meanwhile, Gordon-Levitt, for his role as Edward Snowden, studied audio from a Snowden-inspired
documentary on repeat, he read every piece possible about the characters and even met
the man himself to duly prepare for portraying him.
Many also see that as Gordon-Levitt has gotten older, his physical resemblance to Ledger
has become hard to ignore.
And another feature these two definitely share is unwillingness to be in the limelight. More
than that: he admits being uncomfortable with fame. Joseph thinks that it is because his
parents never emphasized fame and never put it in the center of the room as something
to be striving for. The Hollywood star is sure that chasing after fame and money makes
a perfect recipe for unhappiness.
But what he does appreciate is when people approach them and share his work helped them
undergo some serious life challenges.
“When people now come up to me and they say … ‘I saw “50/50” and that meant
a lot to me because, you know, a friend of mine had, you know, dealt with cancer,’
or ‘I saw “500 Days of Summer,” and it helped me deal with getting dumped,’
or whatever it is, if people connect to something that I've done, that's very meaningful to
me. And that's different than I felt when I was a child.”
Gordon-Levitt rarely speaks about his family and specifically his kids, as he wants them
to feel private about their own decisions and not to feel the pressure of him being
on TV.
Gordon-Levitt seems to be a perfect dad - well we already figured that when he took a break
from acting for the sake of his sons. The proud father told People in a recent interview
that he dances every day together with his sons.
"What's fantastic is my boys can't tell how mediocre a dancer I really am. They think
I'm just another one of those legends. Soon enough, they'll learn the truth, but for now,
it's pure glory."
Oh, Joseph! You can't lie to us: we have seen you dancing as God more than once. We remember
how you blew audiences at Lip Sync Battles with his rendition of Janet Jackson's famous
choreographed "Rhythm Nation". We also remember you Magic Mike-like dance moves during your
opening monologue on Saturday Night Live in 2012. And of course our favourite is you dancing
throughout a scene to the classic Hall and Oates song “You Make My Dreams Come True”
in 500 Days Of Summer.
So, it is good to know that Joseph Gordon-Levitt didn't join the club of unhappy celebrities,
experiencing his life challenges. Instead, he used them to get to know himself better
and reach peace inside.
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