Justin Chatwin
About
Biography
Filmography
Biography
As the rebellious and aloof Robbie, the son of Tom Cruise's Ray in 2005's "War of the Worlds," Justin Chatwin managed to hold his own with the Hollywood big leagues: the aforementioned Cruise as well as director Steve Spielberg (that's not to mention scene stealer Dakota Fanning, who played his sister). Estranged from his father, and then driven to a near-suicidal decision to join the fight against deadly alien forces, Chatwin conveyed a personal story amid the special effects and thunderous roar of one of that summer's biggest films. He followed the high profile movie that year with the part of Billy in the quirky and memorable "Chumscrubber."
Chatwin, born and raised on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, did not originally plan to go into acting. When he was 18, he took up a friend on a dare to accompany him on an audition. The bug bit him, and Chatwin never looked back. His first part was a small one in the television miniseries, "Christy, Choices of the Heart," followed by a small role as a rock fan in "Josie & The Pussycats" in 2001. He followed that with a small part in the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries "Taken" in 2002, his first official work with Steven Spielberg. But his first recognizable role was in another miniseries, "Traffic," in 2004, followed by another quirky and memorable part was as a youthful and disturbed hitchhiker in "Taking Lives."
After his double threat in 2005, Chatwin lit up fan message boards online with the announcement of his next role, as an adult film star in "The Pornographer's Poem," set for release in 2006, and in "The Invisible," directed by David Goyer, also set for 2006.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
2001
Made acting debut as a teenage fan in "Josie and the Pussycats"
2001
Portrayed a young Lex Luthor on the pilot episode of "Smallville" (The WB)
2002
Cast in the Steven Spielberg produced miniseries "Taken" (Sci Fi Channel)
2004
Had a supporting role in the miniseries "Traffic" (USA Network)
2004
Co-starred with Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke in the thriller "Taking Lives"
2005
Landed breakthrough role, playing Tom Cruise's son in Steven Spielberg's "War of the Worlds"
2005
Appeared on the pilot episode of the Showtime series "Weeds"
2005
Co-starred in Arie Posin's ensemble "The Chumscrubber," a darkly satiric story about life crumbling in the midst of a seemingly idyllic suburbia
2007
Starred in the thriller"The Invisible"
2008
Co-starred with Susan Sarandon and Eva Amurri in the independent film "Middle of Nowhere"
2009
Cast as Goku in the live-action film adaptation of "Dragonball: Evolution"
2011
Cast opposite William H. Macy on Showtime comedy drama "Shameless"
