Profile
Pronoun
He/Him
Ethnicity
European
Location
Cambridge, New Zealand
Height
182 cm
Age Range
49–59
Also Represented in
Australia
Career Highlights
Joel Tobeck is a highly regarded New Zealand actor whose career spans more than four decades across film, television and theatre. Known for his versatility and strong screen presence, he has become one of the country’s most respected and internationally recognised performers. His film work includes standout roles in productions such as '30 Days of Night' and the recent features 'Went Up the Hill' and 'A Mistake'. On television, he is best known for his roles in 'The Brokenwood Mysteries', 'Sweet Tooth', 'Sons of Anarchy', 'Westside Story' and the more recently 'Spartacus: House of Ashur', showcasing his ability to move effortlessly between drama, comedy and complex character work.
Awards.
| 2019 | The Equity Ensemble Awards (Australia) - Nominee - Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Mini-series or Telemovie - for The Blake Mysteries: Ghost Stories | ||
| 2010 | Astra Awards (Australia) - Nominee - Most Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor - 30 Seconds | ||
| 2006 | NZ Film & Television Awards - Nominee - Best Supporting Actor in a TV Series - Interrogation | ||
| 2005 | NZ Film & Television Awards - Nominee - Best Supporting Actor in a Feature Film - Perfect Strangers | ||
| 2003 | NZ Film & Television Awards - Nominee - Nominee Best Actor in a TV Series - Mercy Peak | ||
| 1999 | TV Guide NZ Television Awards - Winner - Best Supporting Actor in a TV Drama - Lawless | ||
| 1998 | NZ Film & Television Awards - Nominee - Nominee Best Actor in a Telefeature - Topless Women Talk About Their Lives | ||
| 1998 | NZ Film & Television Awards - Winner - Best Actor in a Feature Film - Topless Women Talk About Their Lives | ||
| 1997 | NZ Film & Television Awards - Nominee - Best Actor in a Telefeature - Share The Dream | ||
| 1994 | NZ Film & Television Awards - Nominee - Best Actor for TV Series - True Life Stories | ||
Feature Film.
| 2023 | Kōkā | Wayne | Aku Films Ltd Dir. Kath Akuhata-Brown |
| 2022 | A Mistake | Alistar | GFC Ltd Dir. Christine Jeffs |
| 2022 | Ogress | Peter Finch | Left Alive Limited Dir. Christian Carroll |
| 2019 | Avatar 2 & 3 (In production) | Neuroscientist | Twentieth Century Fox Dir. James Cameron |
| 2017 | Mortal Engines | Bürgermeister | Media Rights Capitol/Universal Pictures Dir. Christian Rivers |
| 2010 | Boy | Whenua Films (NZ) Dir. Taika Waititi | |
| 2010 | Sleeping Beauty | Businessman 1 | Magic Films / Screen Australia Dir. Julia Leigh |
| 2009 | The Hopes & Dreams of Gazza Snell | Ron | Eyeworks Touchdown Dir. Brendan Donovan |
| 2008 | Accidents Happen | Ray Conway | Red Carpet Productions Dir. Andrew Lancaster |
| 2007 | 30 Days of Night | Doug Hertz | Columbia Pictures Dir. David Slade |
| 2007 | Eagle vs Shark | Whenua Films Dir. Taika Waititi | |
| 2007 | Ghostrider | Redneck | Vengeance Productions Dir. Mark Steven Johnson |
| 2007 | The Waterhorse | Sgt Walker | Revolution Studios Dir. Jay Russel |
| 2005 | Little Fish | Moss | Little Fish Productions Dir. Rowan Woods |
| 2005 | Stealth | Black Ops Leader | AFG Talons Dir. Rob Cohen |
| 2003 | Lord of the Rings - Return of the King | Gash | Wingnut Productions Dir. Peter Jackson |
| 2003 | Perfect Strangers | Bill | Gaylene Preston Productions Dir. Gaylene Preston |
| 2000 | Channelling Baby | Tony | Oceania Parker Ltd Productions Dir. Christine Parker |
| 1999 | Channeling Baby | Tony | Oceania Parker Films Dir. Christine Parker |
| 1997 | Memory & Desire | Nod | Frame Up Films Dir. Niki Caro |
| 1997 | Topless Women Talk About Their Lives | Neil | John Swimmer Productions Dir. Harry Sinclair |
| 1992 | My Grandpa is a Vampire | McDonalds Cashier | NZ Film Commission Dir. David Blyth |
| 1992 | Old Bastards | Kevin | Frame Up Films Dir. Niki Caro |
| 1990 | The Grasscutter | Thin Victim | Finlayson/Brewer Dir. Ian Mune |
| 1990 | The Shrimp on the Barbie | Lance | David Hannay Productions Dir. Michael Gottle, Alan Smithee |
| 1988 | Just Me and Mario | Peter | Dir. Greg Stitt |
| 1986 | Queen City Rocker | Actor (Uncredited) | Miracle Productions Dir. Bruce Morris |
Television.
| 2024 | Spartacus: The House of Ashur | Pompey | Starz/Lionsgate Dir. Rick Jacobson |
| 2024 | The Brokenwood Mysteries (Season 10) | Bobby Oades | South Pacific Pictures Ltd Dir. Katie Wuruhi |
| 2023 | My Life is Murder | Tyler | Greenstone Dir. Kiel McNaughton |
| 2022 | One Lane Bridge (Season 3) | Stephen Tremaine | Great Southern Film & Television Dir. Various |
| 2022 | Sweet Tooth (Season 3) | Guillam | Netflix Dir. Various |
| 2021 | One Lane Bridge (Season 2) | Stephen Tremaine | Great Southern Television NZ Dir. Peter Burger |
| 2021 | The Brokenwood Mysteries (Season 8) | Bobby | South Pacific Pictures Ltd Dir. Tim Balm |
| 2020 | Black Hands | Robin Bain | Warner Bros NZ Dir. Philippa Rennie |
| 2019 | Jonah (Mini Series) | Laurie Mains | Great Southern Television Dir. Danny Mulheron |
| 2019 | One Lane Bridge | Stephen Tremaine | Great Southern Television Dir. Peter Burger, Danny Mulheron |
| 2019 | The Luminaries (Season 1) (Mini Series) | Benjamin Lowenthal | TVNZ/BBC2 Dir. Claire McCarthy |
| 2019 | The New Legends of Monkey S2 | Cranius | Monkey New Zealand Ltd / See Saw Films (UK) Dir. Craig Irvin, Gerard Johnstone |
| 2018 | Runaway Millionaires | Mark Loper | Fearless Productions |
| 2018 | Secret City (Season 2) | Jim Hellier | Matchbox Pictures, Universal Media Studios International for Foxtel Dir. Tony Krawitz, Daniel Nettheim |
| 2018 | The Blake Mysteries: Ghost Stories | Chief Supt Matthew Lawson | December Media Dir. Ian Barry |
| 2017 | Harrow (Season 1) | Tom Pinfold | Hoodlum Entertainment, ABC Studios International Dir. Kate Dennis |
| 2017 | The Doctor Blake Mysteries (Season 5) | Chief Supt. Matthew Lawson | December Media Dir. Various |
| 2017 | The Doctor Blake Mysteries: Family Portrait | Chief Supt Matthew Lawson | December Media Dir. Ian Barry |
| 2016 | Ash vs Evil Dead (Season 2) | Dr Peacock/Baal | Stars Evil Dead NZ Ltd Dir. Various |
| 2016 | The Doctor Blake Mysteries (Season 4) | Chief Supt Matthew Lawson | December Media Dir. Various |
| 2016 | Westside Story 2 | Des McEwan | South Pacific Pictures Dir. Various |
| 2015 | Hillary | Fuchs | Great Southern Television Dir. Danny Mulheron |
| 2015 | Shortland Street | Jimmy Isaac | South Pacific Pictures Dir. Various |
| 2015 | The Doctor Blake Mysteries (Season 3) | Chief Supt Matthew Lawson | December Media Dir. Declan Eames, Fiona Banks, Ian Barry, John Hartley |
| 2015 | The Doctor Blake Mysteries (Season 3) | Chief Supt Matthew Lawson | December Media Dir. Declan Eames, Fiona Banks, Ian Barry, John Hartley |
| 2015 | Westside Story | Des McEwan | South Pacific Pictures Dir. Various |
| 2015 | Westside Story | Des McEwan | South Pacific Pictures Dir. Various |
| 2014 | Agent Anna (Season 2) | Fuchs | Great Southern Television Dir. Danny Mulheron |
| 2014 | Agent Anna (Season 2) | Grant | Great Southern Television Dir. Murray Keane |
| 2014 | The Doctor Blake Mysteries (Season 2) | Chief Inspector Lawson | December Media Dir. Various |
| 2014 | Venus & Mars | D.S. Ross Grantham | Screentime NZ Ltd Dir. John Laing |
| 2014 | Venus & Mars | D.S. Ross Grantham | Screentime NZ Ltd Dir. John Laing |
| 2013 | Hope and Wire | Greggo | GPP-H&W Ltd Dir. Gaylene Preston |
| 2013 | Power Rangers Megaforce: Ultimate Team Power | Yuffo (Voice) | Dir. Jonathan Brough (I), Jonathan Tzachor |
| 2013 | The Doctor Blake Mysteries (Season 1) | Chief Supt. Matthew Lawson | December Media Dir. Various |
| 2012 | Golden | Paul (Lead) | South Pacific Pictures Dir. Katie Wuruhi |
| 2012 | Spartacus | Pompey | Pacific Renaissance Spartacus Ltd Dir. Various |
| 2011 | Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries | Grossmith | ABC TV Dir. Tony Tilse |
| 2011 | Seige | Sam Hoyle | Screentime NZ Limited Dir. Mike Smith |
| 2011 | Tangle (Season 3) | Tim Williams | Southern Star Productions |
| 2011 | The Glades | Clay Munroe | Fox Television Studios |
| 2011 | Underbelly: Land of the Long Green Cloud | Gary Majors | Screentime |
| 2010 | City Homicide (Season 4) | Richard McCallister | Seven Network / Southern Star Entertainment Dir. Various |
| 2010 | Hawaii Five-0 (Season 1) | Kurt Miller | CBS / K/O Paper Products |
| 2010 | Sons of Anarchy (Season 3) | Donny | Pacific Entertainment Group Dir. Various |
| 2010 | Tangle | Tim Williams | Southern Star Productions Dir. Jessica Hobbs, Matt Saville, Stuart McDonald |
| 2010 | This Is Not My Life (Season 1) | Richard Foster | Desert Road Television Dir. Rob Sarkies, Peter Salmon |
| 2009 | 30 Seconds | Martin Manning | 30 Seconds Productions Pty Ltd Dir. Shawn Seet |
| 2009 | Tangle | Tim Williams | Southern Star Productions Dir. Jessica Hobbs, Matt Saville, Stuart McDonald |
| 2007 | The Pretender | Selwyn | Great Southern Television Dir. Jonathan Brough, Peter Burger |
| 2007 | Without a Trace (Season 5) | Jeff Henry | CBS / Jerry Bruckheimer Television Dir. Jonathan Kaplan |
| 2006 | A.K.A. | Lonny | C.B.S. Dir. Kevin Rodney Sullivan |
| 2005 | Interrogation | Ken Pringle | South Pacific Pictures Dir. Fiona Samuel |
| 2005 | The Silence | Moss | Jan Chapman Films Dir. Cate Shortland |
| 2004 | The Brush Off | Spider | Huntaway Films Dir. Sam Neill |
| 2002 | Good Morning | Frankenfurter | TV One Dir. Various |
| 2002 | Mercy Peak | Cornel van der Velter | South Pacific Pictures Dir. Richard Sarell |
| 2002 | Sunday | Frankenfurter | The Gibson Group Dir. Various |
| 2001 | Cleopatra 2525 | Creegan | Pacific Renaissance Dir. Various |
| 2001 | Spin Doctors | The Undertaker | Comedia Productions Dir. Various |
| 2001 | Street Legal | Eddie | Screenworks Dir. Various |
| 2001 | Xena: Warrior Princess | Lucifer | Pacific Renaissance Dir. John Laing |
| 2000 | Cleopatra 2525 | Creegan | Pacific Renaissance Dir. Various |
| 2000 | Look Who's Famous Now | Himself (Actor) | Television New Zealand Dir. Justin Pemberton |
| 2000 | Xena: Warrior Princess | Deimos | Pacific Renaissance Dir. Rick Jocabson |
| 1999 | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Season 5) | Deimos | Pacific Renaissance Dir. David Grossman |
| 1999 | Jackson's Wharf | Greg Smith | South Pacific Pictures Dir. Various |
| 1999 | Lawless | Terry Bowers | South Pacific Pictures Dir. Chris Martin-Jones |
| 1999 | Young Hercules | Strife / Nysus Gaius | Renaissance Pictures Dir. Chris Graves |
| 1998 | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Season 4) | Strife | Pacific Renaissance Dir. Various |
| 1998 | The Chose | Trevor O'Connor | Communicado Productios Dir. Various |
| 1998 | Young Hercules | Strife | Renaissance Pictures Dir. Ghris Graves |
| 1996 | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (Season 2) | King Boraeus | Pacific Renaissance |
| 1996 | Money for Jam | Flek | Rocket Pictures Dir. Christine Parker |
| 1996 | Shortland Street | Craig Develter | South Pacific Pictures Dir. Various |
| 1995 | Coverstory | Brett Waghorn | The Gibson Group Dir. Mike Smith |
| 1995 | Hightide | Jazz (Guest) | Hightide Productions Dir. Various |
| 1995 | Ice As | Band Leader/Tadow | TV3 Dir. Casserly |
| 1995 | Mysterious Island | Jake | Tasman Film & Television Ltd Dir. Christine Parker |
| 1995 | Plainclothes | Nigel (Guest) | South Pacific Pictures Dir. Various |
| 1995 | Riding High | Hawk | South Pacific Pictures Dir. Various |
| 1995 | The Call Up | Turner | James Wallace Productions Dir. David Blyth |
| 1994 | Marlin Bay | Josh (Guest) | South Pacific Pictures Dir. Steve la Hood |
| 1994 | True Life Stories | Jonathan Stuart | Communicado Dir. Mark Beesley |
| 1992 | The New Adventures of Black Beauty | Rupert (Guest) | Isambard Productions Dir. Mike Smith |
| 1989 | Strangers | Ludo | Television New Zealand Dir. Peter Sharp |
| 1989 | That Comedy Show | Guest | Isambard Productios Dir. Various |
Theatre.
| 2025 | Chicago | Billy Flynn | Ben McDonald Ltd Dir. Michael Hurst |
| 2023 | I Want to be Happy | Paul | Nightsong Dir. Ben Crowder, Carl Bland |
| 2022 | A Stab in the Dark | John/Warren | Auckland Arts Festival Dir. Ben Crowde, Carl Bland |
| 2018 | Mr Burns | Mr Burns/Ensemble | Silo Theatre Dir. Oliver Driver |
| 2001 | Hair | Berger | Auckland Theatre Company Dir. Simon Prast |
| 2001 | The Rocky Horror Show | Frank n Furter | Auckland Theatre Company Dir. Simon Prast |
| 2000 | Rosencrantz & Guildensten are Dead | Hamlet | Aucland Theatre Company Dir. Colin McCall |
| 1995 | Assassins | Lee Harvey Oswald | Watershed Theatre Dir. Simon Bennett |
| 1985 | Comedy of Errors | Antipholus of Ephesus | Auckland Youth Theatre |
| 1985 | Fawlty Towers | Basil/Major/Dave | Custom Theatrics |
Web Series.
| 2018 | Alibi | Father Sebastian (Lead) | plus6four Productions Dir. David de Latour |
Short Film.
| 2018 | Attention Seekers | Mr Evans | Distant Rumble Productions Dir. Jared Turner |
| 2010 | Feud | Lindsay Ferguson | Dir. Peter Eastgate |
| 1999 | Thinking About Sleep | Robert | Meridian Film Productions Dir. Rita McVeigh |
| 1997 | Sarah's Washing | Baz (Lead) | Rocket Pictures Dir. Greg Page |
| 1997 | The Bar | Himself | This Is It Productions Dir. Dorthe Scheffmann |
| 1996 | Peach (Bonsai) | Mog | Oceania Parker Ltd Productions Dir. Christine Parker |
| 1994 | Sure to Rise | Parachutist | Frame Up Films Dir. Niki Caro |
Training.
| Advanced Acting Technique Training with Maya Dalziel - | |||
| Performance Acting Training with Michael Hurst - | |||
| Performance Improvisation Training with Michael Mizrahi - | |||
| Performance Improvisation Training with Nat Lees - | |||
| Performing Arts School - Diploma in Performing Arts - Contemporary Dance - | |||
| The Actors' Space - Acting Technique with Raymond Hawthorne - | |||
| Voice Training with Linda Cartwright - |