Joseph "Joju" George (born 22 October 1978) is an Indian actor, playback singer, director, writer and producer who primarily works in Malayalam cinema along with Tamil, and Telugu cinemas.
In 2015, he won the Kerala State Film Award – Special Mention for his supporting roles in Oru Second Class Yathra and Lukka Chuppi. His film Joseph got special mention at 66th National Film Awards.
In 2015, he stepped into film production and produced films such as Charlie and Udaharanam Sujatha before successfully launching his own production house Appu Pathu Pappu Production, which has produced several of his films. He is a recipient of more than 20 awards, awarded for either his acting or production.
Early life Joju was born as Joseph George in Mala, Thrissur district, Kerala to Rosy and George of the Parecattil house. He studied at the Government High School in Kuzhur and at Christ College, Irinjalakuda, before entering the film industry as a junior artist in 1995 and subsequently working as an assistant director from 1997.
Film career Joju debuted as an actor in the 1995 film Mazhavilkoodaram as a junior artist. This was followed by several minor roles in the late 1990s and 2000s. In the 2010s, he gradually shifted to playing supporting roles. In 2013 Joju got a major comic role as a Police commissioner in Hotel California directed by Aji John, gathered attention of both industry insiders and audience alike which was his first ever full-length character role in a feature film. In 2015, he won his first Kerala State Film Award (Special Mention) for his supporting roles in the films Oru Second Class Yathra, Yathra Chodikkathe and Lukka Chuppi. His breakthrough came when he played the leading role in the 2018 film Joseph, directed by M. Padmakumar, in which he played a retired police officer investigating a personal case while fighting demons of his own. The film received a special mention in the National Film Awards that year and Joju received his second Kerala State Film Award, this time for Best Character Actor for Joseph and the film Chola. In 2021, he was awarded at the 3rd Diorama International Film Festival under the category of Best Actor for his performance in Nayattu. He was the first Malayali to win the award. Since then, he has played several leading roles in films such Porinju Mariam Jose, Halal Love Story, Jagame Thanthiram, Pada, and Aviyal. He received praise for his performances in the films Nayattu, Madhuram and Freedom Fight for which he won the award for Best Actor that year at the Kerala State Film Awards. In the same year, he debuted in Tamil cinema alongside Dhanush in the film Jagame Thandhiram, directed by Karthik Subbaraj, which was released on Netflix. His second Tamil release was the Anthology series Putham Pudhu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa, an Amazon Original. In 2025, he starred in Subbaraj's Retro alongside Suriya and Pooja Hegde.
In addition to acting, he has produced 6 films under his production house including Charlie (2015), Joseph (2018) (in which he also played the lead role in), Chola (2019), Porinju Mariam Jose (2019) and Madhuram (2021). He has been credited as a playback singer, having sung in his own film Joseph.
Personal life Joju married Abba in 2008, and they have three children: Ian, Sarah, and Ivan.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
Award Year Category Film ResultNational Film Awards 2019 Special Mention (feature film) Joseph Kerala State Film Awards2023Second Best Feature FilmIratta 2021Best ActorFreedom Fight, Naayattu, Madhuram,Thuramukham 2015 Special Mention Oru Second Class Yathra Lukka Chuppi 2018 Best Character Actor Chola Joseph Kerala Film Critics Award 2015 Most Popular Film Charlie 2018 Second Best Actor Joseph Second Best Film Joseph Filmfare Awards South 2018 Best Actor (Malayalam) Joseph 2024Best Film – MalayalamIratta2024Best Actor – MalayalamIratta2024Critics Best Actor – MalayalamIratta2021Best Supporting Actor – MalayalamNayattu2026Best Debut DirectorPani South Indian International Movie Awards 2016 Best Actor in a Comedy Role (Malayalam) Action Hero Biju 2017 Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Malayalam) Ramante Edanthottam 2018 Best Actor – Malayalam Joseph Best Actor in a Negative Role (Malayalam) Njan Marykutty 2019 Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Malayalam) June 2020 Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Malayalam) Halal Love Story 2026Best Debut DirectorPani Asianet Film Awards 2017 Special Jury Award (Actor) Udaharanam Sujatha 2018 Special Jury Award (Actor) Joseph Vanitha Film Awards 2017 Most popular movie Udaharanam Sujatha 2018 Performer of the Year Joseph CPC Cine Awards 2026 Best Actor Joseph Thikkurissi Film Awards 2026 Best Actor Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal Asiavision Awards 2018 Best Character Actor Joseph Flowers Indian Film Awards 2018 Best Character Actor Udaharanam Sujatha Ramante Edanthottam Best Film on Social Commitment Udaharanam Sujatha North American Film Awards (NAFA) 2017 Best Character Actor Action Hero Biju 2018 Best Actor in a Negative Role Ramante Edanthottam Movie Street Film Awards 2019 Best Actor Joseph Red FM Malayalam Music Awards 2019 Best Folk song "Pandu Paadavarambathiloode" (Joseph) Golden Sparrow Award at 3rd Diorama International Film Festival2021Best ActorNayattu
References
External links