Joseph Martin Morgan (born 16 May 1981) is an English actor. His accolades including one People's Choice Awards, TV Guide Awards alongside eight nominations for Teen Choice Awards. After studying at Gower College Swansea, he starred in the first series of the Sky One's Hex, portraying Troy and has appeared in supporting roles in films Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) and Alexander (2004) and the BBC Two television series The Line of Beauty (2006).
Morgan came in attention after playing Klaus Mikaelson on The CW's supernatural television series The Vampire Diaries (2011). He later starred in its spinoff series The Originals (2013–2018) reprising his role as the protagonist. He has portrayed CJack60/Elliot in the Peacock series Brave New World, and Brother Blood in the HBO Max series Titans. Morgan starred as James Ackerson in the Paramount+ series Halo (2024).
Early life Morgan was born in London, England, but lived in Swansea, Wales for 11 years. He is the oldest child in his family. He was a student at Morriston Comprehensive School and then studied a BTEC Performing Arts course at Gorseinon College (now Gower College Swansea), before moving back to London to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama.
Career
Morgan's first acting audition was for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, where he auditioned for the role of Tom Riddle. Morgan starred in the first series of the Sky One television series Hex, as Troy and has appeared in supporting roles in films such as Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) and Alexander (2004) and the BBC Two television series The Line of Beauty. He has also appeared in the television series Doc Martin and Casualty and co-starred in Mansfield Park (2007) alongside Billie Piper. In 2010, he played the title role in the mini-series Ben Hur which first aired on CBC television in Canada and ABC TV in America, on 4 April 2010.
Morgan played Klaus Mikaelson in The CW's supernatural drama The Vampire Diaries, a television adaptation of the book series of the same name as well as in its spin-off The Originals. His work garnered him several nominations for Teen Choice Awards and a People's Choice Award. He also appeared as Lysander in the 2011 film Immortals, alongside Henry Cavill. BuddyTV ranked him number 84 on its list of "TV's Sexiest Men of 2011".
In 2020, Morgan starred in Peacock's science fiction drama Brave New World as CJack60/Elliot. In 2022, Morgan was cast as Brother Blood in the fourth season of the HBO Max series Titans. He also reprised the role of Klaus in the final season of Legacies, a spin-off series of The Originals.
Morgan joined the cast for season 2 of Halo, which aired in February 2024, alongside fellow newcomer Cristina Rodlo. He plays James Ackerson, an operative of the secretive Office of Naval Intelligence, of the United Nations Space Command (UNSC).
Personal life Morgan met actress Persia White on the set of The Vampire Diaries. They began dating in 2011 and became engaged in 2014. They married on 5 July 2014 in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
He has been a vegan since 2014.
Morgan is a supporter of the charity Positive Women.
Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes2003 Eroica Matthias Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World William Warley, Captain of the Mizzentop 2004 Alexander Philotas 2006 Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! Alfie2007 Mansfield Park William Price Mister Lonely James Dean2011 Angels Crest Rusty The Grind Paul Immortals Lysander With These Hands George Short film; also writer, director and producer2013 Revelation Short film; as writer, director and producer Open Grave Nathan2014 Armistice A.J. Budd 500 Miles North James Hogg 2015 Desiree Eric Ashworth 2017 Carousel Kit Short film; also writer, director and producer
Television {| class="wikitable sortable" ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"| Notes |- | 2002 | Spooks | Reverend Parr | 1 episode |- | 2003 | Henry VIII | Thomas Culpeper | 1 episode |- | 2004 | Hex | Troy | 5 episodes |- | 2005 | William and Mary | Callum | 3 episodes |- | 2006 | The Line of Beauty | Jasper | 1 episode |- | rowspan="2"|2007 | Silent Witness | Matthew Williams | 2 episodes |- | Doc Martin | Mick Mabley | 5 episodes |- | 2008–2009 | Casualty | Tony Reece | 8 episodes |- | 2010 | Ben Hur | Judah Ben-Hur | Miniseries |- | 2011–2016 | The Vampire Diaries | Klaus Mikaelson | Recurring role (season 2); main role (seasons 3–4); special guest (seasons 5, 7) |- | 2013–2018 | The Originals | Klaus Mikaelson | Main role |- | 2019 | Animal Kingdom | Jed | Recurring role (season 4)<ref>[https://www.tvline.com/news/joseph-morgan-cast-animal-kingdom-season-4-1079618/ The Originals''' Joseph Morgan Set to Recur on Animal Kingdom as [Spoiler]]</ref> |- | 2020 | Brave New World| CJack60 | Main role |- | 2022 | Legacies| Klaus Mikaelson | Special guest star (season 4) |- | 2022–2023 | Titans| Sebastian Sanger / Brother Blood | Main role (season 4) |- | 2024 | Halo| James Ackerson | Main role (season 2)
As a director The Originals'' (2016–2018), 3 episodes: "Behind the Black Horizon", "Keepers of the House", "Ne Me Quitte Pas"
Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work Result 2011 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV VillainThe Vampire Diaries 2012 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Villain 2013 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Villain TV Guide Award Choice TV Villain 2014 People's Choice Awards Favorite Actor In A New TV Series The Originals Teen Choice AwardsChoice TV Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy MTV Millennial Awards El Mejor Chupasangre (En: Best Vampire) 2015 Teen Choice AwardsChoice TV Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy 2016 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV: Liplock (with Leah Pipes) 2017 Teen Choice Awards Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor 2018 Teen Choice Awards Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor
References
External links
Acting CV and profile at Curtis Brown Talent Agency