Everything to Know About 'A Quiet Place: Day One' Star Joseph Quinn
The English actor, known for his role in season four of Stranger Things, is taking center stage with his roles in the new thriller A Quiet Place: Day One and the upcoming drama Gladiator II.
With a starring role in the highly anticipated prequel to A Quiet Place and a spot secured in Gladiator II among acting royalty, this is Joseph Quinn's big year. You might remember him best as the fan favorite character of Eddie Munson in Stranger Things season four, but he has been acting and studying acting since he was a child.
Quinn grew up in South London, where he went to a private school focused on a drama program. After private school, he studied drama at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, where he graduated from in 2015. LAMDA is known for training major names in acting, like Sam Claflin, Brian Cox and Benedict Cumberbatch. At thirty years old, he has been dedicated to acting ever since he had the chance to choose what he wanted to study.
After he graduated, Quinn was cast in Dickensian, a popular BBC one series that merges many characters from different Charles Dickens novels into one London neighborhood, as one of the starring roles: Arthur Havisham. He auditioned for the part while he was still in school, so Dickensian was his debut as a professional actor.
Soon after that, Quinn appeared in the four-part series Howards End, the short film KIN, and one episode in season seven of Game of Thrones, where he played a Stark soldier named Koner. Eventually he made his debut in a feature film with Overlord, a history horror film set on the eve of D-Day, after appearing in Les Misérables for BBC One as Enjolras. With Overlord, Quinn stepped outside of the realm of television and gained experience working on feature film sets, even if his role wan't large.
Quinn has also gained a reputation as a strong theater actor. He has appeared on London's National Theatre stage, and in 2017 he was awarded the Best Actor in a Studio Production award by the Manchester Theatre Awards for his performance in Wish List.
In 2022, Quinn played the role of Eddie Munson in Stranger Things and the world was watching him. Though his character was a smaller plot line in the season, his portrayal of Eddie left such a strong impression with fans that it has propelled him into bigger and bigger roles ever since. He spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about how his past acting roles, specifically as Enjolras in Les Mis, informed his portrayal of Eddie, saying, "I think you only really know who you are under pressure, so when [Eddie is] under pressure he’s very traumatized and vulnerable...eventually, he is welcomed into the gang and from there, proves himself. So, there’s a little Enjolras in there."
Quinn's portrayal of Eddie gained him a nomination for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series, and he won the Best Breakthrough Performance Award in 2023 at the MTV Movie & TV Awards as well.
Most recently, Quinn stars alongside Lupita Nyong'o in Michael Sarnoski's A Quiet Place: Day One, the third piece of the A Quiet Place series that serves as a prequel to set the stage for the other two horror films. Quinn plays Eric, a law student who attempts to escape New York during an alien invasion.
Later this year, Quinn will appear in Ridley Scott's Gladiator II alongside other A-list actors like Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal and Barry Keoghan. In Gladiator II, he plays Roman Emperor Carcalla.
In February, it was announced that Quinn is set to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Human Torch in The Fantastic Four next year. He was also cast in the upcoming A24 film Warfare. As the roles become bigger and more ambitious, his reputation for expertly tackling dramatic and action-packed roles only grows. It's safe to say that Joseph Quinn is booked and busy, and we won't have to worry about him leaving our screens any time soon.
