Although mostly recognized for his iconic movie roles, Joel Edgerton has also starred in several TV shows. Edgerton is one of Hollywood’s top and most successful Australian actors. Like most Australian actors, Joel Edgerton began his screen career in Australian television.
Besides his screen acting credits, Joel Edgerton has also worked extensively in theater. Although he took a break from television in the 2010s, Edgerton has continued to take in credits in TV shows since the start of the 2020s. Here’s a journey into Joel Edgerton’s TV shows throughout his career.
The Secret Life of Us (2001–2002)
The Australian actor had his screen acting debut in 1995 on the small screen. Joel Edgerton spent the next five years appearing in guest roles on several Australian TV shows. However, he got his breakthrough role cast as William “Will” McGill on Network Ten’s Australian TV drama The Secret Life of Us. The series enjoyed high ratings from critics and TV audiences.
Its ratings began to drop following the exit of several key cast members. Edgerton was one of its main cast members but exited the show in season 2. While the first two seasons had 22 episodes, Joel Edgerton appeared in 32 episodes. Joel Edgerton was nominated twice for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama at the AACTA Awards, winning one of his nominations.
Dangerous (2007)
After his last appearance on television in 2002, Joel Edgerton didn’t work on the small screen until five years later. During that time, he starred in several iconic movies, including two Star Wars movies, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and its sequel, King Arthur (2004) and Smokin’ Aces (2006). Edgerton’s next television role was as Senior Sergeant Mark Field in the FOX8 Australian TV drama Dangerous. The show only aired for a season with 8 episodes. As one of Dangerous top cast, Joel Edgerton appeared in all aired 8 episodes.
Dirt Game (2009)
Two years later, Joel Edgerton returned to the small screen to lead the cast of the Australian drama miniseries Dirt Game. It was also Edgerton’s first lead role on the small screen. Edgerton was cast as Shane Bevic in the six-part series. Created by Michael Harvey, each of Dirt Game’s episodes had runtimes of 50 minutes. The six-part miniseries aired on ABC from April 19 to May 2006. The series centered around a mining company whose recently hired executives are given six months to turn the company’s fortunes around.
The Underground Railroad (2021)
For over a decade, Joel Edgerton focused on projects on the big screen. However, in 2021, he returned to television to play a slave catcher, Arnold Ridgeway, in Amazon Prime Video’s historical drama miniseries The Underground Railroad. The miniseries creator, Barry Jenkins, had adapted the series from Colson Whitehead’s 2016 novel of the same name. South African actress Thuso Mbedu (known for The Woman King) led The Underground Railroad cast, playing an enslaved woman, Cora Randall. The Underground Railroad was critically acclaimed by critics and audiences.
Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
The highlight of Joel Edgerton’s television career was reprising his role as Owen Lars in the Disney+ miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi. Edgerton played the character in the 2002 and 2005 movies Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, respectively. Although released 17 years after Revenge of the Sith, the Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries is set 10 years after the purging of the Jedi Order. With its dedicated Star Wars fanbase, Obi-Wan Kenobi was a massive success. It received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences. Although Joel Edgerton appeared in only 2 of its 6 episodes, Edgerton left a memorable performance with viewers.
Dark Matter (2024)
Joel Edgerton leads the cast of the Apple TV+ science fiction series Dark Matter. Created by Blake Crouch, Dark Matter is based on Crouch’s 2016 novel of the same name. In Dark Matter, Joel Edgerton plays a physicist, Jason Dessen. Kidnapped by an alternate version of himself from a parallel universe, Jason Dessen awakes to find himself in an alternate universe. In this universe, he chooses to focus on his work as a physicist and never gets married and has children.
Seeking to enjoy a life where he had a family, his alternate version kidnapped and switched him with himself. Jason Dessen must return to his universe to save his family from his alternate self. Co-starring alongside Edgerton are Jennifer Connelly, Alice Braga, Jimmi Simpson, and Oakes Fegley. If you enjoyed reading about the top Joel Edgerton TV shows, here’s our ranking of Jonathan Banks’ best TV shows before Constellation.
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