# Joe Locke

Joseph William Locke (born 24 September 2003) is a Manx actor. He is known for his lead role as high school student Charlie Spring in the Netflix teen series Heartstopper (2022–present), for which he received a nomination for the inaugural Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Performance. In 2024, he starred as Billy Maximoff / William Kaplan in the Marvel Cinematic Universe miniseries Agatha All Along and as Tobias Ragg in a Broadway revival of the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

## Early life

Joseph William Locke was born on 24 September 2003. He grew up in Douglas, Isle of Man. He attended Ballakermeen High School. He told ITV's This Morning in April 2022 that he was studying for A-level exams in politics, history and English.
While in high school, Locke and three fellow students submitted a petition to government officials to investigate the feasibility of welcoming Syrian refugees to the Isle of Man.

## Career

Locke participated in the 2020 National Theatre Connections, productions at the Gaiety Theatre, and with the Kensington Art Centre's youth group.
In 2022, Locke began starring as Charlie Spring in his debut television role in the Netflix coming-of-age series Heartstopper, an adaptation of the webcomic and graphic novel of the same name by Alice Oseman. He was chosen out of 10,000 other potential actors who were up for the role through an open casting call. Locke, who was 17 at the time of the filming, played a 14–15-year-old student in an English boys' grammar school.
In 2024, Locke starred in Marvel Studios' WandaVision spin-off television series Agatha All Along for Disney+. He played a goth character initially referred to as "Teen", who is later revealed to be William Kaplan. In the same year, Locke took on the role of Tobias Ragg in the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street on Broadway.

## Personal life

Locke came out on Instagram when he was 12 years old and told his mother he was gay. Realising he was ready to be out to his family but not the world, he deleted the Instagram post. He came out again at 15. Locke has spoken about his experiences of being a young gay man from the Isle of Man and the parallels with Charlie's story in Heartstopper.
In August 2022, Isle of Man Health Minister, Lawrie Hooper announced that the government would change its blanket ban on gay men donating blood after Locke called for the "archaic" rule to be changed in a video message played at the island's annual pride celebration.

## Filmography

Key :
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2022–present | Heartstopper | Charlie Spring | Lead role; 24 episodes |
| 2024 | The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off | Himself | Contestant; 1 episode |
| 2024 | Agatha All Along | Billy Maximoff / William Kaplan / Wiccan | Main role; 9 episodes |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
| 2022 | The Trials | Noah | Donmar Warehouse | |
| 2024 | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Tobias Ragg | Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Broadway | |

## Accolades

| Award | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| Children's and Family Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Lead Performance | Heartstopper | Nominated |
| National Television Awards | 2022 | Rising Star | Heartstopper | Nominated |
| Queerty Awards | 2023 | Performance – TV | Heartstopper | Won |
| Queerty Awards | 2024 | Coming Out for Good | — | Won |
| Queerty Awards | 2025 | Badass | — | Runner-up |
| WhatsOnStage Awards | 2023 | Best Professional Debut Performance | The Trials | Won |
| Broadway.com Audience Awards | 2024 | Favorite Replacement (Male) | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Nominated |
| Independent Spirit Awards | 2025 | Best Breakthrough Performance in a New Scripted Series | Agatha All Along | Nominated |
| Saturn Awards | 2025 | Best Young Performer in a Television Series | Agatha All Along | Nominated |
| Human Rights Campaign | 2025 | Impact Award | — | Won |
| Newport Beach Film Festival | 2025 | Breakout Award | Heartstopper, Agatha All Along | Won |