# Joel David Moore

Joel David Moore (born September 25, 1977) is an American actor and director. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Moore studied acting in college before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a film career. His first major role was as Owen Dittman in the 2004 comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, followed by roles in the comedy Grandma's Boy (2006), Terry Zwigoff's Art School Confidential (2006), and the independent slasher film Hatchet (2006).
In 2008, he was cast in the role of Colin Fisher on the Fox series Bones, a guest role he portrayed in sixteen episodes until the series' conclusion in 2017. In 2009, he was cast as Dr. Norm Spellman in James Cameron's Avatar (2009), a role he reprised for the film's sequels, Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) and Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025).
Moore has also starred in several music videos, and directed films: His directorial debut was the psychological thriller Spiral (2007), followed by the drama Youth in Oregon (2016). Moore also directed the film Killing Winston Jones which was shot in 2012 but never released.

## Early life

Moore was born on September 25, 1977, in Portland, Oregon, the son of Missy (née Irvine) and John Moore. Moore was raised in Portland, where his family resided in the Mount Tabor neighborhood. He graduated from Benson Polytechnic High School in 1995.
After high school, Moore attended Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon, for two years. In 1998, he transferred to Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon, where he earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2001 and performed for two summers at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

## Career
### 2000–2007: Early roles

Before relocating to Hollywood, Moore starred with Gretchen Stouts and Nina Smidt in Tom Monson's Drug Wars, The High Times (1999), a video about underage binge drinking.
In 2000, he moved to Los Angeles, California, and appeared in several television commercials, including ones for eBay, Cingular Wireless, and Best Buy. Moore shot an international campaign for a branch of Siemens cell phones, XELIBRI, which won a Lion Award. Moore made an appearance in the music video for the song "Youth of the Nation" by rap rock band P.O.D.
Moore's first major film role was in 2004's Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Between 2004 and 2005, he appeared in a recurring guest role on the NBC series LAX. This was followed by roles in the films Grandma's Boy, and as a jaded art student in Terry Zwigoff's Art School Confidential (both 2006). The same year, he also had a lead role in the independent slasher film Hatchet, a bit part in The Shaggy Dog, and a supporting role in El Muerto, based on the eponymous comic book series. Also in 2007, Moore made directorial debut with the psychological thriller Spiral, which he filmed in his hometown of Portland, and co-starred in with Amber Tamblyn.

### 2008–present: Acting and directing

In 2008, he was cast in the supporting role of Dr. Norm Spellman in James Cameron's Avatar (2009). The same year, he was cast as intern Colin Fisher on the Fox series Bones, a guest role he would portray across 16 episodes until the series' conclusion in 2017. During the fifth season episode "The Gamer in the Grease", his character invites two other characters, Dr.Jack Hodgins (portrayed by T. J. Thyne) and Dr. Lance Sweets (portrayed by John Francis Daley) to attend the Avatar premiere, in which Moore was also cast. Moore also had a supporting role in Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (2009), a remake of the 1956 film of the same name. He also starred alongside Katy Perry in her 2009 music video for "Waking Up in Vegas".
Other film roles included a supporting part in 2012's Savages, directed by Oliver Stone, and in the crime-thriller Gone (2012), opposite Amanda Seyfried. Moore directed Killing Winston Jones in fall 2012 in Savannah, Georgia, which starred Danny Glover, Jon Heder and Richard Dreyfuss. The film was never released.
He would also reprise his role with a cameo appearance in Hatchet III (2013). During 2014–2015, he had a supporting role in the series Forever, and also in the thriller The Guest (2014), and Joey Ramone in the 2013 historical film CBGB.
In 2016, he directed his second feature, Youth in Oregon, starring Frank Langella, Christina Applegate and Billy Crudup. In 2017, it was reported that Moore had signed on to appear in the Avatar sequels, Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) and Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025).

## Filmography
### Acting roles
#### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | Foxfire | First Geek | |
| 2000 | Drug Wars, The High Times | Jake | |
| 2004 | Raising Genius | Rolf | |
| 2004 | Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story | Owen Dittman | |
| 2005 | Reel Guerrillas | Nick Walker | The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning |
| 2006 | Grandma's Boy | J.P. | |
| 2006 | The Shaggy Dog | Pound employee | |
| 2006 | Art School Confidential | Bardo | |
| 2006 | Miles from Home | Miles | Short film |
| 2006 | The Elder Son | Kenny | |
| 2006 | Hatchet | Ben | |
| 2007 | American Hustle | 3rd Spartan | |
| 2007 | El Muerto | Issac "Zak" Silver | |
| 2007 | Spiral | Mason | Also co-director and co-screenwriter |
| 2007 | Shanghai Kiss | Joe Silverman | |
| 2008 | The Hottie and the Nottie | Nate Cooper | Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple (with Paris Hilton) |
| 2008 | Wieners | Greg King | |
| 2008 | The Tiffany Problem | Sam Hane | Short film |
| 2008 | Fairy Tale Police | Big Bad Wolf | |
| 2009 | Beyond a Reasonable Doubt | Corey Finley | |
| 2009 | Bed Ridden | Jay | Short film |
| 2009 | Stuntmen | Troy Lebowski | |
| 2009 | Avatar | Dr. Norm Spellman | |
| 2010 | The Third Rule | Peter | Short film |
| 2010 | Janie Jones | Dave | |
| 2011 | Chillerama | Adolf Hitler | Segment: "The Diary of Anne Frankenstein" |
| 2011 | Grassroots | Grant Cogswell | |
| 2011 | Julia X 3D | Sam | |
| 2011 | Shark Night | Gordon Guthrie | |
| 2012 | Gone | Nick Massey | |
| 2012 | Jewtopia | Adam Lipschitz | |
| 2012 | Savages | Craig | |
| 2013 | Hatchet III | Ben | Cameo |
| 2013 | CBGB | Joey Ramone | |
| 2014 | The Guest | Craig | |
| 2014 | #Stuck | Guy | |
| 2014 | Grace: The Possession | Luke | |
| 2015 | Divine Access | Nigel | |
| 2017 | Drone | Gary | |
| 2020 | Cut Throat City | Peter Felton | |
| 2020 | The Morning After | Guy | |
| 2022 | The Immaculate Room | Jason Wright | |
| 2022 | Daniel's Gotta Die | Daniel Powell | |
| 2022 | The Baker | Peter | |
| 2022 | Avatar: The Way of Water | Dr. Norm Spellman | |
| 2023 | The Retirement Plan | Fitzsimmons | |
| 2025 | Kinda Pregnant | Mark | |
| 2025 | Avatar: Fire and Ash † | Dr. Norm Spellman | Post-production |
Key :
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |

#### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | City Guys | Hoover | 1 episode |
| 2001–2002 | Boston Public | Hartzell | 2 episodes |
| 2002 | Deep Cover | Pete Steinem | |
| 2002 | Boomtown | Usher #2 | Episode: "Insured by Smith & Wesson" |
| 2002 | Providence | Howard | Episode: "The Eleventh Hour" |
| 2003 | Sabrina, the Teenage Witch | Pete | Episode: "Romance Looming" |
| 2003 | Angel | Karl Vamp | Episode: "Salvage" |
| 2003 | Six Feet Under | Video Clerk | Episode: "The Opening" |
| 2003 | Strong Medicine | Dan | Episode: "Bad Liver" |
| 2004 | The Amazing Westermans | | Television film |
| 2004 | The Guardian | Malcolm Reeves | Episode: "Sparkle" |
| 2004–2005 | LAX | Eddie Carson | Recurring role, 9 episodes |
| 2005 | Cooked | Mike | Television film |
| 2005 | The Inside | Brian Pines | Episode: "Declawed" |
| 2005 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Guy in the Yellow Hat | Episode: "Dog Eat Dog" |
| 2005–2006 | E-Ring | Greg – NSA Liaison | Recurring role, 5 episodes |
| 2007 | The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning | Cooter Davenport | Television film |
| 2007 | House M.D. | Eddie | Episodes: "One Day, One Room", "Act Your Age" |
| 2008 | My Name Is Earl | Clyde | Episode: "Quit Your Snitchin'" |
| 2008–2017 | Bones | Colin Fisher | Recurring role, 16 episodes |
| 2009–2010 | Medium | Keith Bruning | 4 episodes |
| 2010 | Chuck | Mackintosh | Episode: "Chuck Versus the Couch Lock" |
| 2011 | Hawaii Five-0 | Sheldon Tunney | Episode: "Kai e'e" |
| 2011 | Last Man Standing | Bruce | Episodes: "Pilot", "Grandparents Day" |
| 2014–2015 | Forever | Lucas Wahl | Main role |
| 2017 | Budding Prospects | Phil | Television film |
| 2017 | American Housewife | Captain Beauregard | Episode: "Gala Auction" |
| 2018 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Noah | Episode: "All the Comforts of Home" |

#### Music videos

| Year | Song | Artist |
| 2001 | "Youth of the Nation" | P.O.D. |
| 2008 | "Beat It" | Fall Out Boy |
| 2009 | "Waking Up in Vegas" | Katy Perry |
| 2010 | "It's Not Christmas Without You" | Katharine McPhee |

### Filmmaking roles

Feature Film
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | Notes |
| 2007 | Spiral | Yes | Executive | Yes | |
| 2012 | Killing Winston Jones | Yes | Executive | No | Cancelled film release |
| 2016 | Youth in Oregon | Yes | No | No | |
| 2021 | Hide and Seek | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2023 | Some Other Woman | Yes | Yes | No | |
| As producer Etienne! (2009) The Immaculate Room (2022) Bride Hard (2025) The Leader (pending) | As executive producer Shadowheart (2009) Jewtopia (2012) Stuck (2014) Paint (2023) Desperation Road (2023) |
Short Film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer |
| 2006 | Miles from Home | Yes | Yes |
| 2009 | Found | Yes | No |
| 2010 | Hours Before | Yes | Yes |