• Joseph Marcell is a British actor and comedian born on August 14, 1948, in Castries, Saint Lucia.
• He is best known for playing Father Michael Lewis in the 2021 horror movie “The Exorcism of God”.
• He attended Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and the University of Sheffield.
• Joseph has appeared in more than 60 movies and TV series, including “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, “Sioux City”, “The Stranger in Our Bed” and more.
• As of January 2023, Joseph's estimated net worth is over $2.5 million.
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Who is Joseph Marcell?
British actor and comedian Joseph Marcell was born in Castries, Saint Lucia on 14 August 1948, making his zodiac sign Leo. He’s appeared in more than 60 movies and TV series, and is perhaps best known for playing the lead character Father Michael Lewis in the 2021 horror movie “The Exorcism of God”, written and directed by Alejandro Hidalgo, and which also starred Maria Gabriela de Faria and Will Beinbrink. It follows an American priest who committed a terrible act when he was possessed 18 years earlier, while his sins are now haunting him; the movie won seven of its nine award nominations.
Education and early life
Joseph was raised in Castries by his parents about he doesn’t speak in public, because he respects their privacy; he hasn’t spoken of having siblings either, and it’s believed that he’s an only child.
Joseph was nine when he and his family moved to London, England and he attended a local elementary school there. He fell in love with acting during his teenage years, and appeared in most of the plays performed at his high school, often playing lead characters.
Joseph matriculated in 1966 and then enrolled at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in 1970; he also spent some time studying at the University of Sheffield. Joseph went on to become a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in plays such as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Othello”.
Roles in movies
Joseph’s debut film role was playing Eros in the 1974 historical romantic drama “Antony and Cleopatra”, and he could then have been seen appearing in the 1978 drama “Real Live Audience”, the 1987 comedy “Playing Away” and the 1987 biographical historical drama “Cry Freedom”.
The year 1994 saw him play Dr. Darryl Reichert in the mystery thriller “Sioux City”, directed by Lou Diamond Phillips, who also starred in it, alongside Salli Richardson-Whitfield and Melinda Dillon; it follows a young Lakota Sioux who was adopted at birth by a Jewish couple, and is now helping the police solve a murder. The remainder of the ‘90s saw Joseph appear in only two movies: the 1997 short fantasy “We Three”, and the 1998 drama “Brothers and Sisters”.
What marked the 2000s for him was probably playing the lead character Nelson in the 2007 drama “That Samba Thing”, written and directed by Teddy Hayes, and which also starred Martinho da Vila and Saul Rechlin; the movie follows several Londoners and Brazilians as they’re attending the Notting Hill festival.
Some of Joseph’s following roles were in the 2010 short comedy “The Santa Trap”, the 2012 comedy “Much Ado About Nothing” and the 2013 thriller “Fedz”. In 2017, he starred as Jim Nash in the romantic comedy “Wrapped Up in Christmas”, directed by Peter Sullivan, and which also starred Tatyana Ali, Brendan Fehr and Kim Fields. It follows a mall manager who’s fallen in love with a store owner’s nephew, and the movie was nominated for a Young Entertainer Award for Best Leading Young Actress – Television Movie, Mini Series or Special, for Princess K. Mapp.
Joseph’s three most recent film roles have been in the mystery thriller “The Stranger in Our Bed”, the short drama “Folding” and the short historical comedy “Good Night Henry”, all released in 2022.
Roles in TV series
Joseph’s debut TV series role was playing the lead character Walter Isaacs in all the 15 episodes of the 1979 drama “Empire Road”, which also starred Norman Beaton and Corinne Skinner-Carter, and follows the people living in a racially diverse street in Birmingham, England.
The ‘80s saw Joseph appear in an episode of various series, such as the crime action comedy “The Professionals”, the crime mystery “Rumpole of the Bailey”, and the comedy “The Kit Curran Radio Show”.
From 1990 through 1996, he starred as Geoffrey Butler in the comedy “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, which also starred Alfonso Ribeiro, Will Smith and James Avery, and was created by Andy and Susan Borowitz. It follows the lives of a family of wealthy African-Americans, and the series won 15 of the 43 awards for which it was nominated. The remainder of the ‘90s saw Joseph appear in an episode of the comedy “Living Single”, the drama “McLibel!”, and the family comedy “Renford Rejects”.
Joseph had only three TV series roles in the 2000s: he played Hudson in 26 episodes of the soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful” in 2003 and 2004, Clive Marlowe in the 2005 episode “A Pair of Ragged Claws” of the crime drama “Jericho”, and Aubrey Valentine in seven episodes of the 2006 romantic crime drama “EastEnders”.
Joseph had only a single TV series role in the 2010s, playing Alexander Jackson in the 2014 episode “The Man with the Golden Gun” of the crime comedy “Death in Paradise”.
In 2020, he played African Grandfather in the short fantasy “The Sandman”, and has since appeared in only two TV series, playing Len Bronley in two episodes of the 2020 historical crime drama “Ratched”, and Ralph in the 2022 episode “Canada” of the comedy “I Hate You”.
Other credits
Joseph directed the 2006 short comedy movie “Diamond Real Estate”.
He sang various songs in nine episodes of the series “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” from 1990 through 1992, and the songs “Family Christmas” and “Something’s Gonna Turn Up” in the 1993 movie “David Copperfield”.
Some of Joseph’s recent talk-show appearances have been in “Big Zuu’s Big Eats”, “Finer Points Triviacast” and “The Kendall K. & Friends Show”.
Awards and nominations
Joseph was nominated for a 2004 TV Land Award for Best Broadcast Butler, for his performance in “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”.
Wife and children
Joseph’s married twice. He and his first wife, British non-celebrity Judith M Midtby exchanged vows in September 1975, in a small and private ceremony attended by only the closest of their friends and family members; Judith gave birth to their son Ben in 1979, but they divorced in the following year.
Joseph married his second wife, another British-non celebrity woman Joyce T. Walsh in June 1995, after the two had been together for close to 10 years; their daughter Jessica was born in 1989.
Joseph hasn’t mentioned other women whom he’s been with, he’s married to his second wife Joyce T. Walsh as of January 2023, and they have a daughter together; he also has a son with his first wife Judith M Midtby.
Hobbies and interesting facts
Joseph dislikes Instagram and isn’t active on the popular social media network, but he does use Twitter; he launched his account in September 2014 and has since tweeted nearly 700 times, while there are today more than 5,500 people following him.
He’s deeply religious, and goes to church at least once a week.
Joseph’s a philanthropist, and has mostly worked with charity organizations which aim to improve the quality of life for children in Africa.
He’s a lover of animals, with elephants and giraffes being his favorites.
The actors whom Joseph enjoys watching the most are Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington, and a couple of his favorite movies are “Along Came a Spider”, “Se7en” and “The Magic of Belle Isle”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Joseph’s age is 74. He has brown eyes and short black hair, is 5ft 6ins (1.69m) tall and weighs about 165lbs (75kgs).
Joseph’s net worth’s been estimated at over $2.5 million as of January 2023.
