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Joe Absolom

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Joe Absolom
Born
Joseph Absolom

(1978-12-16) 16 December 1978 (age 46)
Lewisham, London, England
OccupationActor
Years active1991–present
Spouse
Liz Brown
(m. 2019)
Children3

Joe Absolom (born 16 December 1978) is an English actor known for his roles as Matthew Rose in the BBC soap opera EastEnders and Al Large in the ITV comedy drama Doc Martin.[1][2][3]

Early life

Absolom was born in Lewisham,[4] London. A former pupil of Forest Hill School, he made early appearances in the legendary Sun-Pat peanut butter advertisements before making his acting debut with the 1991 film Antonia and Jane.

Career

Absolom joined the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 1997 portraying Matthew Rose. He had few storylines in his first year on the show. The storyline which gained him recognition was the murder of Saskia Duncan, which began in February 1999. His character was framed for the murder by the real culprit, Steve Owen (played by Martin Kemp). After getting revenge on Steve Owen, his character's last appearance aired in February 2000. Absolom won Best Actor at The British Soap Awards that same year.

After leaving EastEnders, Absolom played the leading role in the 2002 British horror film Long Time Dead, and a supporting role in the ITV series Vincent. He soon became best known for his role in Doc Martin playing Bert Large's son, Al. The part has won him critical acclaim ever since the series began.

Absolom guest starred in The Bill between 1992 and 2009 in different roles, and as Benny, a violent loan shark in Casualty. He appeared as a criminal in the internet crime thriller Girl Number Nine, also starring Tracy-Ann Oberman and Gareth David Lloyd.[5] More recently, he played the part of Ivan in the 2013 horror film 'I Spit on Your Grave 2'. He won a celebrity version of TV show Total Wipeout which aired on 18 September 2010, receiving £10,000 for charity. He played the real life murderer Christopher Halliwell in the drama A Confession in 2019. He starred in the ITV drama The Bay in 2021.

Radio

Absolom is also a radio actor, and has appeared in a BBC Radio 4 Play of the day "Bringing Eddie Home" by John Peacock, based on a true story of the fight by East End couple Edna and Jack Wallace to get their son's body brought home from Aden, and the ensuing fight for the rights of British Service personnel. Absolom played the role of Eddie Wallace and the play also included other ex-EastEnders actors Bill Treacher, Edna Doré, Todd Carty and Tilly Vosburgh.[6][7]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1991 Antonia and Jane Daniel Nash
2001 Dream Tommy
2002 Long Time Dead Rob
Extreme Ops Silo
2008 Small Things Boyd Hilton Short film
One of Those Days Counter Clerk Short film
2009 Bottle Charlie Short film
Jubilee Young Man Short film
2010 The Story of __ Baz
2012 Defining Fay Higgins Short film
2013 I Spit on Your Grave 2 Ivan Patov
2018 Neon Elias Short film
2020 The Mermaid of Mevagissey Pete Short film
2020 A Dieu King Arthur Short film
2021 Grave Dad Short film

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1992 The Bill Kevin Parsons 1 episode: Radio Waves
1994 The Bill Mick 1 episode: King of the Hill
1996 The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Fergus Markham 3 part series
The Bill Tommy Benning 1 episode: Toe the Line
1997 Frighteners Errand Boy 1 episode: If You Meet A Fairy
Silent Witness Kelvin Price 1 episode: Friends Like These
Touching Evil Craig Jones 1 episode: 1.5
Dangerfield Alex Dell 1 episode: Contact
1997–2000 EastEnders Matthew Rose Series regular
2001 Now You See Her Lewis
2002 Stan the Man Depp 6 part series
2003 Unconditional Love Benjamin Cain
Servants George Cosmo 6 part series
Trevor's World of Sport Scott Recurring
P.O.W. Drew Pritchcard 6 part series
2004 The Long Firm Tommy
2004–2022 Doc Martin Al Large Series regular
2005–2006 Vincent P.I. Robert Series regular
2006 New Tricks Luke Hanson 1 episode: Congratulations
2008 The Bill Mark Lawrence 2 episodes: We Are Family (Parts 1 & 2)
Poirot James Bentley 1 episode: Mrs McGinty's Dead
Casualty Benny 2 episodes: This Will Be Our Year and
Took A Long Time To Come
Caught in a Trap Marcus
2009 Personal Affairs Bob Baxter 5 part series
New Tricks Luke Hanson 1 episode: The Last Laugh
Girl Number 9 Boylan Internet series
2010 Ashes to Ashes Andy Smith 1 episode
Total Wipeout Himself/participant Celebrity edition
71 Degrees North Himself/participant
Thorne: Scaredy Cat Stuart Nicklin Three-part series
2012 Hatfields & McCoys Selkirk McCoy Mini-series
2015 Midsomer Murders Luke Altman Episode 17.2 "Murder by Magic"
Death in Paradise Aiden Parker Episode 4.6
Suspects Dean Clarke Episode 4.2
2016 The Level Shay Nash
2019 A Confession[2] Christopher Halliwell[3]
2021 The Bay Andy Warren 6 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
1999 National Television Awards Most Popular Actor EastEnders Nominated
TV Quick Awards Best Soap Actor EastEnders Won
2000 The British Soap Awards Best Actor EastEnders Won
Variety Club Awards Outstanding New Talent Won
2010 Streamy Awards Best Male Actor in a Drama Web Series Girl Number 9 Nominated
2020 Accolade Global Film Competition Leading Actor: Merit A Dieu Won
BAFTA TV Awards Best Supporting Actor A Confession Nominated

References

  1. ^ "Joe Absolom Talks About Al Large's Future, Training with the Port Isaac Rowing Team". KCET. 14 January 2019. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  2. ^ a b "When is A Confession on TV? Who's in the cast? What's it about?". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 4 July 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Surprises Abound in the New Season of Doc Martin". Org. 11 February 2019. Archived from the original on 15 March 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  4. ^ "Absolom interview; EASTENDERS JOE TALKS ABOUT LOVE, FREEDOM ...AND A CLINCH WITH BABS". The Mirror. 9 January 2000. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  5. ^ "Girl Number 9 – Web Thriller by James Moran and Dan Turner". Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
  6. ^ Kelly, Helen (8 February 2018). "Remember EastEnders' Matthew Rose? What is actor Joe Absolom up to now?". Express.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  7. ^ S, Ian; well (15 March 2018). "Joe Absolom rules out EastEnders return". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2019.