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Joseph Mawle

Joseph Mawle

Actor · Born March 21, 1974 (52) · Oxford, England, UK

BAFTA Award nominee

Joseph Daniel Turner Mawle (born 21 March 1974) is an English actor. Mawle is best known for his roles as Benjen Stark in Game of Thrones, Detective Inspector Jedediah Shine in Ripper Street, Firebrace in Birdsong, Jesus Christ in The Passion and Odysseus in Troy: Fall of a City. Mawle was born in Oxford. He grew up in a Victorian manor house on a farm outside Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. He is one of three children from a family with a history of nine generations of farming in Warwickshire. His mother was a teacher. His father Richard still farms the land. He attended the Croft prep school on the outskirts of Stratford-upon-Avon where he was diagnosed as severely dyslexic and as a result he went from the ages of 13 to 16 to a boarding school for special needs. Mawle left the school at 16 to become an actor, but contracted labyrinthitis, leaving him 70 per cent hearing-impaired in the upper register and with tinnitus. He persuaded the director of the local college at Stratford-upon-Avon to let him study for a BTEC in performing arts while doing an assortment of jobs such as fitness instructor and dish-washer. He also did some acting for the Box Clever Theatre Company and in his own production of Solo Hamlet. He won a scholarship to study at the Bristol Old Vic's theatre school. Mawle graduated from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in 2002 in the same year he appeared in the Irish Hurling TV adverts for Guinness. He left in 2002 with no agent and worked as an assistant in a special needs school. He landed his first major role in a 2003 production of Troilus and Cressida playing Troilus for Shakespeare at the Tobacco factory, work at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton, in Hamlet and in 2005 the Royal Exchange, Manchester's production of Antony and Cleopatra followed. It was his performance in the television film Soundproof in 2006 that made his biggest impact where a deaf actor was needed for the lead role. Mawle was nominated for the RTS Breakthrough on Screen Award and director Ed Coulthard won the BAFTA for best director in 2007. He has appeared in a number of British television productions since including Dunkirk winner of the Huw Wheldon BAFTA Award for Factual Drama and in Adrian Shergold's Persuasion and Channel 4's gay drama Clapham Junction in the role of Tim. Time Out said "Mawle and Treadaway put in Bafta-winning efforts". In 2008 he starred as Jesus in BBC/HBO Films miniseries of The Passion, and as a guest star in Foyle's War "Broken Souls" episode. In 2008 Mawle returned to the theatre in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at the Almeida Theatre directed by Rupert Goold. Listed for Outstanding Newcomer by the Evening Standard Theatre Awards and nominated for WhatsOnStage Theatre Choice Awards for Best Newcomer for his performance as Judas. In 2009 Mawle featured in films Nineteen Eighty (part of the Red Riding Trilogy) directed by James Marsh and in Heartless by Philip Ridley and in the spring in Dominic Savage's Freefall opposite Dominic Cooper and Aidan Gillen. In the same year, he starred in episode 4 of Jimmy McGovern's The Street. In 2010 Mawle featured in artist David Austen's End of Love and in the short film Sometimes The Moon Is Velvet, which toured festivals. He also appeared in Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, BBC drama Five Daughters, Dominic Savage's Dive and Made in Dagenham starring Sally Hawkins. He also starred with Rosamund Pike as lovers Gerald Crich and Gudrun Brangwen in the 2011 BBC Four television adaptation of Women in Love. In 2011 Mawle joined the HBO series Game of Thrones as Benjen Stark in Season 1. Mawle returned to the role in Season 6 after an absence of five seasons. Mawle appeared in several projects in 2012 including the Working Title production of Sebastian Faulks's acclaimed novel Birdsong, the Bruce Willis film The Cold Light of Day, the Tim Burton-produced Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and the independent British film Shell. In 2011 he was featured in The Horrible Crowes' music video for their debut single "Behold the Hurricane". 2013 saw Mawle portray Stephen Beaumont in The Tunnel, and Detective Inspector Jedediah Shine on Ripper Street. Mawle had a lead role in the horror film The Hallow.

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Biography from IMDb.

Born
March 21, 1974 (52)
From
Oxford, England, UK
Works as
Actor
Titles
30 on MovieCove · 51 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 63 days to Oct 26Down 24% in 30 days

What are Joseph Mawle's films like?

Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Bonds.

Genres

Drama4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 58th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Action2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 41st percentile
: browse their Action movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Survival
28%
Bonds
25%
Power
23%
Ideas
8%
Self
7%
Morality
5%
Society
5%
Survival5 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds4 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCorruption2 titles, browse their movies with this themeBetrayal2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 9 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 0 · Serious 0 · Dark 9

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 6 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 0

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 8

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 1 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 1

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 6 · Relentless 1

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 0 · Engaged 7 · Full focus 2

Heavy: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their heavy movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

Easy watch 1 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 7

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 5 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1

Roles they play

5 analyzed roles

Usually the Hero: 2 of 5 analyzed roles.

Hero
2 of 5
Shadow
1 of 5
Herald
1 of 5
Mentor
1 of 5

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
11
Melancholic
7
Dread
4
Cold
2
Absurd
1
Other
2

How their films linger

Thought-provoking7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet7
  • Tragic3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Joseph Mawle's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 25 of their 30 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (11).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Joseph Mawle's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

51 credits, 30 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • 1923(2022)

    Show 3 episodes · as Captain Shipley

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows

  • The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power(2022)

    Show 8 episodes · as Adar

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all shows

  • The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Global Fan Screening (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    as Adar

  • Mr. Jones(2019)

    as George Orwell

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Land's End (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Actor

  • MotherFatherSon(2019)

    Show as Scott Ruskin

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all shows

  • Spoon Fed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    as Dan

  • The Sound (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    as Jed

  • Troy: Fall of a City(2018)

    Show 7 episodes · as Odysseus

    Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all shows

  • Man Divided(2017)

    as Bingwen I & II

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Trial (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    as Original Aaron

  • In the Heart of the Sea(2015)

    as Benjamin Lawrence

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • The Last Panthers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Show 6 episodes · as Michael

  • Kill Your Friends(2015)

    as James Trellick

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • The Hallow(2015)

    as Adam Hitchens

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • Sense8(2015)

    Show 2 episodes · as Nyx

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows

  • The Tunnel(2013)

    Show 10 episodes · as Stephen Beaumont

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all shows

  • Half of a Yellow Sun(2013)

    as Richard

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • The Beast (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    as Dad

  • Shell (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    as Pete

  • Ripper Street(2012)

    Show 6 episodes · as Jedediah Shine

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows

  • Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter(2012)

    as Thomas Lincoln

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • Words of the Titanic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    as Reader

  • The Cold Light of Day(2012)

    as Gorman

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films

  • Birdsong (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Show 2 episodes · as Jack Firebrace

  • After Tomorrow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    as James

  • The Awakening(2011)

    as Edward Judd

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Sometimes the Moon Is Velvet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    as Jack

  • Game of Thrones(2011)

    Show 6 episodes · as Benjen Stark

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows

  • Women in Love(2011)

    Show 2 episodes · as Gerald Crich

    Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all shows

  • Made in Dagenham(2010)

    as Gordon

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • Deathless (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    as Max Serloom

  • Dive (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Show 2 episodes · as Gary

  • Heartless (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    as Papa B

  • Five Daughters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Show 3 episodes · as Tom Stephens

  • Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1980(2009)

    as The Ripper

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Freefall(2009)

    as Jim

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • Red Riding (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Lezione 21(2008)

    as Musician 4

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Merlin(2008)

    Show 1 episode · as Alvarr

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows

  • The Passion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Show 6 episodes · as Jesus

  • Clapham Junction(2007)

    as Tim

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Persuasion(2007)

    as Harry Harville

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • The Secret Life of Mrs. Beeton (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    as Fred Greenwood

  • Soundproof (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    as Dean Whittingham

  • Foyle's War(2002)

    Show 1 episode · as Fred Dawson

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows

  • Waking the Dead(2000)

    Show 2 episodes · as Stefan Koscinski

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all shows

  • Merlin(1998)

    Show 2 episodes · as Village Man (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all shows

  • Dalziel and Pascoe(1996)

    Show 2 episodes · as Charlie Barron

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all shows

  • Poirot(1989)

    Show 1 episode · as Antonio Foscarelli

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows

  • The Way of the Wind (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    as Saul

Career shape

Star power in the 97th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 50 titles, 49 of them dated from 1989 to 2022; peak year 2014.

Biggest box office

In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

$94M worldwide

Highest rated

Mr. Jones (2019)

Midcredits 79th

Most popular right now

In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

Film career

19892022

Peak 2014 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Top draw in 1 MovieCove title. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting50 of 50: 50 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score74th

By decade

1980s1 · acting1990s2 · acting2000s12 · acting2010s31 · acting2020s3 · acting

Billing

usually 10th · top billed in 7% of 15 roles
0712

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.

Awards

Nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2012, Best Supporting Actor.

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Joseph Mawle's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 60th percentile, the median of all 15; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 46th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

46thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Approval · how many liked their films

46thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Reach · how many have seen their films

89thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 9

Midcredits score across 30 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up14
  • 50th to 74th6
  • 25th to 49th7
  • Below 25th3

Shape of the crowd

10 of their 30 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved8
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser10
  • Broadly Agreed2
  • Mixed9

Most divisive · actor

Troy: Fall of a City (2018)

86th percentile spread · 59% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Game of Thrones (2011)

Midcredits 99th · 93% liked

Reviewers score the acting 68/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles; fans 77, detractors 49. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Joseph Mawle's work okay for kids?

Across up to 8 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore3 titlesmedian 59 · moderateMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity8 titles16–72 · median 51 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity4 titlesmedian 43 · moderateMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs4 titlesmedian 45 · moderateMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 59 · moderateMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Joseph Mawle work with?

People who share at least 2 of Joseph Mawle's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Rosamund Pike shares the most, 2.

Actors

Producers