Theatre In 1991, Joseph won second prize in the
Ian Charleson Awards, for his 1990 performances of Oswald in
King Lear, Dumaine in ''
Love's Labour's Lost, and the Marquis de Mota in The Last Days of Don Juan
, all at the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1992, he starred as Richard Henry in Blues for Mister Charlie'' by
James Baldwin, directed by
Greg Hersov at the
Royal Exchange, Manchester. Joseph's theatre credits include the title role in
Othello at the
Royal Exchange, Manchester, as well as parts in
Henry IV,
King Lear, and
Hamlet for a performance in
New York City. In 2012, he played
Brutus in a performance by the
RSC of
Julius Caesar set in Africa. In 2004, he undertook a project, filmed for Channel 4 in a documentary entitled
My Shakespeare, to direct a version of
Romeo & Juliet, using 20 young non-actors from the deprived
Harlesden area of London. In 2006, he became a patron of
OffWestEnd.com, a listings site for theatre outside the mainstream. Other stage appearances in 2006 and 2007 include the leads in
The Royal Hunt of the Sun and
The Emperor Jones at the
Olivier Theatre, London. In 2015,
Sancho: An Act of Remembrance, a solo play written and performed by Joseph and based on the life of
Ignatius Sancho, was staged in Oxford and Birmingham, and toured in the US starting in October. In late 2019 and early 2020, Joseph starred as
Ebenezer Scrooge at the
Old Vic Theatre in London in their production of
A Christmas Carol.
Television He has played many roles in British television programmes, both drama and comedy. These include Reuben in
William and Mary, alongside
Martin Clunes; Mark Grace in
Casualty; the Marquis de Carabas in
Neverwhere; Alan Johnson in
Peep Show; Lyndon Jones in
Green Wing; and Shorty in the first episode of
Jericho. Joseph also appeared in the acclaimed drama
Sex Traffic (2004), in the 2005 TV version of
Kwame Kwei-Armah's acclaimed play ''
Elmina's Kitchen and in the Doctor Who episodes "Bad Wolf" and "The Parting of the Ways" as Rodrick, a contestant on a futuristic version of The Weakest Link game show. He has also appeared in various supporting roles in Dead Ringers. In 2006, he appeared in the television sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Look, in which he played Simon, a contestant on the game show Numberwang''. In 2020, Joseph played the part of
Home Secretary Kamal Hadley in the series of
Noughts + Crosses. As voice actor, Joseph provided the narration for the
National Geographic series
Mega Cities from 2005 to 2011,
Wild Russia in 2009 and the
BBC Two documentary ''Inside Obama's White House
in 2016. He played Tyler in the BBC Switch film Rules of Love'' in 2010.
Film Joseph's first feature film role was as Benbay in
Jim Sheridan's
In the Name of the Father. In 2000, Joseph appeared as Keaty in
Danny Boyle's adventure drama film
The Beach, which starred
Leonardo DiCaprio. In the same year, he also appeared in
The Long Run and
Greenfingers. In 2005, he portrayed Giroux in the science-fiction action film
Æon Flux, which starred
Charlize Theron. Then in 2008 he played a supporting role in
The Other Man, opposite
Liam Neeson and
Antonio Banderas. Joseph appears as villain
Arthur Slugworth, part of an ensemble cast in the 2023 musical fantasy film
Wonka, directed by
Paul King. Joseph has also appeared in several
short films, including
Stop the World, directed by
Richard Leaf. He
voiced the character of Victor in the 2023 drama short film
Bet Your Bottom Dollar produced by British-Canadian filmmaker
Jonathan Tammuz.
Voice work In 2011, Joseph returned to
Doctor Who, where he appeared in the audio drama
Earth Aid, playing Victor Espinosa. In November 2016, he played the title role in the
BBC radio adaptation of the short story by
Neil Gaiman,
How the Marquis Got His Coat Back. Joseph had previously played the part of the
Marquis de Carabas in the 1996 BBC TV six-part drama
Neverwhere. He played the role of Colonel Arbuthnott in the
Audible production of
Murder on the Orient Express. Joseph read the
BBC Radio 4 10-part abridgement (by Florence Bedell) of Barbadian writer
George Lamming's 1953 debut novel
In the Castle of My Skin, first broadcast in December 2020.
Lectures Joseph has delivered such keynote public lectures as the Memorial 2007 Annual Lecture at the
Institute of Commonwealth Studies and at
Lancaster University.
Writing In October 2022, Joseph's debut novel
The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho was released, published by Dialogue Books. The book charts the life of
Charles Ignatius Sancho through fictionalised diary entries, letters and commentary. Writing in
The New York Times, reviewer
Thomas Mallon concluded: "With the conjuring tricks of historical fiction, Joseph has taken an actual man and, two and a half centuries later, made him as thoroughly himself, and as fully present, as he was the first time round." The novel was shortlisted for the 2023
Jhalak Prize, and won the 2023
RSL Christopher Bland Prize. Joseph was also a contributor to the 2024 book
Encounters with James Baldwin: Celebrating 100 Years. Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University In October 2022, Joseph was announced as the next Chancellor of
Oxford Brookes University (previous holders of the role including
Helena Kennedy,
Jon Snow,
Shami Chakrabarti and
Katherine Grainger) and was officially installed in May 2023. ==Personal life==