Joe Hansard
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Joe Hansard's film debut was alongside Oscar winner
Adolph Caesar in the feature film
The Hitter (1978). Not a bad start for
the teen from Baltimore, landing a speaking role as "Graveyard Redneck"
and getting his SAG card to boot. The acting bug bit around age seven
when Joe's mom Caroline brought him to an audition for "King Fluff"
laundry detergent.
Some of Hansard's noteworthy roles include portraying "Detective Tuggle" in Steven Soderbergh's The Knick (2014), the lead role as New Jersey fugitive John Schlump in
America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back (1988), harried high school teacher "Mr.
Matusek" for David Letterman's Worldwide Pants in their debut feature film We Made This Movie (2012), "Joe" in episode five
of HBO's Veep (2012), "Tim Womack" in the pilot episode of
The Onion News Network (2011)
for IFC, and sharing screen time with
Kip Pardue and
Chris Matthews as "Cosgrove"
in Dave Fraunces
Below the Beltway (2010),"
HBO tapped Hansard for the pivotal role of "Nathan Levi Boston" on the
fifth and final season of
David Simon's
The Wire (2002) in the "React
Quotes" episode. Previously,
Barry Levinson cast Joe as "Jimmy
Lee Shields" in Simon's sister show
Homicide: Life on the Street (1993)
for NBC. The "Gone For Goode" pilot episode debuted after the Superbowl
and garnered the highest ratings of the series.
A favorite of indie filmmakers, Joe's credits include the
Jim Jarmusch Produced feature film
Explicit Ills (2008) Directed by
Mark Webber, MGM thriller
Hit and Run (2009) with
Laura Breckenridge, and his role as
bumbling ghost hunter "Joe Schmidt" in
ParaAbnormal (2009) for
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
creator Eduardo Sanchez and
company.
Equally at home in mainstream media and the independent film scene, Hansard has years of experience as both lead and supporting player. Known for an eclectic screen persona, his
characters span the gamut, from hillbillies to the homeless -- a mixed
bag of lovable creeps, kooks, cops, etc.
Hansard wrote and directed the award winning comedy short
Lost in Transportation (2005),
a buddy movie starring close friend and fellow "Wire" alum
Frederick Strother. Hansard plays
Fred's right hand man, Joe Schlepp, a baggage handler in the Lost and
Found department of BWI International Airport. The story is based on
Hansard's former real life occupation returning misplaced luggage to
irate passengers for BWI and won First Place in the Comedy Category at
the 2006 Mid Atlantic Film Festival. It was also featured in
Kevin Smith's "Movies Askew" online
Film Festival. With screenwriter
Paul Freeman, Hansard
co-wrote a feature length version, retitled "Lug Nuts," and is now
pitching the project as a feature film or TV series to anyone who will
listen.
Adolph Caesar in the feature film
The Hitter (1978). Not a bad start for
the teen from Baltimore, landing a speaking role as "Graveyard Redneck"
and getting his SAG card to boot. The acting bug bit around age seven
when Joe's mom Caroline brought him to an audition for "King Fluff"
laundry detergent.
Some of Hansard's noteworthy roles include portraying "Detective Tuggle" in Steven Soderbergh's The Knick (2014), the lead role as New Jersey fugitive John Schlump in
America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back (1988), harried high school teacher "Mr.
Matusek" for David Letterman's Worldwide Pants in their debut feature film We Made This Movie (2012), "Joe" in episode five
of HBO's Veep (2012), "Tim Womack" in the pilot episode of
The Onion News Network (2011)
for IFC, and sharing screen time with
Kip Pardue and
Chris Matthews as "Cosgrove"
in Dave Fraunces
Below the Beltway (2010),"
HBO tapped Hansard for the pivotal role of "Nathan Levi Boston" on the
fifth and final season of
David Simon's
The Wire (2002) in the "React
Quotes" episode. Previously,
Barry Levinson cast Joe as "Jimmy
Lee Shields" in Simon's sister show
Homicide: Life on the Street (1993)
for NBC. The "Gone For Goode" pilot episode debuted after the Superbowl
and garnered the highest ratings of the series.
A favorite of indie filmmakers, Joe's credits include the
Jim Jarmusch Produced feature film
Explicit Ills (2008) Directed by
Mark Webber, MGM thriller
Hit and Run (2009) with
Laura Breckenridge, and his role as
bumbling ghost hunter "Joe Schmidt" in
ParaAbnormal (2009) for
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
creator Eduardo Sanchez and
company.
Equally at home in mainstream media and the independent film scene, Hansard has years of experience as both lead and supporting player. Known for an eclectic screen persona, his
characters span the gamut, from hillbillies to the homeless -- a mixed
bag of lovable creeps, kooks, cops, etc.
Hansard wrote and directed the award winning comedy short
Lost in Transportation (2005),
a buddy movie starring close friend and fellow "Wire" alum
Frederick Strother. Hansard plays
Fred's right hand man, Joe Schlepp, a baggage handler in the Lost and
Found department of BWI International Airport. The story is based on
Hansard's former real life occupation returning misplaced luggage to
irate passengers for BWI and won First Place in the Comedy Category at
the 2006 Mid Atlantic Film Festival. It was also featured in
Kevin Smith's "Movies Askew" online
Film Festival. With screenwriter
Paul Freeman, Hansard
co-wrote a feature length version, retitled "Lug Nuts," and is now
pitching the project as a feature film or TV series to anyone who will
listen.