Joseph Ashton | |
|---|---|
| Born | Joseph Ashton Valencia November 18, 1986 Cherokee, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1994–2004 |
| Relatives |
|
Joseph Ashton Valencia (born November 18, 1986) is an American former actor.
Career
Ashton first appeared before the camera as an infant in a national McDonald's commercial and has worked steadily ever since. He had a regular role on the CBS drama L.A. Doctors.[1] His guest-starring roles on television series include ER,[2] Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Walker, Texas Ranger, Martial Law, Cracker and Smart Guy. He appeared in Asylum as Young Tordone on HBO,[2] and the NBC mini series Blind Faith.
Ashton's film debut was in the 1994 remake of The Little Rascals.[2] He notably starred in the title role of the 1997 film, The Education of Little Tree, a well-reviewed low-budget film about a 1930s-era boy discovering his Native American heritage. He earned a Young Artist Award for Best Performance In A Feature Film for the movie.[3] Roger Ebert, in his review said "Ashton, as Little Tree, is another of those young actors who is fresh and natural on camera; I believed in his character."[4] The Boston Phoenix lauded him as "adorable and energetic."
Ashton starred as 'Sonny', in Slappy and the Stinkers and won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Ensemble Performance in a feature film.[5] He also appeared in the 2003 remake of Where the Red Fern Grows, playing the main character, Billy Coleman.[6]
Ashton is the English language voice of Oswald "Otto" Rocket on Nickelodeon's Rocket Power cartoon series.[7][8] He reprised his role as the voice of Otto Rocket in the television movie Rocket Power: Race Across New Zealand for Nickelodeon. Ashton has lent his voice to other animated projects including Hey Arnold, Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? and the animated films Babes in Toyland and Tarzan. Other voice work includes recording an audio book for Christian Day Parenting.
Filmography
| Feature Films | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Movie | Role |
| 1994 | The Little Rascals | Rascal |
| 1997 | The Education of Little Tree | Little Tree Young Artist Award |
| Babes in Toyland[2] | Jack (voice) | |
| 1998 | Slappy and the Stinkers | Sonny Young Artist Award |
| 1999 | Tarzan[1] | Ape Boy (voice) |
| Fallout[9] | Ethan McCord | |
| 2003 | Where the Red Fern Grows | Billy Coleman |
Television
| TV Series & TV Movies | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman | Looks For The Sun | "Hearts and Minds" |
| 1997 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Nicholas Matacio | "A Father's Image" |
| Smart Guy | Eldin | Season 1, Episode 1 (Pilot) | |
| Asylum | Young Nicholas Tordone | HBO film | |
| 1998 | Cracker: Mind Over Murder | Jamie Ramos | "If" (part 1 and 2) |
| 1998–1999 | L.A. Doctors | Nick Newman | 9 episodes |
| 1998–2002 | Hey Arnold! | Iggy (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 1999 | Martial Law | Sean Nolan | "Substitutes" |
| 1999–2004 | Rocket Power | Oswald "Otto" Rocket (voice) | 4 Seasons |
| 2001 | ER | Jeremy Norris | "If I Should Fall From Grace" |
| 2002 | Rocket Power: Race Across New Zealand | Oswald "Otto" Rocket (voice) | TV movie |
| 2004 | Rocket Power: Island of the Menehune | Oswald "Otto" Rocket (voice) | TV movie |
Personal life
Ashton was born in California; both of his parents have Cherokee ancestors.[10] He is a graduate of the University of La Verne, where he majored in TV and radio broadcasting.[11]
References
- ^ a b "Joseph Ashton". BFI.
- ^ a b c d "Joseph Ashton". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "Nineteenth Annual Youth in Film Awards 1996-1997". Archived from the original on August 10, 2002. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (January 20, 1998). "The Education of Little Tree".
- ^ Richardson, Elaine (February 6, 1998). "`Stinkers' is a Bad Joke Even For Kids". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ Spencer, Hawes (April 17, 2003). "Dave's debut: Red Fern to premiere at Tribeca". The Hook. Archived from the original on October 12, 2015.
- ^ Perlmutter, David (2014). America Toons In: A History of Television Animation. McFarland. p. 259. ISBN 978-1-4766-1488-5.
- ^ "Down The Drain (Klasky-Csupo)". The Big Cartoon DataBase.
- ^ "Fallout (1999)". The Movie Scene.
- ^ Taylor, Melanie Benson (2011). Reconstructing the Native South: American Indian Literature and the Lost Cause. University of Georgia Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-8203-4066-1.
- ^ McAdams, Taylor (July 15, 2019). "The Little Rascals Child Actors Are Nothing Like What We Expected". Noteabley.
External links
- Joseph Ashton at IMDb
- Joseph Ashton at AllMovie