Joseph William Locke (born 24 September 2003) is a Manx and British actor. He is known for his lead role as high school student Charlie Spring in the Netflix teen series Heartstopper (2022–2024) and its series finale film Heartstopper Forever (2026), for which he received two Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Performance nominations, winning on the second nomination in 2025. In 2024, he starred as Billy Maximoff / William Kaplan in the Marvel Cinematic Universe miniseries Agatha All Along and as Tobias Ragg in a Broadway revival of the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
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Early life
Joseph William Locke was born on 24 September 2003. He grew up in Douglas, Isle of Man. He attended Ballakermeen High School. He told ITV's This Morning in April 2022 that he was studying for A-level exams in politics, history and English.
While in high school, Locke and three fellow students submitted a petition to government officials to investigate the feasibility of welcoming Syrian refugees to the Isle of Man.
Career
Locke participated in the 2020 National Theatre Connections, productions at the Gaiety Theatre, and with the Kensington Art Centre's youth group.
