Joseph Morgan (né Martin; 16 May 1981) is an English actor. He is known for playing Niklaus "Klaus" Mikaelson on The CW's The Vampire Diaries and its spinoff The Originals in which he is the lead. He has portrayed CJack60/Elliot in the Peacock series Brave New World, and Brother Blood in the HBO Max series Titans. He currently stars as James Ackerson in the Paramount+ series Halo (2024).

Early life

Morgan was born in London, but lived in Swansea for 11 years. He is the oldest child in his family. He was a student at Morriston Comprehensive School and then studied a BTEC Performing Arts course at Gorseinon College (now Gower College Swansea), before moving back to London to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Career

Morgan's first ever acting audition was for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for Tom Riddle. Morgan starred in the first series of the Sky One television series Hex, as Troy and has appeared in supporting roles in films such as Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) and Alexander (2004) and the BBC Two television series The Line of Beauty. He has also appeared in the television series Doc Martin and Casualty and co-starred in Mansfield Park (2007) alongside Billie Piper. In 2010 he played the title role in the mini-series Ben Hur which first aired on CBC television in Canada and ABC TV in America, on 4 April 2010.

Morgan played Niklaus Mikaelson in The CW's supernatural drama The Vampire Diaries, a television adaptation of the book series of the same name as well as in its spin-off The Originals. His work garnered him several nominations for Teen Choice Awards and a People's Choice Award. He also appeared as Lysander in the 2011 film Immortals, alongside Henry Cavill. BuddyTV ranked him number 84 on its list of "TV's Sexiest Men of 2011".

In 2020, Morgan starred in Peacock's science fiction drama Brave New World as CJack60/Elliot. In 2022, Morgan was cast as Brother Blood in the fourth season of the HBO Max series Titans. He also reprised the role of Klaus in the final season of Legacies, a spin-off series of The Originals.

Morgan joined the cast for season 2 of Halo, which aired in February 2024, alongside fellow newcomer Cristina Rodlo. He plays James Ackerson, an operative of the secretive Office of Naval Intelligence, of the United Nations Space Command (UNSC).

Personal life

Morgan met actress Persia White on the set of The Vampire Diaries. They began dating in 2011 and became engaged in 2014. They married on 5 July 2014 in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. He is stepfather to White's daughter.

He has been a vegan since 2014.

Morgan is a supporter of the charity Positive Women.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	Eroica	Matthias
	Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World	William Warley, Captain of the Mizzentop
2004	Alexander	Philotas
2006	Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!	Alfie
2007	Mansfield Park	William Price
	Mister Lonely	James Dean
2011	Angels Crest	Rusty
	The Grind	Paul
	Immortals	Lysander
	With These Hands	George	Short film; also writer, director and producer
2013	Revelation	—	Short film; as writer, director and producer
	Open Grave	Nathan
2014	Armistice	A.J. Budd
	500 Miles North	James Hogg
2015	Desiree	Eric Ashworth
2017	Carousel	Kit	Short film; also writer, director and producer

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Spooks	Reverend Parr	1 episode
2003	Henry VIII	Thomas Culpeper	1 episode
2004	Hex	Troy	5 episodes
2005	William and Mary	Callum	3 episodes
2006	The Line of Beauty	Jasper	1 episode
2007	Silent Witness	Matthew Williams	2 episodes
	Doc Martin	Mick Mabley	5 episodes
2008–2009	Casualty	Tony Reece	8 episodes
2010	Ben Hur	Judah Ben-Hur	Miniseries
2011–2016	The Vampire Diaries	Klaus Mikaelson	Recurring role (season 2); main role (seasons 3–4); special guest (seasons 5, 7)
2013–2018	The Originals	Klaus Mikaelson	Main role
2019	Animal Kingdom	Jed	Recurring role (season 4)
2020	Brave New World	CJack60	Main role
2022	Legacies	Klaus Mikaelson	Special guest star (season 4)
2022–2023	Titans	Sebastian Sanger / Brother Blood	Main role (season 4)
2024	Halo	James Ackerson	Main role (season 2)

As a director

• The Originals (2016–2018), 3 episodes: "Behind the Black Horizon", "Keepers of the House", "Ne Me Quitte Pas"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2011	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Villain	The Vampire Diaries	Nominated
2012	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Villain		Nominated
2013	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Villain		Nominated
	TV Guide Award	Choice TV Villain		Won
2014	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Actor In A New TV Series	The Originals	Won
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy		Nominated
	MTV Millennial Awards	El Mejor Chupasangre (En: Best Vampire)		Nominated
2015	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy		Nominated
2016	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV: Liplock (with Leah Pipes)		Nominated
2017	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor		Nominated
2018	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor		Nominated