Biography
A proud member of SAG/AFTRA and AEA, Lawless' career continued on an upward trajectory as 2016 began when he signed a 3 picture deal with with KD Pictures of New York to Executive Produce three films. Lawless will EP "Renaissance Man", "Hospital Arrest" and "Blue Lives Matter". Through his production company, GoingLong Productions, he is also developing "Salvation", based on the story of the psychologist who worked with the serial killer who was one of the real life characters upon which "Silence of the Lambs" was based.
Equally at home on stage, film and television, Joe's second feature film, Abel Ferrara's "Welcome to New York" premiered at Cannes in May, 2014 to rave reviews. Based on the Dominique Strauss-Kahn 2011 sex scandal, he joined Golden Globe winners Gerard Depardieu and Jacqueline Bisset as the attorney who ultimately obtained the dismissal of the charges against "Devereaux", Depardieu's character. The film was shot on location in Manhattan and Paris.
He graduated from Villanova Law School in the 70s, served as an Assistant District Attorney, Special Prosecutor and wrote the bestselling legal treatise, "Prosecutorial Misconduct". At the same time, he managed to appear in his first professional productions as Arthur in "Camelot", Curley in "Oklahoma!" and Harold Hill in "The Music Man". Joe then took a long "hiatus" to practice law, successfully try a number of high visibility criminal cases and become a sought after "talking head" on such shows as Nancy Grace, Geraldo at Large and Good Morning America.
At the nudging of some friends, he finally returned to acting in "Duck Hunter Shoots Angel"; as Sherlock Holmes in "The Hound of the Baskervilles"; followed by "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" and "A Moon for the Misbegotten". In 2012, he took on the role of Judge Logan and his first feature film, the indie "The Fret and the Fever". Lawless is the second of two children to Peggy Hickey & Joe Lawless, third generation Irish Americans and had a typical suburban childhood ... parochial school and crowded classrooms; Little League baseball, Pop Warner football, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. Joe saw his first Broadway show at the age of 10 and was immediately hooked. He was lucky enough to be admitted to St. Joseph's Prep (a private Jesuit prep school in Philadelphia) where he won the Drama Award at graduation for roles in "You Can't Take it With You", "The Skin of Our Teeth", "The Music Man", "Murder in the Cathedral" and as the Devil in "J.B." His college performances included "The Merchant of Venice", "Twelfth Night", "Coriolanus", "Richard III" and "Mrs. Warren's Profession". Joe also found time to be elected President of Alpha Sigma Nu, the national Jesuit schools' Honors Fraternity.
