In this weekend's 50/50, Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a public radio employee who, when diagnosed with cancer, struggles to survive the disease and the changed attitudes of those around him. So how did a teenager best known for playing a sitcom alien transform himself into one of our most versatile actors who is capable of playing anything from a troubled teen prostitute to a lovelorn greeting card writer?
You can always trace a direct line through a few important roles to illustrate what led to an actor's current success. As such, let's look at nine pivotal performances that track the evolution of Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
A River Runs Through It (1992)
A few years after making his musical theater debut at the age of four -- as the Scarecrow in a production of The Wizard of Oz -- the Los Angeles-raised actor began getting small parts in TV movies and a few television series (Family Ties included). It wasn't until 1992, at the age of 11, that the actor -- who is the grandson of director Michael Gordon (Pillow Talk, Cyrano de Bergerac) made his film debut in Robert Redford's Academy Award-winning drama as the young version of Craig Sheffer's character Norman.
3rd Rock From the Sun (1996)
After a few other small roles in major Hollywood movies like Angels in the Outfield and The Juror, Gordon-Levitt was cast in the NBC sitcom 3rd Rock From the Sun, which would become his breakthrough role and familiarize him with mainstream audiences. As Tommy Solomon, an extra-terrestrial masquerading as a long-haired adolescent, Gordon-Levitt starred opposite John Lithgow and Jane Curtin. While the series lasted six seasons, Joseph Gordon-Levitt left 3rd Rock as a primary character after its fifth season.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Thanks in part to the popularity of his television series, Gordon-Levitt earned a part in Halloween H20 and a year later in the teen romantic comedy that lifted its plot from Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, 10 Things I Hate About You. As the sweet new student high school student Cameron James, Gordon-Levitt's character fostered a crush on the popular Bianca Stratford (Larisa Oleynik). Upon discovering that he could only take Bianca to the prom if her sister (Julia Stiles) had a date, Cameron encourages Heath Ledger's outcast to woo the other Stratford sister.
Mysterious Skin (2004)
Perhaps wanting to prove that he had range beyond network sitcoms and rom-coms for the MTV set, the actor took the role of a troubled teen prostitute trying to escape his memories of sexual abuse in Gregg Araki's small town drama. Roger Ebert described the film as "at once the most harrowing and, strangely, the most touching film I have seen about child abuse." This is the film that gave Gordon-Levitt real dramatic credibility.
Brick (2005)
A year later, the actor would receive a groundswell of critical attention for his leading role in Rian Johnson's neo-noir indie. As a suburban high school student who turns hardboiled detective after discovering the body of his girlfriend, Gordon-Levitt received critical praise for making the '30s style gumshoe archetype work in a cool, modern-day high school film. The indie, which won a Special Jury Prize at Sundance, helped reinforce the actor's dramatic credibility and earned a spot on a few Best High School Movies lists.
(500) Days of Summer (2009)
By deconstructing a relationship in Marc Webb's twee comedy (500) Days of Summer, Gordon-Levitt returned to the mainstream arena and earned his first Golden Globe nomination. Critics praised his charming chemistry with co-star Zooey Deschanel, who played the title character Summer and the object of Gordon-Levitt's affection. The attention he received for his role also helped him snag his first guest-hosting gig on Saturday Night Live.
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)
In 2009, the actor helped bring the G.I. Joe toy series to life in Paramount's Rise of the Cobra, which with a $175 million budget, is his biggest studio credit yet (until the $250 million Dark Knight Rises is released next year). Gordon-Levitt co-starred in this picture as the villainous Cobra Commander. The actor reportedly agreed to the role after seeing the concept art for his character, an insane, disfigured MARS scientist. He later explained, "I was like, 'I get to be that? You're going to make that [makeup] in real life and stick it on me? Cool. Let me do it.' That's a once-in-lifetime opportunity."
Sparks (2009)
That same year, the actor made his screenwriting and directorial debut with Sparks, a 24-minute video that he had adapted from an Elmore Leonard story. The short stars Carla Gugino and Eric Stoltz and was produced by the Gordon-Levitt's collaborative production company hitRECord. The film was a Sundance selection and preceded another, slightly more popular surrealistic, tongue-twisting short directed by and starring the actor, Morgan M. Morgansen's Date with Destiny (the second video below).
50/50 (2011)
In this weekend's cancer dramedy 50/50, Gordon-Levitt stars as a young man who is given a 50/50 chance at surviving the spinal form of cancer with which he is diagnosed. This project -- based on the real-life struggles of screenwriter Will Reiser -- is the actor's first bromance (with Seth Rogen no less) and the first time that we've seen the actor stricken with a terminal illness, but like in most of his other dramas, he manages to find moments of levity in the dark subject matter. From here, Gordon-Levitt will star as a passionate bike messenger in the thriller Premium Rush, a Gotham City beat cop in The Dark Knight Rises and Robert Todd Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln -- all set to release in 2012.