Spotlight On: Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood. Boasting a career filled with diverse roles, this former child actor grew up to become quite the leading man. Here are a few highlights from JGL's inspiring career.

In this Disney film, Gordon-Levitt plays Roger, a boy hoping that the California Angels score a pennant victory -- and they do, with some divine assistance. The actor would later direct his 'Angels' costar, Tony Danza, in 'Don Jon.'

NBC's hit sitcom '3rd Rock from the Sun' shot Joseph's rising star into the stratosphere - and it hasn't stopped rising since!

This updated version of Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew' casts Gordon-Levitt opposite Julia Stiles and the late Heath Ledger.

With a career that was already skyrocketing into orbit, it was only fitting that the actor would voice the lead hero in Disney's animated retelling of 'Treasure Island' set in outer space.

In this gritty inde, Gordon-Levitt plays a teenage hustler who befriends a man obsessed with alien abductions. It is probably a good thing that the man didn't recognize JGL from his recurring role as an alien on '3rd Rock from the Sun,' otherwise he might have freaked out.  

This high school-set film noir marks the actor's first film with his 'Looper' director Rian Johnson. Here, Gordon-Levitt plays a teenager struggling to find out who killed his girlfriend.

In 'The Lookout,' the actor gives an amazing performance as a janitor suffering from brain damage, who ends up involved in a complicated bank robbery.

In this romantic comedy, the actor plays a young man who falls in love with Summer (Zooey Deschanel) -- which is exactly what happened to everyone else who saw this wonderful film.

If you think a teenager's life couldn't get any crazier, Joseph's performance as the titular character will make you think otherwise.

In his first collaboration with filmmaker Christopher Nolan, Gordon-Levitt plays Arthur, "The Architect" responsible for helping master dream thief Leonardo DiCaprio break into someone's mind in this very inventive thriller.

In this tearjerker, JGL plays Adam, a young man whose life is turned upside down when he is diagnosed with cancer. 

Director Rian Johnson cast his 'Brick' actor to play a time-traveling assassin who must take down his future self in this 2012 sci-fi hit.

Gordon-Levitt teams up with 'Inception' director Christopher Nolan once again, this time playing a good cop helping Batman (Christian Bale) save Gotham from the masked madman, Bane (Tom Hardy).

As Abraham Lincoln's oldest son, Robert, the actor was perfectly cast to play opposite Daniel Day-Lewis's Lincoln in this Steven Spielberg's Oscar-winning film.

Gordon-Levitt made his directoral debut with this comedy-drama, for which he also wrote the script -- on top of playing the film's lead! If the critics are right, then we can expect more quality work from the actor-writer-director for years to come.