Joe Bone(I)
- Actor
- Writer
Joe Bone was born and grew up on the Isle of Wight, where he still lives today.
His love of performance began at secondary school under veteran drama teacher Phyllis Wills - the Isle of Wight's self-proclaimed Cecily Berry. After spotting Joe playing Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, she called his parents and urged them to enroll him in acting classes and begin taking LAMDA examinations. It was through Wills that Joe first discovered the classics, although he admits he spent almost as much time being sent outside for not knowing his Shakespeare monologues as he did performing them.
Joe went on to study Film and Drama at university, where he became part of the comedy troupe Come Along, performing fortnightly in the students' union. During this time he met members of experimental theatre company The River People, who invited him to join.
The River People introduced Joe to devised theatre, Bunraku puppetry and the work of Jacques Lecoq and Buffon. The company was selected for the National Student Drama Festival before being invited to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where they won the Total Theatre Award for Best Emerging Company in 2007.
Edinburgh proved transformative. Surrounded by artists making a living from their craft, the idea of a career in performance suddenly felt tangible. Returning home, Joe developed one of his comedy characters into a full-length solo show. Bane - a film noir-inspired hitman born from Joe's love of cinema - debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2009 and far exceeded expectations. The show enjoyed four consecutive sell-out Fringe runs, spawned two sequels and toured internationally, visiting India, the United States, Brazil, Singapore and across Europe. It later transferred to Australia, playing the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Adelaide Fringe and Perth Fringe, where it won Best Comedy Show in 2013.
That same year, Joe made his television acting debut in Gillies MacKinnon's Castles in the Sky. During production he met fellow actor and writer Celyn Jones, beginning a long creative partnership. Together they co-wrote The Vanishing, inspired by the mystery of the Flannan Isles lighthouse keepers. Released in 2019, the film starred Gerard Butler, Peter Mullan and Connor Swindells.
Alongside writing, Joe continued to work as an actor, appearing in productions including Baby Reindeer by fellow Edinburgh Fringe solo performer Richard Gadd, the Hollywood feature Tom & Jerry, and opposite Michael Caine in The Great Escaper.
Joe's first solo feature screenplay, Mars Express, was developed by Big Talk Studios and stars Toby Jones and Emily Watson, with Mackenzie Crook making his feature directorial debut. He continues to develop feature films, drawn to stories that place ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. His action thriller Black Rod was greenlit by TF1 Studios in 2026.
He lives in Cowes with wife Georgia and three sons, Buster (2017) Vincent (2019) and Billy-Joe (2021).
His love of performance began at secondary school under veteran drama teacher Phyllis Wills - the Isle of Wight's self-proclaimed Cecily Berry. After spotting Joe playing Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, she called his parents and urged them to enroll him in acting classes and begin taking LAMDA examinations. It was through Wills that Joe first discovered the classics, although he admits he spent almost as much time being sent outside for not knowing his Shakespeare monologues as he did performing them.
Joe went on to study Film and Drama at university, where he became part of the comedy troupe Come Along, performing fortnightly in the students' union. During this time he met members of experimental theatre company The River People, who invited him to join.
The River People introduced Joe to devised theatre, Bunraku puppetry and the work of Jacques Lecoq and Buffon. The company was selected for the National Student Drama Festival before being invited to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where they won the Total Theatre Award for Best Emerging Company in 2007.
Edinburgh proved transformative. Surrounded by artists making a living from their craft, the idea of a career in performance suddenly felt tangible. Returning home, Joe developed one of his comedy characters into a full-length solo show. Bane - a film noir-inspired hitman born from Joe's love of cinema - debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2009 and far exceeded expectations. The show enjoyed four consecutive sell-out Fringe runs, spawned two sequels and toured internationally, visiting India, the United States, Brazil, Singapore and across Europe. It later transferred to Australia, playing the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Adelaide Fringe and Perth Fringe, where it won Best Comedy Show in 2013.
That same year, Joe made his television acting debut in Gillies MacKinnon's Castles in the Sky. During production he met fellow actor and writer Celyn Jones, beginning a long creative partnership. Together they co-wrote The Vanishing, inspired by the mystery of the Flannan Isles lighthouse keepers. Released in 2019, the film starred Gerard Butler, Peter Mullan and Connor Swindells.
Alongside writing, Joe continued to work as an actor, appearing in productions including Baby Reindeer by fellow Edinburgh Fringe solo performer Richard Gadd, the Hollywood feature Tom & Jerry, and opposite Michael Caine in The Great Escaper.
Joe's first solo feature screenplay, Mars Express, was developed by Big Talk Studios and stars Toby Jones and Emily Watson, with Mackenzie Crook making his feature directorial debut. He continues to develop feature films, drawn to stories that place ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. His action thriller Black Rod was greenlit by TF1 Studios in 2026.
He lives in Cowes with wife Georgia and three sons, Buster (2017) Vincent (2019) and Billy-Joe (2021).
