Joseph Ashton (actor)

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Joseph Ashton
Born (1986-11-18) November 18, 1986 (age 37)
Cherokee, California, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of La Verne
OccupationActor
Years active1994–2004
Children2
RelativesMathew Valencia (brother)

Joseph Ashton (born November 18, 1986)[1] is an American former child actor, who was best known for his role as Oswald "Otto" Rocket in Nickelodeon's animated series Rocket Power.

Early life[edit]

Joseph Ashton was born on November 18, 1986, in Cherokee, California. Both of his parents claim Cherokee descent. He is the younger brother of actor Mathew Valencia.[2][1]

Career[edit]

Ashton begin his acting career in 1994, he first appeared before the camera as an infant in a national McDonald's commercial.[1] He had a regular role on the CBS drama L.A. Doctors.[3] His guest-starring roles on television series include ER,[4] Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Walker, Texas Ranger, Martial Law, Cracker and Smart Guy. He appeared in Asylum as Young Tordone on HBO,[4] and the NBC mini series Blind Faith.

Ashton's film debut was in the 1994 remake of The Little Rascals.[1] He notably starred in the title role of the 1997 film, The Education of Little Tree, a well-reviewed low-budget film about a 1930s-era boy discovering his Native American heritage. He earned a Young Artist Award for Best Performance In A Feature Film for the movie.[5] Roger Ebert, in his review said "Ashton, as Little Tree, is another of those young actors who is fresh and natural on camera; I believed in his character."[6] The Boston Phoenix lauded him as "adorable and energetic."

Ashton starred as 'Sonny', in Slappy and the Stinkers and won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Ensemble Performance in a feature film.[7] He also appeared in the 2003 remake of Where the Red Fern Grows, playing the main character, Billy Coleman.[8]

Ashton was also the voice of Otto Rocket in Nickelodeon's animated series Rocket Power from 1999 to 2004.[9][10] He reprised his role as the voice of Otto Rocket in the television movie Rocket Power: Race Across New Zealand for Nickelodeon and in the video games. Ashton has lent his voice to other animated projects including Hey Arnold, Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? and the animated films Babes in Toyland and Tarzan.[3]

Ashton has also teamed up with EndlessEntertainment Co., and even produced his own films.[11]

Personal life[edit]

He is a graduate of the University of La Verne, where he majored in TV and radio broadcasting. Ashton got married and has 2 sons.[11]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1994 The Little Rascals Rascal
1997 The Education of Little Tree Little Tree Young Artist Award
Babes in Toyland Jack (voice) [4]
1998 Slappy and the Stinkers Sonny Young Artist Award
1999 Tarzan Ape Boy (voice) [3]
Fallout Ethan McCord [12]
2003 Where the Red Fern Grows Billy Coleman

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1996 Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman Looks For The Sun Episode: "Hearts and Minds"
1997 Walker, Texas Ranger Nicholas Matacio Episode: "A Father's Image"
Smart Guy Eldin Episode: "Pilot"
Asylum Young Nicholas Tordone HBO film
1998 Cracker: Mind Over Murder Jamie Ramos Episode: "If" (part 1 and 2)
1998–1999 L.A. Doctors Nick Newman 9 episodes
1998–2002 Hey Arnold! Iggy (voice) 2 episodes[13]
1999 Martial Law Sean Nolan Episode: "Substitutes"
1999–2004 Rocket Power Oswald "Otto" Rocket (voice) Recurring role
2001 ER Jeremy Norris Episode: "If I Should Fall From Grace"
2002 Rocket Power: Race Across New Zealand Otto Rocket (voice) Television film
2004 Rocket Power: Island of the Menehune

Video games[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1999 Mugen Additional voices Archive recordings
2001 Rocket Power: Team Rocket Rescue Oswald "Otto" Rocket
Nicktoons Nick Tunes [13]
2002 Nickelodeon Party Blast
2002 Rocket Power: Beach Bandits [13]
2004 Nicktoons Movin' Eye Toy [13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Joseph Ashton".
  2. ^ Taylor, Melanie Benson (2011). Reconstructing the Native South: American Indian Literature and the Lost Cause. University of Georgia Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-8203-4066-1.
  3. ^ a b c "Joseph Ashton". BFI. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Joseph Ashton". Rotten Tomatoes.
  5. ^ "Nineteenth Annual Youth in Film Awards 1996-1997". Archived from the original on August 10, 2002. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  6. ^ Ebert, Roger (January 20, 1998). "The Education of Little Tree".
  7. ^ Richardson, Elaine (February 6, 1998). "'Stinkers' is a Bad Joke Even For Kids". Chicago Tribune.
  8. ^ Spencer, Hawes (April 17, 2003). "Dave's debut: Red Fern to premiere at Tribeca". The Hook. Archived from the original on October 12, 2015.
  9. ^ Perlmutter, David (2014). America Toons In: A History of Television Animation. McFarland. p. 259. ISBN 978-1-4766-1488-5.
  10. ^ "Down The Drain (Klasky-Csupo)". The Big Cartoon DataBase.[dead link]
  11. ^ a b McAdams, Taylor (July 15, 2019). "The Little Rascals Child Actors Are Nothing Like What We Expected". Noteabley.
  12. ^ "Fallout (1999)". The Movie Scene.
  13. ^ a b c d "Joseph Ashton (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 14 July 2021. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)

External links[edit]

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