Joseph Morgan

Joseph Morgan (born Joseph Martin; 16 May 1981) is an English actor. He is known for playing Niklaus "Klaus" Mikaelson on The CW's The Vampire Diaries and its spinoff The Originals in which he is the lead. Early life Morgan was born in London, but lived in Swansea for 11 years. He is the oldest child in his family. He was a student at Morriston Comprehensive School and then studied a BTEC Performing Arts course at Gorseinon College (now Gower College Swansea), before moving back to London to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Career Morgan's first ever acting audition was for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for Tom Riddle. Morgan starred in the first series of the Sky One television series Hex, as Troy and has appeared in supporting roles in films such as Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) and Alexander (2004) and the BBC Two television series The Line of Beauty. He has also appeared in the television series Doc Martin and Casualty and co-starred in Mansfield Park (2007) alongside Billie Piper. In 2010 he played the title role in the mini-series "Ben Hur" which first aired on CBC television in Canada and ABC TV in America, on 4 April 2010. Morgan played Niklaus Mikaelson in The CW's supernatural drama The Vampire Diaries, a television adaptation of the book series of the same name as well as in its spin-off The Originals. His work garnered him several nominations for Teen Choice Awards and a People's Choice Award. He also appeared as Lysander in the 2011 film Immortals, alongside Henry Cavill. BuddyTV ranked him number 84 on its list of "TV's Sexiest Men of 2011".