Who Is Joseph Zada?

Joseph Zada is an Australian actor from Sydney. He was born Joseph Cumpston on July 21, 2005, and initially appeared in acting credits under his family surname. He later adopted Zada, an older family name, as his professional surname.

His early screen work included Bilched, The Speedway Murders and an appearance in the Australian political drama Total Control. He subsequently took on the lead role of Charlie Roth in Invisible Boys, before landing much larger international productions.

The biggest turning point came in 2025. Zada appeared as Johnny Sinclair Dennis in We Were Liars, the Prime Video adaptation of E. Lockhart’s bestselling novel. Soon afterward, audiences learned that he would play Cal Trask in Netflix’s East of Eden and Haymitch Abernathy in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.

Joseph Zada’s Early Life in Sydney

Zada grew up in Sydney, Australia. His upbringing was surrounded by creative people, although his family was not simply an acting household. His father, Jeremy Cumpston, is a doctor who also became an actor and director. His mother, Jessica Brentnall, is a film producer. Zada also has siblings involved in the entertainment world, including actor Hal Cumpston.

This environment gave him an unusually close connection to filmmaking from an early age. He not only grew up watching films, but also discussed them. Zada has described watching movies with his father and then spending hours analyzing individual scenes, performances and acting choices. He has cited performers including River Phoenix, Heath Ledger, Timothée Chalamet and Sam Rockwell among the actors whose work interests him.

What Is Joseph Zada’s Heritage?

Zada was born and raised in Australia. Public biographical sources also report Afghan-Aboriginal heritage through his paternal great-grandmother, with a connection to the Barkandji people.

His Australian upbringing remains an important part of his identity. It also makes his rapid movement into major American productions notable. He has effectively gone from the Australian screen industry to working on some of the most anticipated international productions of the year.

The Cumpston Creative Dynasty

The Cumpston family has played an important role in Zada’s development. His father, Jeremy Cumpston, is perhaps best known to Australian audiences for his acting work, including his time on All Saints, but he has also worked behind the camera as a director.

His brother Hal Cumpston is an actor whose credits include The Walking Dead: World Beyond and Nine Perfect Strangers. That creative environment meant auditions sometimes became family productions.

Zada has recalled helping with his brother’s auditions and turning the process into something more elaborate than simply reading lines in front of a camera. The family would use costumes, settings, and other performers to make audition tapes feel more like miniature films.

Those experiences quietly taught him something important. Acting was not isolated from filmmaking. It was part of a larger creative process.

His mother’s background in film production and his father’s experience in both medicine and entertainment also meant Zada grew up around people who understood the practical side of making screen projects.

Cinema’s Next Great Metamorphosis

Joseph Zada’s career is interesting because his transformation did not happen overnight. His first professional credits were modest compared with the projects that now define his profile. He appeared in the 2019 Australian comedy-drama Bilched, directed by his father and featuring his brother Hal. Zada later appeared in The Speedway Murders and the short film David Jones Locker.

In 2024, he appeared as Daniel in several episodes of the Australian political drama Total Control. Then came Invisible Boys. The Stan Australia series became a much more substantial acting opportunity and placed Zada in a leading role as Charlie Roth. The drama, adapted from Holden Sheppard’s novel, follows young people navigating sexuality, isolation and identity in Western Australia.

The role demonstrated that Zada could carry emotionally demanding material. It also brought him to the attention of international casting circles. His next three projects would change his career completely.

Defying Tradition: Leaving School for the Screen

Zada’s decision to pursue acting was unconventional. He attended an all-boys school in Sydney but eventually left high school before completing the traditional path. The decision was tied directly to an audition.

In an interview with GQ Australia, Zada explained that his attendance had become poor and that the school told him he could not return if he went ahead with a particular audition. He chose the audition. That decision could easily have gone the other way. There was no guarantee that acting would provide a sustainable career.

But the audition became part of the chain of events that eventually led him toward professional representation and larger roles. His story therefore does not fit the conventional Hollywood narrative of a child actor who has always known exactly what he wanted.

For Zada, the decision emerged gradually. First came curiosity. Then performance. Then commitment.

Joseph Zada’s Audition That Changed Everything

One of the most unusual parts of Zada’s story occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. After struggling to find an agent, he became involved in making a short film that he and his then-girlfriend could use for a virtual acting class.

During the Zoom session, another person’s mother happened to notice Zada on screen. She reportedly asked who he was and expressed interest in representing him. That unexpected encounter helped lead him toward professional representation. It was a small moment with enormous consequences.

Zada later began landing more serious acting opportunities. The industry suddenly had a young Australian performer who was relatively inexperienced but capable of stepping into demanding material.

Invisible Boys: The First Major Break

Invisible Boys became an important chapter in Zada’s development. The Stan drama premiered in February 2025 and was created by Nicholas Verso from Holden Sheppard’s novel. Zada played Charlie Roth, one of the young men at the heart of the story.

The series deals with difficult subjects. It explores sexuality, identity, loneliness and the pressures faced by young people in a conservative environment.

For Zada, the role provided considerably more dramatic territory than his earliest screen appearances. It also showed that he could hold a leading role rather than simply appear as part of an ensemble. The timing proved fortunate. While filming and auditioning for other projects, Zada’s career was about to accelerate dramatically.

Conquering the Streaming Giants: We Were Liars and East of Eden

Two major streaming adaptations changed Zada’s international profile. The first was Prime Video’s We Were Liars. The second was Netflix’s East of Eden. Both projects were adaptations of acclaimed literary works.

Zada was no longer simply auditioning for small Australian productions. He was being trusted with characters at the center of internationally recognized stories.

Joseph Zada in We Were Liars

We Were Liars premiered on Prime Video on June 18, 2025. The series is based on E. Lockhart’s bestselling novel and follows the wealthy Sinclair family and a group of teenagers spending summers on the family’s private island.

Zada plays Johnny Sinclair Dennis, Cadence Sinclair’s cousin and one of the privileged young people at the heart of the story. Johnny is charismatic, complicated and emotionally layered. That made the role an important test for Zada.

Rather than playing a straightforward hero, he had to portray someone shaped by wealth, family expectations, insecurity and complicated relationships. Zada has said that he saw aspects of his own adolescent experiences in Johnny, even though he considered himself more reserved than the character. The performance helped introduce him to a much wider international audience.

East of Eden: Following James Dean

If We Were Liars demonstrated that Zada could lead a modern streaming drama, East of Eden presented an entirely different challenge. He was cast as Cal Trask, the troubled central character in Netflix’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s classic novel.

The role carries considerable history. James Dean famously portrayed Cal in the 1955 film adaptation, making the character one of the defining roles associated with Dean’s brief but legendary career. Zada therefore had to approach a character that already carried enormous cultural expectations.

Rather than simply imitate Dean, he focused on Steinbeck’s material and developed his own interpretation. Interestingly, writer and producer Zoe Kazan reportedly told him not to watch the 1955 film during his preparation. Zada waited until production had finished before finally watching it.

The new series also gave him the opportunity to work alongside major performers including Florence Pugh, Mike Faist and Christopher Abbott. For a young actor, it was another extraordinary classroom.

From Johnny Sinclair to Cal Trask

The two roles were remarkably different. Johnny Sinclair belongs to a wealthy modern American family whose polished exterior hides complicated relationships. Cal Trask comes from one of American literature’s most famous dysfunctional families.

Yet both characters are outsiders in some way. Both struggle with family. Both carry emotional instability beneath their public identities.

And both require an actor who could communicate feelings without always stating them openly. That may be one reason the projects proved so useful to Zada’s development. They pushed him beyond simply being a young actor with screen presence. They required interpretation.

Reviving Haymitch Abernathy

In April 2025, Lionsgate announced that Zada would play Haymitch Abernathy in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. The casting immediately attracted international attention.

Haymitch is already one of the most recognizable characters in The Hunger Games universe. In the original films, he was played by Woody Harrelson, who portrayed the older Haymitch as a damaged former victor who becomes a mentor to Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark.

Zada is playing the character decades earlier. That distinction is crucial. This is not simply another version of the familiar drunken mentor. It is Haymitch before the Games have broken him.

What Sunrise on the Reaping Reveals About Haymitch

Suzanne Collins’ Sunrise on the Reaping takes place 24 years before the events of the original The Hunger Games. The story begins on the morning of the 50th Hunger Games, known as the Second Quarter Quell. For the anniversary Games, the Capitol doubles the number of tributes.

Haymitch is still a young boy from District 12. He has people he loves. He has hopes for his future. Then his name is selected. The story follows how that young person becomes the Haymitch audiences already know. That gives Zada an unusual acting challenge.

He does not have to recreate Woody Harrelson’s performance. He has to show audiences how a very different Haymitch eventually becomes that man.

Carrying the Legacy of Woody Harrelson

Zada has acknowledged the weight of taking over such a recognizable character. Harrelson’s interpretation became closely associated with Haymitch across four films.

Zada, however, approached the role by going back to the source material and focusing on the younger character. He also eventually met Harrelson after filming.

Entertainment Weekly reported that the encounter left an impression on Zada, who described Harrelson as kind and emotionally thoughtful. That connection matters because Zada is not simply inheriting a role. He is inheriting a character with a long-established emotional history. His task is to add another chapter.

Working with a New Generation of Hunger Games Stars

Zada is surrounded by a remarkably strong ensemble. The cast includes Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Baird, Haymitch’s girlfriend; Mckenna Grace as Maysilee Donner; Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket; Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman; Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee; and Ralph Fiennes as President Snow.

The film is directed by Francis Lawrence, who has directed every Hunger Games film since Catching Fire. It is scheduled to reach cinemas on November 20, 2026. The project is therefore likely to become the biggest release of Zada’s career so far.

Joseph Zada’s Achievements

Although Zada is still at the beginning of his career, he has already accumulated several significant milestones.

His major career achievements include:

• Landing his first screen role in Bilched as a teenager.
• Building experience in Australian film and television.
• Leading the Stan drama Invisible Boys.
• Joining Prime Video’s We Were Liars as Johnny Sinclair Dennis.
• Being cast as Cal Trask in Netflix’s East of Eden.
• Being selected to play Haymitch Abernathy in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
• Winning GQ Australia’s Breakthrough Actor of the Year recognition.

His recognition from GQ is particularly notable because it came while his biggest international project had not yet reached theaters.

Joseph Zada’s Acting Influences

Zada has spoken openly about the actors who inspire him. Among the names he has mentioned are River Phoenix, Heath Ledger, Timothée Chalamet and Sam Rockwell.

River Phoenix appears to hold particular importance. Zada has described Stand by Me as one of his favorite films and Phoenix as one of his favorite actors. His interest in acting therefore seems to come from performance itself rather than simply from fame.

Joseph Zada’s Movies and TV Shows

Films

Bilched (2019) — Toby
The Speedway Murders (2023) — Dan
David Jones Locker (2023) — Noel
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (2026) — Haymitch Abernathy

Television

Total Control (2024) — Daniel
Invisible Boys (2025) — Charlie Roth
We Were Liars (2025) — Johnny Sinclair Dennis
East of Eden (2026) — Cal Trask

Joseph Zada’s Next Chapter

The release of The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping could become a defining moment in Zada’s career. The film arrives in theaters on November 20, 2026, and puts him at the center of one of the world’s best-known fictional universes.

But the more interesting question is what happens afterward. If Zada successfully establishes his own interpretation of Haymitch, the role could become the performance that changes how Hollywood sees him. He would no longer simply be a promising young Australian actor. He would be a leading man capable of carrying major international productions.