Josh Lucas was born in 1971 in Little Rock, Arkansas, to Michele LeFevre, a nurse midwife, and Don Maurer, an ER doctor. He began his film career by accident in 1979 when a small Canadian film production shot on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, where he was hiding in the sand dunes watching filming during a climatic scene. This experience inspired him to pursue a career in film.
Lucas spent his early childhood moving around the southern United States before settling in Gig Harbor, Washington, where he attended high school. He won the State Championship in Dramatic Interpretation and competed at the 1989 National Championship. After studying acting in Seattle, he moved to Los Angeles, where he received breaks playing a young George Armstrong Custer in Class of '61 and Frank Marshall's film Alive.
Lucas' career stalled in minor TV appearances, leading him to start over in New York City, where he studied acting under Suzanne Shepherd and worked in smaller theater productions. He received another break in 1997 when he was cast as Judas in Terrence McNally's off-Broadway production Corpus Christi, which led to roles in You Can Count on Me and American Psycho.
Lucas has since worked with many notable talents, including Jon Voight, Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, Morgan Freeman, Robert Redford, Jamie Bell, Christopher Walken, Jennifer Connelly, and Eric Bana. He has appeared in films such as Sweet Home Alabama, Glory Road, Poseidon, An Unfinished Life, Undertow, Around the Bend, and Hulk.
In addition to his film work, Lucas has a strong background in theater, with credits including off-Broadway productions of "Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell", "The Glass Menagerie", and "Corpus Christi", as well as voice work on documentaries such as The War and Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience.
Lucas has also ventured into production, founding his own production company, "Two Bridges", and producing the film Stolen. Recent films include The Lincoln Lawyer, Daydream Nation, Peacock, J. Edgar, Red Dog, Big Sur, Dear Eleanor, Little Accidents, and The Mend.
