St. Joseph, the humble carpenter of Nazareth and earthly father of Jesus Christ, has long stood in the background of salvation history—silent in the Gospels, yet unwavering in faith. His portrayal in cinema has mirrored this quiet strength: understated, but deeply meaningful. From the earliest silent films to the digital age, filmmakers have continually returned to Joseph’s character, uncovering fresh dimensions of this often-overlooked patriarch. Spanning more than a century—from 1898 to 2025—the cinematic history of St. Joseph reflects not only the evolution of filmmaking, but also the growing depth and nuance of his on-screen presence.

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1898 – LA VIE ET LA PASSION DE JESUS-CHRIST
Director: Georges Hatot, Louis Lumiere / St. Joseph Actor: Unknown

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1903 – LA VIE ET LA PASSION DE JESUS-CHRIST
Director: Ferdinand Zecca, Lucien Nonguet / St. Joseph: Monsieur Moreau

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1906 – LA VIE DU CHRIST
Director: Alice Guy-Blaché / St.Joseph: Unknown

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1912 – FROM THE MANGER TO THE CROSS
Director: Sidney Olcott / St. Joseph: Montague Sidney

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1916 – CHRISTUS
Director: Guilio Antamoro / St. Joseph: Augusto Poggioli

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1925 – BEN HUR
Director: Fred Niblo / St. Joseph: Winter Hall

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1945 – REINA DE REINAS: LA VIRGEN MARIA
Director : Miguel Contreras / St. Joseph : Luis Mussot

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1959 – BEN HUR
Director: William Wyler / St. Joseph: Laurence Payne

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1961 – KING OF KINGS
Director: Nicholas Rae / St. Joseph: J. Gerard Tichy

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1963 – SNAPAKA YOHANNAN (JOHN THE BAPTIST)
Director: P. Subramaniam / St. Joseph: Unknown

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1964 – IL VENGELIO SECONDO MATTEO
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini / St. Joseph: Marcello Morante

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1965 – THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD
Director: George Stevens / St. Joseph: Robert Loggia

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1968 – THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY (Animated)
Director: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr. / St. Joseph: No actor

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1971 – JESUS EL NINO DIOS
Director: Miguel Zacarias / St. Joseph: Guillermo Hernandez

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1972 – JESUS, MARIA Y JOSE
Director: Miguel Zacarias / St. Joseph: Guillermo Murray

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1973 – JESUS
Director: P.A. Thomas / St. Joseph: Unknown

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1975 – IL MESSIA
Director: Roberto Rossellini / St. Joseph: Yatsugi Khalil

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1977 – JESUS OF NAZARETH
Director: Franco Zeffirelli / St. Joseph: Yorgo Voyagis

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1978 – THE SMALL ONE (Animated)
Director: Don Bluth / St. Joseph: Gordon Jump

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1978 – KARUNAMAYUDU (THE COMPASSIONATE ONE)
Director: A. Bhimsingh / St. Joseph: Unknown

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1978 – THE NATIVITY
Director: Bernard L. Kowalski / St. Joseph: John Shea

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1979 – JESUS (THE JESUS FILM)
Director: Peter Sykes, John Krish / St. Joseph: Yosef Shiloach

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1986 – LA VIDA DE NEUSTRO SENOR JESUCRISTO
Director: Miguel Zacarias / St. Joseph: Guillermo Murray

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1987 – UN BAMBINO DI NOME GESU
Director: Franco Rossi / St. Joseph: Bekim Fehmiu

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1987 – THE GREATEST ADVENTURE: THE NATIVITY
Director: Don Lusk / St. Joseph: Gregory Harrison

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1990 – CHRISTHU CHARITHAYA (STORY OF THE CHRIST)
Director: Sumil Ariyaratne / St. Joseph: Prasanna Wickramasinghe

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1993 – THE VISUAL BIBLE
Director: Regardt van den Bergh / St. Joseph: Tony Caprari

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1995 – MARY OF NAZARETH
Director: Jean Delanney / St. Joseph: Francis Lalanne

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1995 – THE REVOLUTIONARY
Director: Robert Marcarelli / St. Joseph: Alon Marcalit

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1999 – MARY MOTHER OF JESUS
Director: Kevin Connor / St. Joseph: David Threlfall

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1999 – JESUS
Director: Roger Young / St. Joseph: Armin Mueller-Stahl

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2000 – GIUSEPPE DI NAZARETH
Director: Raffaele Mertas / St. Joseph: Tobias Moretti

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2003 – BEN HUR (Animated)
Director: William Kowalchuck Jr. / St. Joseph: Michael Dobson

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2004 – SHANTI SANDESHAN
Director: P. Chandrasekhar Reddy / St. Joseph: Unknown

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2006 – SON OF MAN
Director: Mark Donnford-May / St. Joseph: Joel Mathethwa

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2006 – THE NATIVITY STORY
Director: Catherine Hardwicke / St. Joseph: Oscar Isaac

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2006 – LA SACRA FAMIGLIA
Director: Raffaela Mertes / St. Joseph: Alessandro Gassmann

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2010 – THE NATIVITY
Director: Coky Giedroyc / St. Joseph: Andrew Buchan

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2012 – MARIA DI NAZARET
Director: Giacomo Campiotti / St. Joseph: Luca Marinelli

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2014 – SON OF GOD
Director: Christopher Spencer / St. Joseph: Joe Coen

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2014 – THE SAVIOR
Director: Robert Savo / St. Joseph: Jamil Khoury

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2015 – SAVIOR
Director: Freedom Church / St. Joseph: Simon Hudson

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2015 – THE GOSPEL OF LUKE
Director: David Batty / St. Joseph: Abdellatif Chaouqui

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2015 – FULL OF GRACE
Directo: Andrew Hyatt / St. Joseph: Eddie Kaulukukui

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2016 – THE YOUNG MESSIAH
Director: Cyrus Nourasteh / St. Joseph: Vincent Walsh

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2016 – JOSEPH & MARY
Director: Roger Christian / St. Joseph: Kevin Sorbo

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2017 – THE CHOSEN
Director: Dallas Jenkins / St. Joseph: Raj Bond

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2017 – THE STAR (Animated)
Director: Timothy Reckart / St. Joseph: Zachary Levi

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2019 – JESUS: HIS LIFE
Director: Ashley Pearce, Adrian McDowall / St. Joseph: Ramin Karimloo

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2019 – The Christ Child: A Nativity Story
Director: John Foss / St. Joseph: Jake Sidney Cohen

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2020 – THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST
Director: Bruce Neibaur / St. Joseph: Alex Greenfield

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2022 – WHY THE NATIVITY?
Director: Paul Joiner / St. Joseph: Logan Polson

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2022 – A FATHER’S HEART
Director: Andres Garrigo / St. Joseph: Paco Perez-Reus

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2023 – JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM
Director: Adam Anders / St. Joseph: Milo Manheim

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2024 – MARY
Director: D.J. Caruso / St. Joseph: Ido Tako

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