Joseph Vincent Russo is an American filmmaker who, alongside his older brother Anthony, forms one half of the Russo brothers, one of the most commercially successful directing duos in modern cinema. Born on July 18, 1971, in Cleveland, Ohio, Joe Russo built a career that spans television comedy and record-shattering blockbuster filmmaking, earning a reputation for intricate storytelling and large-scale action.

Joe and Anthony Russo grew up in Cleveland and attended Case Western Reserve University before pursuing film studies at the University of Iowa. The brothers financed their early independent work through student loans, and their debut feature, "Pieces," premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in 1997. Their follow-up, "Welcome to Collinwood," produced by Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney, brought them wider attention and helped establish them in Hollywood.

The brothers transitioned to television in the early 2000s, directing and producing the acclaimed comedy series Arrested Development. Their work on the show earned them a Primetime Emmy Award. They went on to direct episodes of Community, including several of its most stylized and ambitious installments, as well as Happy Endings. This television period sharpened their comedic timing and ensemble direction, skills that would later inform their blockbuster work.

Joe Russo and his brother made their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut with Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014, a political thriller-inflected superhero film that drew widespread praise. They followed it with Captain America: Civil War in 2016, then directed Avengers: Infinity War in 2018 and Avengers: Endgame in 2019. Endgame grossed over $2.798 billion worldwide and briefly became the highest-grossing film of all time, making the brothers the fourth-highest-grossing directors in history.

Beyond Marvel, the Russos co-founded the independent studio AGBO, through which they produced films including Extraction and Everything Everywhere All at Once, the latter winning seven Academy Awards including Best Picture. Joe directed Cherry in 2021 and The Gray Man in 2022 for Netflix, and the studio produced The Electric State in 2025.

Joe Russo remains active at the forefront of franchise filmmaking. He and his brother are currently directing the next two Avengers installments, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, continuing a career defined by both critical respect and extraordinary commercial achievement.