Joe Gilgun was born on 9 March 1984 in Chorley, Lancashire, England. He is an actor who first appeared in Coronation Street (1960) when he was only 10 years old. Later, he became known through Emmerdale Farm (1972) and the film This Is England (2006). He also appeared in its spin-off series This Is England '86 (2010), This Is England '88 (2011), and This Is England '90 (2015).

He then replaced Robert Sheehan as the lead in Misfits (2009) from the third series onward. He then managed to win another big role by starring as the vampire Cassidy in AMC's critically acclaimed drama series Preacher (2016).

As of 2021, he's the lead in the Sky One comedy-drama Brassic (2019), a role he's been playing since 2019.

Besides these television roles, he also appeared in feature films like Harry Brown (2009), Screwed (2011), Lockout (2012), Pride (2014), The Last Witch Hunter (2015), and The Infiltrator (2016).