He had a supporting role in 10 Things I Hate About You and voiced Jim Hawkins in the Disney animated Treasure Planet before taking a break from acting to study at Columbia University ; however, he dropped out in to resume his acting career.
In , he had a supporting role in the legal drama The Trial of the Chicago 7. In , he wrote and directed Don Jon , a comedy-drama film that was released to positive reviews [ 2 ] and earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Screenplay.
He previously directed and edited two short films, both of which were released in Morgan M. In , he wrote, directed and starred in a comedy drama series Mr. Gordon-Levitt joined a musical theater group at the age of four and played the Scarecrow in a production of The Wizard of Oz. Subsequently, he was approached by an agent and began appearing on television and in commercials for Sunny Jim peanut butter, Cocoa Puffs , Pop-Tarts , and Kinney Shoes.
At age six he starred in several made-for-television films. Also in , he portrayed Gregory Kingsley in the made-for-TV film Switching Parents , based on Kingsley's real life case of "divorcing" his parents.
In , he starred in the Disney film Angels in the Outfield as an orphan who sees angels. In , he got the role of Tommy Solomon on the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun. The series ran for six seasons. He also made an appearance on That '70s Show in as Buddy, a gay teenager who assumes his friend main character Eric Forman is gay as well, in the episode " Eric's Buddy ". Gordon-Levitt has said that he made a conscious decision to "be in good movies" after returning to acting.
