Joe Gardner — Soul Character Profile

About Joe Gardner

A middle school music teacher and aspiring jazz pianist who dies after falling into a manhole. He travels to the Great Before, accidentally swaps bodies with 22, and returns to Earth to rediscover the true meaning of life and living.

Joe Gardner — Character Profile

Quick Facts about Joe Gardner

Occupation

music teacher

Eye Color

Brown

Hair Color

Black hair

Character Facts

Played by

Jamie Foxx

Appears in

Soul (2020)

Role

Protagonist

Relationships (7)

• Joe Gardner — Professional Bandmate — Curly (Questlove)

  Joe's bandmate in Dorothea's quartet

• Joe Gardner — Social Friend — Dez (Donnell Rawlings)

  Joe's barber and friend

• Joe Gardner — Professional Employer — Dorothea (Angela Bassett)

  Dorothea hires Joe for her jazz quartet

• Joe Gardner — Alliance Ally — Moonwind (Graham Norton)

  Moonwind helps Joe and 22 navigate between realms

• Joe Gardner — Conflict Antagonist — Terry (Rachel House)

  Terry tries to return Joe to the afterlife when he escapes

• Joe Gardner — Professional Mentor — 22 (Tina Fey)

  Joe is assigned to mentor 22 in the Great Before

• Joe Gardner — Family Son — Libba Gardner (Phylicia Rashād)

  Mother-son relationship with Joe resistant to his mother's advice

Explore the full interactive character relationship map of Soul

More characters from Soul

• 22 (Tina Fey)
• Moonwind (Graham Norton)
• Terry (Rachel House)
• Connie (voice) (Cora Champommier)
• Counselor Jerry (Alice Braga)
• Libba Gardner (Phylicia Rashād)
• Hedge Fund Manager (voice) (Calum Grant)
• Counselor Jerry (voice) (Fortune Feimster)
• Melba (voice) (Margo Hall)
• Lulu (voice) (Rhodessa Jones)
• Paul (voice) (Daveed Diggs)
• Counselor Jerry (voice) (Zenobia Shroff)