Lawrence began appearing in local commercials at age three and quickly moved on to national commercials and "The Tonight Show", where he sang "Give My Regards to Broadway" on a 1981 installment of the late-night show. This exposure led to the role of Joey, a precocious orphan, on the popular sitcom "Gimme a Break" starring Nell Carter (NBC, 1983-87). Lawrence went on to make guest appearances on other episodics, before landing the role of the intellectually clueless Joey Russo on "Blossom", whose catch-line was a clipped "Whoa!" The actor became one of the top teen idols in America and translated that into a hit album which included the single, "Nothin' My Love Can't Fix.” NBC hired him and his siblings for "Brotherly Love", but canceled the sitcom after one season. The fledgling The WB network picked up the series and added it to its Sunday night line-up. In 1995, Lawrence starred in a "Prince for a Day,” an NBC TV-movie inspired by the Mark Twain classic "The Prince and the Pauper,” and the following year, he joined his brothers in the Western adventure "Brothers of the Frontier" (ABC).
Lawrence has not established himself in features as readily as in television. He began in films playing John Candy's son in "Summer Rental" (1985), then was a boy fighting an electrical force trying to take over his home in "Pulse" (1988). In "Chains of Gold" (1990), he was a drug-selling teen saved by John Travolta. Lawrence provided a pleasant cameo in "Radioland Murders" (1994) as a singer (crooning Irving Berlin's classic "What'll I Do"). He has also provided character voices in animated films, including the kitten Oliver in "Oliver and Company" (1988), based on the Charles Dickens classic, and one of the teen voices in "A Goofy Movie" (1995). A more grown-up Lawrence appeared in the cheesy horror movie "Urban Legends: Final Cut" (2000), then costarred in the low-budget thriller “Do You Wanna Know a Secret?” (2002).
The streak of dull TV Movies and forgettable film roles ended in 2002 when Lawrence was cast in the promising NBC drama "American Dreams." Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous 1960's, the ambitious series followed a 15-year-old girl (Brittany Snow) as she pursues her dream of being on American Bandstand. Lawrence had a recurring role as a producer for the famed dance show. Meanwhile, he returned to regular series work with “Run of the House” (WB, 2003-2004), a sitcom about four siblings living together and running their father’s store after the parents leave the cold weather—and their children—behind in Michigan for the dry heat of Arizona.
In early 2005, Lawrence—by this time going by his given name Joseph—costarred opposite Jennifer Love Hewitt in “Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber” (2005), a made-for-Oxygen Media movie that depicted him as the gay sidekick of an ambitious young ad executive (Hewitt) determined to do anything to climb the corporate ladder. He next starred as an android stranded in the wilderness with a down-and-out human (Scott Bairstow) after their ship is attacked by mutants in “Android Apocalypse” (Sci-Fi, 2006). Meanwhile, Lawrence joined ten other celebrities for the third season of “Dancing With the Stars” (ABC, 2005- ), a weekly competition pairing professional dancers with inexperienced stars, many of whom have two left feet. Lawrence displayed considerable talent right from the start, earning praise from all three judges for his Cha Cha in week one. He continued to impress in week two, gaining an almost perfect score of 29 for the Quickstep. But in week three, Lawrence felt the judges’ scorn of the judges after flouting the no lifts rule during the Jive. Despite the infraction, Lawrence continued to be a favorite with the studio audience.