Jesse L. Martin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jesse L. Martin
Martin at the PaleyFest Fall TV Previews 2014 for The Flash
Born	Jesse Lamont Watkins (1969-01-18) January 18, 1969 (age 56) Rocky Mount, Virginia, U.S.
Alma mater	New York University (BA)
Occupation	Actor, singer
Years active	1993–present

Jesse Lamont Martin (born Watkins; January 18, 1969) is an American actor and singer. He is well-known for playing Tom Collins in the musical Rent on Broadway. On television, he played NYPD Detective Ed Green on Law & Order, Captain Joe West on The Flash, and professor Alec Mercer on The Irrational.

Early Life and Discovering Acting

Jesse L. Martin was born on January 18, 1969, in Rocky Mount, Virginia. He was the third of four sons. His father, Jesse Reed Watkins, was a truck driver, and his mother, Virginia Price, was a college counselor. His parents divorced when he was young. Later, his mother remarried, and Jesse took his stepfather's last name, Martin.

When Jesse was in elementary school, his family moved to Buffalo, New York. He became very shy and didn't like to speak much because of his Southern accent. A helpful teacher noticed this and encouraged him to join an after-school drama program. He was cast as a pastor in a play called The Golden Goose. Jesse played the character like a lively Southern preacher, and everyone loved it! This helped him become more confident and outgoing. Jesse went to high school at the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts. After that, he studied theater at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

Jesse Martin's Acting Career

After college, Jesse Martin traveled around the United States with a theater group called John Houseman's The Acting Company. He performed in plays like Shakespeare's Rock-in-Roles and The Butcher's Daughter. He then moved back to Manhattan to act in local plays, soap operas, and commercials. It was hard to make a living from acting at first, so Jesse also worked as a waiter in several restaurants. One time, while he was serving pizza, an episode of his show Guiding Light aired in the same restaurant, and all his co-workers cheered for him!

Broadway Debut and Rent

Jesse made his first appearance on Broadway in a play called Timon of Athens. He then acted in The Government Inspector. While working at a diner, he met a playwright named Jonathan Larson, who also worked there. In 1996, Larson's musical Rent became a huge hit in the theater world. Jesse played the role of Tom Collins, a kind computer expert and professor.

Rent was a modern version of an old opera called La Bohème. It won many awards, including six Drama Desk Awards, five Obie Awards, four Tony Awards, and the Pulitzer Prize. In 1998, the Rent show opened in London, England, with Jesse and three other original cast members.

Return to the Stage

In 2010, Jesse Martin returned to the stage for some big theater roles after his time on Law & Order. He performed in The Merchant of Venice and The Winter's Tale as part of The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park series. These plays were held at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, New York City. He played Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice and King Polixenes in The Winter's Tale. Both shows were performed together from June to August 2010.

The Merchant of Venice later moved to Broadway, where Jesse continued his role as Gratiano. The show ran from October 2010 to February 2011. Jesse also took part in a special one-night reading of Romeo and Juliet in 2012 to celebrate the Delacorte Theater's 50th anniversary. He performed alongside famous actors like Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline.

Television Roles

Jesse Martin got roles on the TV show 413 Hope St. and in the movie Restaurant (1998). The creator of Ally McBeal, David E. Kelley, saw Jesse in Rent and remembered him when he needed an actor to play a new boyfriend for the main character. Jesse's performance as Dr. Greg Butters on Ally McBeal also caught the eye of actor David Duchovny. Duchovny cast Jesse as a baseball-playing alien in a 1999 episode of The X-Files called "The Unnatural".

While still working on Ally McBeal, Jesse heard that actor Benjamin Bratt might leave the show Law & Order. Jesse had tried out for Law & Order years before but waited for a bigger part. He spoke to the show's producer, Dick Wolf, about the opening. Wolf wanted to cast him and gave Jesse the role without an audition.

Martin at the 2006 Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Annual Grand Auction and Flea Market

From 1999 to 2008, Jesse Martin starred as Detective Edward "Ed" Green on Law & Order. He was one of the longest-serving cast members on the show. He took a short break in 2005 to film the movie version of Rent, where he played Tom Collins again. Jesse's last episode of Law & Order aired on April 23, 2008.

In 2012, Jesse joined the cast of Smash for nine episodes, playing Scott Nichols, an artistic director. He also starred in a TV pilot called The Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives.

Jesse Martin played Joe West in the superhero series The Flash, which started in October 2014. This show was a spin-off from Arrow. In one episode, "Duet", Jesse also played a character named Digsy Foss in a dream world. In 2018, Jesse had a back injury and took a break from The Flash. He returned to the show in January 2019. He left his regular role on The Flash after the eighth season to star in the NBC show The Irrational.

Film Work

On March 4, 2013, it was announced that Jesse Martin would play Marvin Gaye in a movie called ... Healing. This movie was directed by Julien Temple. Jesse had wanted to play the famous singer for many years. However, production on the movie stopped after about three weeks of filming, mainly due to money problems. About 70% of the movie had been filmed.

Other Projects

Jesse Martin has narrated audio books, including The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin. He also helped produce an off-Broadway play called Fully Committed with his Rent co-star Adam Pascal.

Jesse is on the board of trustees for the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation.

Personal Life

In October 2006, Jesse Martin returned to Buffalo, New York, to work on a movie and was robbed shortly after arriving.

In 2018, he suffered a back injury during the summer. This led to his medical leave from The Flash.

After living in New York City for most of his acting career, Jesse now lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Stage Performances

• Arabian Nights (off-Broadway) – Prince of Fools, Clarinetist, Boy (1994)
• Timon of Athens (Broadway Premiere) – Alcibiades' Officer, Second Masseur (1993)
• The Government Inspector (Broadway revival) – Abdulin (1994)
• Rent (off-Broadway) – Tom Collins (1996)
• Rent (Broadway) – Tom Collins (1996)
• Rent (West End) – Tom Collins (1998)
• The Threepenny Opera (Williamstown, MA) – Macheath (2003)
• The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare in the Park) – Gratiano (summer 2010)
• The Winter's Tale (Shakespeare in the Park) – King Polixenes (summer 2010)
• The Merchant of Venice (Broadway) – Gratiano (2010)
• Romeo and Juliet (Public Theater) – Gregory, Friar John, Watchman 2 (2012)

Filmography

Movies

Television Shows

See also

In Spanish: Jesse L. Martin para niños