Jesse L. Martin Biography

Jesse L. Martin (born Jesse Lamont Watkins; January 18, 1969) is an American actor and singer. He is known for originating the role of Tom Collins in the Broadway theatrical production of Rent, and for his portrayal of NYPD Detective Ed Green on the NBC drama television series Law & Order.

Early life

Martin, the third of five sons, was born in Rocky Mount, Virginia, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains. His father, Jesse Reed Watkins (1943-2003), was a truck driver, and his mother, Virginia Price, a college counselor; the two divorced when he was a child. His mother eventually remarried and Martin adopted his stepfather's surname. When Martin was in grade school, the family relocated to Buffalo, New York, and the move was not an immediate success: Martin hated speaking because of his thick Southern accent and was often overcome with shyness. A concerned teacher influenced him to join an after-school drama program and cast him as the pastor in The Golden Goose. Being from Virginia, the young Martin played the character the only way he knew how: as an inspired Southern Baptist preacher. The act was a hit, and Martin emerged from his shell.

Martin attended high school at The Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, where he was voted "Most Talented" in his senior class. He later enrolled in New York University's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts Theatre Program, while simultaneously serving as the wildly popular president of his New York University dorm, Rubin Hall, a famous building on 5th Avenue and 10th street, where Mark Twain once lived. He was in charge of scores of productions there, bringing cheer and good will to the almost 1000 residents.

Career

Stage Work

After graduation, Martin toured the states with John Houseman's The Acting Company. He appeared in Shakespeare's Rock-in-Roles at the Actors Theatre of Louisville and The Butcher's Daughter at The Cleveland Play House, and returned to Manhattan to perform in local theatre, soap operas, and commercials. Finding that auditions, regional theater, and bit parts were no way to support himself, Martin waited tables at several restaurants around the city. He was literally serving a pizza when his appearance on CBS's Guiding Light aired in the same eatery. While the show aired, the whole waitstaff gathered around the bar television to cheer his performance. Often, during the dinner rush, he broke out in song. When he gave his customers their dinner checks, he told them to "keep it, because someday I'll be famous!" Many of his coworkers in the restaurants continue to follow his career and are considered his early "fan club".

Martin made his Broadway debut in Timon of Athens, and then performed in The Government Inspector with Lainie Kazan. While employed at the Moondance Diner, he met the playwright Jonathan Larson, who also worked on the restaurant's staff. In 1996, Larson's musical Rent took the theatre world by storm, with Martin in the role of gay computer geek/philosophy professor Tom Collins. The 1990s update of Puccini's La Bohème earned six Drama Desk Awards, five Obie Awards, four Tony Awards, and the Pulitzer Prize. In 1998, the West End production of RENT opened with four of the original cast members, including Martin. He also played Tad in the concept album of Bright Lights, Big City.

In 2010, Martin returned to the stage for one of his biggest theater commitments since Law & Order performing in the productions of The Merchant of Venice and The Winter's Tale as a part of The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. He played the roles of Gratiano and King Polixenes, respectively. The two shows were performed in repertory, beginning with previews on June 9th, 2010 through to the final performance on August 1st, 2010. The Merchant of Venice later transferred to Broadway to the Broadhurst Theater for a limited engagement, during which time Martin reprised his role as Gratiano. The show began previews on October 19, 2010, and officially opened on November 7. The show began a hiatus on January 9 to accommodate Al Pacino's pre-existing obligations, and resumed from February 1, 2011 to February 20, 2011; Martin did not reprise his role after the hiatus due to previous commitments.

Martin took part in a one-night-only reading benefit of Romeo and Juliet to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, alongside Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Raúl Esparza and others on June 18, 2012.

Television

Martin soon landed roles on Fox's short-lived 413 Hope St. and Eric Bross' independent film Restaurant (1998). Ally McBeal's creator, David E. Kelley, attended Rent's Broadway premiere and remembered Martin when the show needed a new boyfriend for Calista Flockhart's Ally. Martin's performance as Dr. Greg Butters on Ally McBeal caught David Duchovny's eye, who then cast Martin as a baseball-playing alien in a 1999 episode of The X-Files titled "The Unnatural" that Duchovny wrote and directed.

While still shooting Ally McBeal, Martin heard rumours that actor Benjamin Bratt planned to leave the cast of Law & Order. Martin had tried out for the show years before and won the minor role of a car-radio thief named Earl the Hamster, but decided to wait for a bigger part. With the opportunity presenting itself, Martin approached Law & Order producer Dick Wolf regarding the opening. Wolf hoped to cast him, and upon hearing that CBS and Fox both offered Martin development deals, he gave the actor the part without an audition.

From 1999 to 2008, he played Det. Ed Green on Law & Order. He had a brief hiatus at the end of the 2004"2005 season while he was filming the movie adaptation of Rent in which he reprised the role of Tom Collins. Martin's final episode of Law & Order aired April 23, 2008, as he was replaced by Anthony Anderson. Martin returned to NBC a year later, as the co-star of The Philanthropist.

On September 14th, 2012, NBC announced that Martin would be joining the cast of SMASH during season 2 for a nine-episode arc as Scott Welker, the artistic director of the Manhattan Theatre Workshop. Martin has also been cast as one of the leads in an NBC pilot of The Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives as Greg Cooke. It was announced on May 10th, 2013, that NBC would not be picking up the pilot.

Film

On March 4th, 2013, it was announced that Martin would replace Lenny Kravitz as Marvin Gaye in an upcoming biopic directed by Julien Temple, and produced by Vassal Benton and Fred Bestall. Martin had been attached to a different Gaye biopic for years and had stated that it was his dream role to portray the legendary Motown singer.

Other work

Martin voiced the character Ed Green in the video game Law & Order: Justice is Served, and narrated the audio book The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin and On the Shoulder of Giants, Volume 2: Master Intellects and Creative Giants by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He also co-produced the Off-Broadway production of Fully Committed with RENT co-star Adam Pascal (and two other producers).

Sits on the board of trustees for the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation along with RENT co-producer Kevin McCollum.

Personal Life

In October 2006, Martin returned to Buffalo, New York, to work on an independent film (Buffalo Bushido). While eating at a restaurant, his luggage was stolen from an SUV; his belongings were never returned.

He is also known to be a proud resident of New York City and is adamant that he will never leave.

Stage work

• Ring of Men (Off-Broadway) - Unknown date and character
• The Prince and the Pauper (Off-Broadway) - Unknown character and date
• Arabian Nights (Off-Broadway) - Prince of Fools, Clarinetist, Boy (1994)
• The Butcher's Daughter (Cleveland Playhouse) - Unknown character (1993)
• Timon of Athens (Broadway Premiere) - "Alcibiades' Officer" (original), "Second Masseur" (original), Alcibiades (understudy) (1993).
• The Government Inspector (Broadway Revival) - Abdulin (original), Panteleyeva (understudy) (1994)
• Rent (Off-Broadway) - Tom Collins (1996)
• Rent (Broadway) - Tom Collins (1996)
• Rent (West End) - Tom Collins (1998)
• Bright Lights, Big City (musical) (concept recording) - Tad
• The Threepenny Opera (Williasmtown, MA; Williamstown Theatre Festival Production) " 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); transfer from the Shakespeare in the Park production
• Romeo and Juliet (Public Theater; Delacorte Theatre's 50th Anniversary) - Gregory, Friar John, Watchman 2 (2012)

Filmography

Year	Film/Television	Role	Other Notes
1995 & 1998	New York Undercover	Mustafa (1995 episode: "All In The Family") and Kaylen (1998 episode: "Going Native")	TV Series
1997	413 Hope St.	Antonio Collins	TV Series
1998-1999	Ally McBeal	Dr. Greg Butters	TV Series
1998	Restaurant	Quincy	Film
1999	The X-Files	Josh Exley	TV Series (Episode 6x19, "The Unnatural")
	Deep in My Heart	Don Williams	TV Movie
1999"2008	Law & Order	Detective Edward "Ed" Green	Regular: 198 Episodes (left briefly during the end of the 2004"2005 season)
1999 & 2000	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Detective Edward "Ed" Green	2 Episodes: "...Or Just Look Like One" and "Entitled"
2002	Burning House of Love	Andre Anderson	Short Film
2003	Season of Youth	Roc Williams	Film
2004	A Christmas Carol	Ghost of Christmas Present/ Ticket Seller	TV Movie
2005	Rent	Tom Collins	Repeated his Off-Broadway and Broadway role along with five other original main cast members
2008	A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa	A Postal Worker	Cameo, TV Movie
2009	The Philanthropist	Philip Maidstone	TV Series
2009	Peter and Vandy	Paul	Film
2009	Buffalo Bushido	Shawn
2011	Puncture	Daryl King	Film
2012	Joyful Noise	Marcus Hill	Film
2013	Smash	Scott Nichols	TV Series (nine-episode arc)
2013	Untitled Marvin Gaye Project	Marvin Gaye	Film