Jesse L. Martin

Jesse L. Martin
At the 2006 Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Annual Grand Auction and Flea Market
Born	Jesse Lamont Watkins (1969-01-18) January 18, 1969 Rocky Mount, Virginia, United States
Other names	Jesse Lamont Martin

Jesse L. Martin (born Jesse Lamont Watkins; January 18, 1969) is an American theatre, film, and television actor. 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, 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.

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 Playhouse, 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. 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 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.

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.

Other work

Martin narrated the audio book The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin.

Future work

Currently in development is Sexual Healing, a film about the last years of singer Marvin Gaye's life. Martin plans to both produce and star in the film.^{[citation needed]}

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 and his belongings were never returned. He went to the airport without luggage for the first time.

Martin has always been private about his life, and until recently his sexual orientation remained unknown; most people believed he was gay due to his portrayal of a gay character (Tom Collins). He recently revealed in an interview with the New York Post (on September 22, 2011) that he was on the lookout for a lady. He is also known to be a proud resident of New York City.

Stage work

• Timon of Athens (Broadway premiere) - "Alcibiades' Officer" and "Second Masseur" (1993)
• The Government Inspector (revival) - Abdulin (1994)
• Rent - Tom Collins (1996)
• Bright Lights, Big City (musical) (Off-Broadway) - Tad
• The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare in the Park production) - 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

Filmography

Year	Film/Television	Role	Other Notes
1995 & 1998	New York Undercover	Mustapha (1995 episode: "All In The Family") and Kaylen (1998 episode: "Going Native")	TV series
1997	413 Hope St.	Antonio Collins	TV Series
	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	Det. Edward Green	Regular: 198 Episodes (left briefly during the end of the 2004–2005 season)
2002	Buring House of Love	Andre Anderson	Short Film
2003	Season of Youth	Roc Williams	Film
2004	A Christmas Carol	Ghost of Christmas Present	TV Movie
2005	Rent	Tom Collins	Repeated his Off-Broadway and Broadway role along with five other original cast members
2008	A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa	A Postal Worker	Cameo, TV Movie
	Sexual Healing	Marvin Gaye	Producer and starring actor, in production as of 2007
2009	The Philanthropist	Philip Maidstone	TV Series
2009	Peter and Vandy	Paul	Film
2009	Buffalo Bushido	Shawn	TV Movie
2011	Puncture	Daryl King	Film
2012	Joyful Noise	Marcus Hill	Film

External links

• Jesse L. Martin at the Internet Movie Database
• Jesse L. Martin at the Internet Broadway Database
• No More 'Order' For Martin
• Tumblr Fan Page
• Unofficial Website