Jesse L. Martin - Biography

Last Editor: bassein30				Jesse L. Martin Biography -   Name : Jesse L. Martin Birth name : Jesse Lamont Watkins Born : January 18, 1969 (1969-01-18) (age 38) Rocky Mount, Virginia,  United States Other name(s) : Jesse Lamont Martin Notable roles : Tom Collins in Rent Dr. Greg Butters in Ally McBeal Det. Ed Green in Law & Order

Jesse L. Martin Trivia -

He is a graduate of one of the United States' most famous academic art schools, the Buffalo Academy For Visual and Preforming Arts for grades 5-12 Is on the Board of Trustees for the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Along with Jerry Orbach, Fred Dalton Thompson and Leslie Hendrix, he is one of only four actors to play the same character (Detective Ed Green) on all four "Law & Order" series ("Law & Order" (1990), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999), "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2001), and "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" (2005)). Has appeared in episodes of three different television series with Sam Waterston: "Law & Order" (1990), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999) and "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" (2005). Performed the song "Razzle Dazzle" from the musical Chicago at the 2005 Tony Awards just as the "In Memoriam" section of the show was finishing. The last photo shown during the memorial was that of Jerry Orbach, who was both Martin's costar on Law and Order and the first person to perform "Razzle Dazzle" in the original Broadway production of Chicago. Appeared in episodes of three different series with Jerry Orbach: "Law & Order" (1990), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999) and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2001). Accompanied Jerry Orbach's widow Elaine to the 2005 Tony Awards. Worked at the Moondance Diner in New York City with Jonathan Larson. Almost Graduated from NYU Currently preparing two one-man shows: "Fiend" and an untitled piece based on the life of Marvin Gaye. In Law & Order, he works with Jerry Orbach, who played Billy Flynn in the original cast of Chicago. In Rent, (play and film) he works with Taye Diggs, who played the band leader in the 2002 film, and briefly played Flynn himself in late 2002 during the Broadway revival. Tom Collins and Angel Dumott Schunard, his character and character's boyfriend in Rent, take their last names from their characters counterparts in La Boheme. Tom Collins (known simply as Collins) is based on Colline, and Angel is based on Schaunard. On April 2, 2006, Martin was a featured guest at the awards ceremony of the SunDeis Film Festival at Brandeis University. Martin, introduced to a standing ovation, presented his "Law and Order" co-star S. Epatha Merkerson with the first-ever SunDeis Entertainer of the Year Award, the highlight of the festival weekend. The storyline of Detective Green being shot in the line of duty was written into the Law and Order script so that during his 'recovery', Jesse could be in San Fransisco to film Rent. Returning back to Buffalo, N.Y., to work on an independent film, in October of 2006, his luggage was stolen from an SUV as he signed autographs in a restaurant. Martin's belongings have not been returned. Attended the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute.

Jesse L. Martin Detailed Biography -

Jesse Lamont Martin (born Jesse Lamont Watkins, January 18, 1969) is an American theatre, film, and television actor, best known for his roles as Tom Collins in Rent and as Det. Ed Green in the NBC series Law & Order. Jesse L. Martin was born in Rocky Mount, Virginia, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He is the third of five sons. Martin's parents, truck driver Jesse Reed Watkins and college counselor Virginia Price, divorced when he was a child. Ms. Price eventually remarried and the boys adopted their 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. The actor 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 Theater Program. After graduation, Martin toured the states with John Houseman's The Acting Company. He appeared in Shakespeare's Rock-in-Roles at the Actors Theater of Louisville and The Butcher's Daughter at the Cleveland Playhouse, and returned to Manhattan to perform in local theater, 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 late playwright Jonathan Larson, who also worked on the restaurant's staff. In 1996, Larson's musical Rent took the theater world by storm, with Martin in the part 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. Martin soon landed roles on Fox's short-lived 413 Hope Street 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. The actor'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 that he wrote and directed. While still shooting Ally McBeal, Martin heard rumors 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 begged Law & Order producer Dick Wolf for Bratt's role. 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. Since 1999, he has played Det. Ed Green on Law & Order, save for a brief hiatus at the end of the 2004–2005 season while he was filming the movie adaptation of Rent, for which he reprised the role of Tom Collins. Currently in developement 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. The film, directed by Lauren Goodman, is slated for production in 2007.