Jesse L. Martin Movies
Jesse L. Martin is proof that talent and popularity are not mutually exclusive. When the award-winning stage actor joined the cast of NBC's Law and Order in its tenth season, the program's already high ratings increased by 40 percent. Martin's debut episode drew the largest audience in Law and Order's history and positive press attracted more viewers throughout the season. The once starving artist is now both a critic's darling and one of T.V. Guide's "Sexiest People on Television," confirming that he is an actor with genuinely wide appeal.Martin was born Jesse Lamont Watkins on January 18, 1969, in Rocky Mountain, VA. He is the youngest 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, NY, and the move was not an immediate success: Martin hated to speak 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 Buffalo School for the 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 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 oneself, 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.
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 Tom Collins. The '90s 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. Kelly, 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 and Order. Martin 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 and 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.
During his first year on Law and Order, Martin co-produced the one-man show Fully Committed, about the amusing experiences of a waiter at an upscale restaurant. A skilled vocalist -- he sang in Rent, on Ally McBeal, and The X-Files -- Martin later appeared in the Rocky Horror Picture Show anniversary special and hopes to star in a big-screen biography of his mother's favorite singer, Marvin Gaye. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide
One couple's stormy relationship is examined out of chronological order in this drama written and directed by Jay DiPietro, adapted from his play. Peter (Jason Ritter) and Vandy (Jess Weixler) meet when both are college students; they fall in love and live together for a while, but on a certain fundamental level they're never fully comfortable with one another, and eventually they go their separate ways. But rather than tell their story from beginning to end, Peter and Vandy jumps back and forth in time, with the couple midway through their romance before we've seen their first date. DiPietro allows us to see how the flaws in their relationship -- Peter's discomfort around Vandy and their habit of bickering about petty things -- were present at the beginning, lurking around the corner even in their happiest moments. Peter and Vandy received its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Ritter, Jess Weixler, (more)
Actress Mary Stuart Masterson makes her feature directorial debut with this drama detailing the manner in which three generations of men deal with the death of the family matriarch. Evicted from his New York City apartment, starving musician Guy Kimbrough (Jayce Bartok) makes his way back upstate for the first time in three years. Upon returning to his hometown, Guy does his best to deal with the recent death of his mother while desperately attempting to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend Stephanie (Miriam Shor) -- who has since moved on and found happiness with another man. Meanwhile, as Guy does his best to win Stephanie back, his shy brother, Beagle (Aaron Stanford), falls deeply in love with Friedreich's Ataxia-stricken high school student Georgia, and their father, Easy (Bruce Dern), attempts to rekindle his relationship with Georgia's grandmother Marg (Elizabeth Ashley). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kristen Stewart, Aaron Stanford, (more)
This film adaptation of the Broadway musical based loosely on Puccini's opera La Bohème features many members of the original cast. It follows a year in the lives of seven friends living the disappearing Bohemian lifestyle in New York's East Village. AIDS and both its physical and emotional complications pervade the lives of Roger (Adam Pascal), Mimi (Rosario Dawson), Tom (Jesse L. Martin), and Angel (Wilson Jermaine Heredia); Maureen (Idina Menzel) deals with her chronic infidelity through performance art; her partner, Joanne (Tracie Thoms), wonders if their relationship is worth the trouble; Benjamin (Taye Diggs) has sold out his Bohemian ideals in exchange for a hefty income and is on the outs with his former friends; and Mark (Anthony Rapp), an aspiring filmmaker, feels like an outsider to life in general, always behind the camera recording the events but never playing a part. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, (more)
Differentiating this TV-movie version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol from the hundreds of other adaptations of the same Yuletide classic is its tongue-in-cheek ambience and a bundle of memorable tunes by perennial Disney composer Alan Menken and former Schoolhouse Rock lyricist Lynn Ahrens. Inspired by a stage musical which used to be presented annually at New York's Madison Square Garden, this Christmas Carol stars Kelsey Grammer as tight-fisted Ebenezer Scrooge, who sees the errors of his ways just in time to oversee the "best Christmas ever" for his long-suffering clerk Bob Cratchit (Edward Gower) and "God Bless Us Everyone" Tiny Tim (Jacob Moriarty). On this occasion, the spirits materializing for Scrooge's benefit include Jason Alexander as a neurotic Jacob Marley, Jesse L. Martin as a laid-back Ghost of Christmas Present, Jane Krakowski as a sexy Ghost of Christmas Past, and Geraldine Chaplin as a spooky Ghost of Christmas Future (in Wizard of Oz tradition, three of these four actors also appear as "real" people in Scrooge's everyday life). Highlights include the song "Link by Link," wherein the ghostly Marley and a chorus of wraiths perform a lively ball-and-chain dance number, and the outsized Christmas celebration in the home of Scrooge's first boss, Mr. Fezziwig (Brian Bedford), which features among other things a "pole dance" by the Ghost of Christmas Past! Filmed on-location in Budapest (which sort of looks like Dickensian London if you squint real hard), A Christmas Carol: The Musical won an Emmy award for musical director Michael Kosarin -- and, alas, tanked in the ratings when first telecast by NBC on November 28, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelsey Grammer, Jesse L. Martin, (more)
- 2003
Hosted by Law & Order star Jesse L. Martin, this five-part cable series recounted six of the boldest and most spectacular art thefts and swindles of the 20th century. The opening episode traced the investigation following the stealing of Edvard Munch's classic painting The Scream from Norway's National Gallery -- a pilfering so brazen that the thieves left behind a mocking note, thanking the curators for their poor security. Subsequent episodes concentrated on the theft of Rubens' Aurora, the stealing of some irreplaceable Egyptian scrolls, and an international forgery scam. Although it was shown that the culprits were invariably captured, one came away from the series with a grudging respect for the ingenuity that went into the crimes. Art Crimes and Mysteries first aired April 7, 2003, on the Bravo network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
As it entered its 13th season on the air, Law & Order also entered the history books as the longest-running TV program of its genre. This, however, did not satisfy series producer Dick Wolf, who had every intention of keeping the series in production for at least another eight years, long enough to smash Gunsmoke's status as the longest-running dramatic series of all time. Wolf also refused to rest on his laurels by concentrating on his "baby" alone: In addition to the original Law & Order, he was also churning out spin-offs Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as the documentary/reality series Crime & Punishment, with an updated revival of the classic Dragnet still in the wings. The basic Law & Order cast from season 12 was still in place, with one very significant change. After two years of service, interim District Attorney Nora Lewin (Dianne Weist), who'd replaced the venerable Adam Schiff (Steven Hill) in 2000, was herself replaced by DA Arthur Branch, played by Fred Dalton Thompson, an erstwhile actor better known to the public as a former Republican senator from Tennessee. The avuncular, home-fried conservatism of Branch -- who, unlike his strictly-business predecessors, was inclined toward long-winded anecdotes and rustic homilies whenever making an important point of law -- was frequently at odds with the intense liberalism of ADA Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) and the studied seriousness of McCoy's assistant Serena Southerlyn. So much for the "Order" portion of the program. Back on the "Law" end of the spectrum, producer Wolf had promised viewers that there would be more friction between detectives Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Eddie Green (Jesse L. Martin); as it turned out, however, Briscoe and Green developed into something of a comedy team, with Green playing off of the witty comments and abysmal puns invariably dropped by Briscoe at each murder scene. Similarly, the detectives' sober-sided superior, Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson), became a bit more wry and light-hearted than she'd been in previous seasons. As always, Law & Order kept abreast of the times with stories based on actual events and persons. The aftermath of 9/11, the saga of "American Jihad" John Walker Lindh, the shoplifting trial of actress Winona Ryder, the Lacy Peterson murder case, the Martha Stewart inside-trading imbroglio, pop star Michael Jackson's display of parental recklessness from a balcony, the criminal charges against the NBA's Jayson Williams, and the "D.C. Snipers" case were all grist for the writers' mill. The 13th-season finale of Law & Order was lavishly publicized as the series' 300th episode. Technically, however, it was the 301st, but NBC seldom acknowledged the series' pilot episode because it had been financed by CBS. Ironically, that selfsame pilot show was rebroadcast by NBC May 21, 2003, the same night as the "300th" installment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jesse L. Martin, S. Epatha Merkerson, (more)
- 2001
With the departure of series regular Angie Harmon at the close of season eleven (it was explained that her character, Assistant DA Abbie Carmichael, had accepted a job with the U.S. Attorney's Federal Major Crimes Task Force), season twelve of Law & Order was ushered in with a new face in the DA's office. Elisabeth Rohm was added to the cast as ADA Serena Southerlyn, who had requested the appointment because she wanted to tackle grittier cases than the "white-collar crimes" which had been her forte. The scriptwriters wasted little time in providing Serena with a baptism by fire: in the episode "DR 1-102," she courageously defused a dangerous hostage situation -- only to face the loss of her license to practice law because she failed to follow accepted legal procedure. The rest of the cast remained the same as in season eleven, though it was already established that Dianne Wiest's character, interim DA Nora Lewin, would be written out as soon as a permanent district attorney could be elected. (It was not that Wiest was unhappy with her role, nor that the producers were dissatisfied with the character; she just didn't want to be artistically confined to series television.) Likewise maintaining the Law & Order status quo was the series' predilection for stories based on current headlines, beginning with the season opener "Who Let the Dogs Out?," which was transparently inspired by a real-life California case involving a killer pit bull. The arrests of actor Robert Blake and rapper Sean "Puffy" Combs and the disappearance of congressional intern Chandra Levy, likewise provided grist for the series' story mill. In addition, the terrible events of September 11 loomed large over the proceedings, notably in the season-closing episode "Patriot." Finally, by 2001, Law & Order had become something of franchise. The series' first spin-off, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, was entering its second successful season. Both this show and its parent series were joined in the fall of 2001 by Law & Order: Criminal Intent, which chronicled crime and punishment from the perpetrators' point-of-view. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jesse L. Martin, S. Epatha Merkerson, (more)
- 2000
Season ten of Law & Order had ended on a cliffhanger of sorts, with an international trial involving the son of a prominent diplomat casting serious doubt upon the reelection of DA Adam Schiff (Steven Hill). In the first episode of the series' 11th season, it was learned that Schiff had, indeed, left office -- not due to a lack of voter turnout, but because he had been appointed by the U.S. government to supervise an upcoming Holocaust memorial in Holland. Until Schiff's replacement could be elected, it was necessary to appoint an interim DA, former law school ethics professor Nora Lewin -- played by Oscar-winning actress Dianne Wiest, whose character's predetermined "temporary" status reflected Wiest's reluctance to tie herself down to a long-running weekly series. Seemingly softer and less curmudgeonly than Schiff, Lewin nonetheless possessed what Executive Producer Dick Wolf described as a "steely reserve," which surfaced whenever it was necessary to the story. Otherwise, the cast members from season ten were carried over into season 11, though it was fairly common knowledge that actress Angie Harmon, cast as ADA Abbie Carmichael, would be departing the series to seek out different projects once her contract was up. Harmon's predecessor, Carey Lowell, made another return appearance as former ADA Jamie Ross, again acting as a defense attorney in opposition to her former colleagues. In addition, acerbic writer Fran Lebowitz made the first of several cameo appearances as Arraignment Judge Goldberg. Among the hot-button issues touched upon during the series' 11th season were the potential dangers of prison budget cutbacks, TV "reality" shows, the loopholes inherent in Israel's "Law of Return" for Jewish citizens, the gay adoption controversy, and, perhaps inevitably, the hotly contested 2000 presidential election. One episode, "Sunday in the Park With Jorge," was attacked by a number of ethnic special-interest groups because it depicted a Central Park "wilding" incident during an Hispanic Pride Festival. Although producer Wolf would not categorically apologize for the story's content, citing the real-life incident on which it was based, he agreed to remove the offending episode from Law & Order's syndicated rerun package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angie Harmon, Jesse L. Martin, (more)
- 1999
Season ten of Law & Order was marked by the first cast addition to the "Law" portion of the series since 1995. To replace the departed Benjamin Bratt, Jesse L. Martin was introduced as Detective Eddie Green, the new partner of veteran NYPD Detective Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach). The fact that Green was African-American and a considerably younger than Briscoe added a welcome dash of contrast and friction to the detective end of the show. Furthering layering the relationship between the two men was the fact that, as the son of a globetrotting, petrochemical engineer, Green was even more "worldly" than his jaded partner -- and with several charges of excessive force on his record, Green was considerably more hotheaded and impulsive than Briscoe, as well. Over at the DA's office, things remained the same as they'd been in season nine, with Adam Schiff (Steven Hill) continuing to preside over his diligent assistants, Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) and Abbie Carmichael (Angie Harmon). Jamie Ross (Carey Lowell), Carmichael's predecessor, made an unexpected guest appearance, albeit as a defense attorney at odds with her former partners. Another former Law & Order regular, Dann Florek, had been engaged to reprise his role of Captain Don Cragen in the first of the series' several spin-offs, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which debuted in the fall of 1999. One two-part story, "Entitled," was a crossover between Law & Order and its SVU sister series, with actors from both shows exchanging guest appearances. Law & Order's tenth season ended with the departure of the only regular who'd been with the series since its inception in 1990. It was explained that DA Adam Schiff had left his office to work for the U.S. government, his first assignment being to represent the country at a Holocaust memorial in Holland. In real life, septuagenarian actor Steven Hill had decided to retire, necessitating the graceful elimination of his character. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angie Harmon, Steven Hill, (more)
- 1998
- R
Eric Bross directed this drama of romantic roadblocks and racial issues between a group of waitresses and bartenders waiting for their "big breaks." Former alcoholic Chris (Adrien Brody) is a playwright who works as a bartender at the popular Hoboken, New Jersey, restaurant J.T. McClure's, a gathering spot for a variety of creative wannabes. At a local theater, rehearsals are underway for Chris' play, an autobiographical drama echoing his past relationship with Leslie (Lauryn Hill); for the fictional Leslie character, Chris has cast the vulnerable vocalist Jeanine (Elise Neal), and finds himself falling for her. Meanwhile, the actor playing the role of "Chris" has been sleeping with the real-life Leslie, adding to the real-life Chris' confusion. Providing philosophical guidance is the wise-guy best friend Reggae (Michael Stoyanov), a fellow "Newark boy" whose main creative energy goes into scoring drugs. Restaurant was one of the much-discussed stand-outs at the 1998 L.A. Independent Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrien Brody, Elise Neal, (more)
Given up for adoption in infancy, 34-year-old Barbara Ann Williams (Gloria Reuben) launches a desperate search for her biological mother when she is diagnosed with a severe medical condition. Painfully assembling the pieces of her fragmented life, Barbara learns that her mom, a white woman named Gerry Cummins (Anne Bancroft) had been raped by a black man in 1961. With the social barriers of the time banning her from keeping a mixed-race baby, and her own religious convictions prohibiting her from having an abortion, Gerry farmed out her daughter for adoption. Barbara's first home was with black foster mother Corinne Burrell (Lynn Whitfield), but she ultimately wound up adopted by a dysfunctional white family in Wisconsin, with Annalise Jurgenson (Alice Krige) as her "official" mother. Thereafter, Barbara's life would be tainted with the onus of being a loser and an "outsider", no matter where she turned. With all this in mind, it seems incredible to even imagine that Barbara's lifelong misery will be purged by a happy denoument. Produced for the CBS network, the fact-based TV movie Deep In My Heart originally aired February 14, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Her upcoming birthday and Greg's lack of sexual interest are stressing Ally out. Meanwhile, Elaine plans a celebration for her. ~ TV Guide, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Calista Flockhart, Courtney Thorne-Smith, (more)
The first season of Ally McBeal centers around Ally's (Calista Flockhart) introduction to a law firm as full of eccentric characters as it is legal files. Not only must Ally adjust to her former high-school sweetheart's choice to marry another, but she also has to learn how to cope with having both him and his wife as co-workers. This season was a highly successful test of Ally McBeal's unique format, which emphasized musical numbers and special effect-laden flights of fancy. Despite initial low expectations from the network, Ally McBeal became a sleeper hit, owing much of its success to its originality, incorporation of truly unique characters, and its expert combination of modern issues of political-correctness with age-old matters of the heart. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Calista Flockhart, Courtney Thorne-Smith, (more)
- 1997
After Ally's first date with Greg Butters (Jesse L. Martin) ends in a car accident, she defends him in court against the plaintiff's lawyer---a 9-year-old genius (Josh Evans). ~ TV Guide, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Calista Flockhart, Courtney Thorne-Smith, (more)
