Jesse Lamont Martin (born
Jesse Lamont Watkins,
January 18,
1969) is an
American theatre,
film, and
television actor, best known for originating the role of
Tom Collins in
Rent and as
Det. Ed Green in the
NBC series
Law & Order.
Biography
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.
