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.
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 divo...
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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.
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...
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