Jesse L. Martin

From The Law & Order Wiki

Jesse L. Martin
...as Det. Ed Green (Season 18)
Character Detective Ed Green
Date of birth 18 January 1969
Place of birth Rocky Mount, Virginia
IMDb profile

Jesse L. Martin is an actor who played Ed Green for almost ten years on Law & Order. His first appearance was the tenth season episode "Gunshow", and he recently made his last appearance in the eighteenth season episode "Burn Card". At the end of the fifteenth season Martin took a break from Law & Order, so that he could film the movie adaptation of Rent.

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.

Martin's character Green is one of only five characters who have appeared in all four series of the Law & Order franchise. The other four are Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach), Elizabeth Rodgers (Leslie Hendrix), Arthur Branch (Fred Dalton Thompson), and Elizabeth Olivet (Carolyn McCormick).

Martin appeared in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes "...Or Just Look Like One" and "Entitled", the Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Poison", and the Law & Order: Trial by Jury episode "Skeleton".

Martin also gave voice to his character in the game "Justice is Served".