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Jesse Williams (actor)
Encyclopedia
Jesse Williams is an American
actor
and model. He is known for his role as Dr. Jackson Avery on the ABC
series Grey's Anatomy
and as Lena's boyfriend Leo in the film sequel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
. He also stars in the upcoming Joss Whedon
horror film The Cabin in the Woods
.
, Illinois
to a Swedish mother and an African American father. Williams graduated from Temple University
with degrees in African American Studies
and Film & Media Arts. He taught American Studies, African Studies and English at a Philadelphia public high school following a brief modeling career in college. He played town sports in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.
portraying the character Kwame. He starred in the Off Broadway hits The American Dream
and The Sandbox at Cherry Lane Theatre
in Greenwich Village
in New York City
. Both one-act plays were written and directed by legendary playwright Edward Albee
.
In 2008, Williams made his theatrical debut in the supporting role of Leo in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
, a sequel to the 2004 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
. He also starred as Drew Collins ("The Hotness Monster") in a recurring role on the ABC Family
series Greek
. He appeared in two episodes.
In 2009, he portrayed Keya in the HBO pilot The Washingtonienne which was executive produced by Sarah Jessica Parker
. The pilot was not picked up. He also signed on as Eddie Quinlain in the film Brooklyn's Finest
which stars Don Cheadle
, Richard Gere
, Ethan Hawke
, Wesley Snipes
and Ellen Barkin
. The film was released on Friday, March 5, 2010. He also starred in a 8 episode stint in the television series Beyond the Break
as "Eric Medina".
In 2008, Williams signed on in his first leading role as Holden McCrea in the MGM/United Artists
Horror
film The Cabin in the Woods
. The film will be produced by Joss Whedon
and directed by Drew Goddard. The film was released January 14, 2011 and featured in 3-D.
In 2009, it was announced Williams would appear in a multi-episode arc on the Golden Globe Award Winning ABC
television series Grey's Anatomy
. He portrays a new Mercy West surgeon Dr. Jackson Avery in the series sixth season. He made his debut in the season's fifth episode which aired October 15, 2009. On June 8, 2010, it was announced that Williams had been officially upgraded to a full-time series regular, starting in season 7.
Williams has modeled for Kenneth Cole
. He also appears in the limited-edition coffee table book ("About Face") by celebrity photographer John Russo.
He can be seen as the love interest of R&B singer Rihanna
in the music video for her single "Russian Roulette
" from her 2009 album Rated R
. He also appears in the official music video for Estelle's
upcoming single Fall In Love featuring John Legend
from her yet to be released 2011 album All of Me.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and model. He is known for his role as Dr. Jackson Avery on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
series Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
and as Lena's boyfriend Leo in the film sequel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 is a 2008 sequel to the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. The original cast , return to star in the movie, which was directed by Sanaa Hamri...
. He also stars in the upcoming Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...
horror film The Cabin in the Woods
The Cabin in the Woods
The Cabin in the Woods is an upcoming American tongue-in-cheek thriller-horror film, co-written and directed by Drew Goddard and co-written and produced by Joss Whedon. It stars Chris Hemsworth, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford and Amy Acker.-Plot:...
.
Personal life
Williams was born in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
to a Swedish mother and an African American father. Williams graduated from Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
with degrees in African American Studies
African American studies
African American studies is a subset of Black studies or Africana studies. It is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to the study of the history, culture, and politics of African Americans...
and Film & Media Arts. He taught American Studies, African Studies and English at a Philadelphia public high school following a brief modeling career in college. He played town sports in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.
Career
In 2006, Jesse guest starred in an episode of Law & OrderLaw & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
portraying the character Kwame. He starred in the Off Broadway hits The American Dream
The American Dream (play)
The American Dream is an early, one-act play by American playwright Edward Albee. It was first staged 24 January 1961 at the York Playhouse in New York City. The play, a satire on American family life, concerns a married couple and their elderly mother...
and The Sandbox at Cherry Lane Theatre
Cherry Lane Theatre
The Cherry Lane Theatre , located at 38 Commerce Street in the borough of Manhattan, was New York City's oldest, continuously running off-Broadway theater...
in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Both one-act plays were written and directed by legendary playwright Edward Albee
Edward Albee
Edward Franklin Albee III is an American playwright who is best known for The Zoo Story , The Sandbox , Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , and a rewrite of the screenplay for the unsuccessful musical version of Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's . His works are considered well-crafted, often...
.
In 2008, Williams made his theatrical debut in the supporting role of Leo in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 is a 2008 sequel to the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. The original cast , return to star in the movie, which was directed by Sanaa Hamri...
, a sequel to the 2004 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is a best selling novel written in 2001 by Ann Brashares. The book follows the adventures of four best friends—Lena Kaligaris, Tibby Rollins, Bridget Vreeland, and Carmen Lowell, who will be spending their first summer apart. When a magical pair of jeans comes...
. He also starred as Drew Collins ("The Hotness Monster") in a recurring role on the ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
series Greek
Greek (TV series)
Greek is an American comedy-drama television series, which follows students of the fictional Cyprus-Rhodes University , located in Ohio, who participate in the school's Greek system...
. He appeared in two episodes.
In 2009, he portrayed Keya in the HBO pilot The Washingtonienne which was executive produced by Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
. The pilot was not picked up. He also signed on as Eddie Quinlain in the film Brooklyn's Finest
Brooklyn's Finest
Brooklyn's Finest is a 2009 American crime film starring Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, and Wesley Snipes in his first theatrical film since 2004's Blade: Trinity. The film also stars Will Patton, Ellen Barkin and Vincent D'Onofrio. It is directed by Antoine Fuqua, and written by Michael...
which stars Don Cheadle
Don Cheadle
Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle, Jr. is an American film actor and producer. Cheadle rose to prominence in the late 1990s and the early 2000s for his supporting roles in the Steven Soderbergh-directed films Out of Sight, Traffic, and Ocean's Eleven...
, Richard Gere
Richard Gere
Richard Tiffany Gere is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol...
, Ethan Hawke
Ethan Hawke
Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
, Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
and Ellen Barkin
Ellen Barkin
Ellen Barkin is an American film, television and theatre actress.-Early life:She was born Ellen Rona Barkin in Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York, the daughter of Evelyn , a hospital administrator who worked at Jamaica Hospital, and Sol Barkin, a chemical salesman...
. The film was released on Friday, March 5, 2010. He also starred in a 8 episode stint in the television series Beyond the Break
Beyond the Break
Beyond the Break is an American drama series set in Hawaii, that debuted on The N in June 2006.-Synopsis:The series focuses on four women in the sport of professional surfing. Birdie Scott , Lacey Farmer , Dawn Preston , and Kai Kealoha must overcome their differences in order to capture surf...
as "Eric Medina".
In 2008, Williams signed on in his first leading role as Holden McCrea in the MGM/United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
Horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
film The Cabin in the Woods
The Cabin in the Woods
The Cabin in the Woods is an upcoming American tongue-in-cheek thriller-horror film, co-written and directed by Drew Goddard and co-written and produced by Joss Whedon. It stars Chris Hemsworth, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford and Amy Acker.-Plot:...
. The film will be produced by Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...
and directed by Drew Goddard. The film was released January 14, 2011 and featured in 3-D.
In 2009, it was announced Williams would appear in a multi-episode arc on the Golden Globe Award Winning ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
. He portrays a new Mercy West surgeon Dr. Jackson Avery in the series sixth season. He made his debut in the season's fifth episode which aired October 15, 2009. On June 8, 2010, it was announced that Williams had been officially upgraded to a full-time series regular, starting in season 7.
Williams has modeled for Kenneth Cole
Kenneth Cole Productions
Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. is an American fashion house founded in 1982 by Kenneth Cole. He originally named the company Kenneth Cole Incorporated in September 1982 and planned to showcase his new line of shoes during market week at the Hilton New York Hotel...
. He also appears in the limited-edition coffee table book ("About Face") by celebrity photographer John Russo.
He can be seen as the love interest of R&B singer Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
in the music video for her single "Russian Roulette
Russian Roulette (song)
"Russian Roulette" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, taken from her fourth studio album Rated R . The song premiered on radio stations on October 20, 2009 and was released as the album's lead single on October 26, 2009 through Def Jam Recordings. It was written and produced by...
" from her 2009 album Rated R
Rated R (Rihanna album)
Rated R is the fourth studio album by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, first released November 20, 2009, on Def Jam Recordings. The album is a musical distance from her previous effort Good Girl Gone Bad , which contained up-tempo and ballad-oriented songs, and it heavily incorporated pop and...
. He also appears in the official music video for Estelle's
Estelle (musician)
Estelle Fanta Swaray commonly known as Estelle, and formerly as Est'elle, is an English R&B singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer.-Early Life:Estelle was born 18 January 1980 in Hammersmith, London, England...
upcoming single Fall In Love featuring John Legend
John Legend
John Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...
from her yet to be released 2011 album All of Me.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2008 | The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 is a 2008 sequel to the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. The original cast , return to star in the movie, which was directed by Sanaa Hamri... |
Leo | |
| 2010 | Brooklyn's Finest Brooklyn's Finest Brooklyn's Finest is a 2009 American crime film starring Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, and Wesley Snipes in his first theatrical film since 2004's Blade: Trinity. The film also stars Will Patton, Ellen Barkin and Vincent D'Onofrio. It is directed by Antoine Fuqua, and written by Michael... |
Eddie Quinlain | March 5, 2010 |
| 2012 | The Cabin in the Woods The Cabin in the Woods The Cabin in the Woods is an upcoming American tongue-in-cheek thriller-horror film, co-written and directed by Drew Goddard and co-written and produced by Joss Whedon. It stars Chris Hemsworth, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford and Amy Acker.-Plot:... |
Holden McCrea | Post-Production |
| Television | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | Law & Order Law & Order Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,... |
Kwame | 1 Episode |
| 2006 | Beyond the Break Beyond the Break Beyond the Break is an American drama series set in Hawaii, that debuted on The N in June 2006.-Synopsis:The series focuses on four women in the sport of professional surfing. Birdie Scott , Lacey Farmer , Dawn Preston , and Kai Kealoha must overcome their differences in order to capture surf... |
Eric Medina | 8 Episodes |
| 2008 | Greek Greek (TV series) Greek is an American comedy-drama television series, which follows students of the fictional Cyprus-Rhodes University , located in Ohio, who participate in the school's Greek system... |
Drew Collins | 2 Episodes |
| 2009 | The Washingtonienne | Keya | "HBO" Pilot Not Picked Up |
| 2009–present | Grey's Anatomy Grey's Anatomy Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in... |
Dr. Jackson Avery | Main cast member |