Jesse Williams (actor)
Jesse Williams (born August 5, 1981 in Chicago , Illinois ) is an American actor and political activist.
Life
Williams was born in Chicago in 1981 to a Swedish mother, a professional potter, and an African-American father . Williams graduated from Temple University with degrees in African American Studies and Film & Media Arts. He taught English and history at a high school in Philadelphia.
In early September 2012, Williams married his longtime girlfriend, a real estate agent, in Los Angeles after five years of relationship. The couple's daughter was born in December 2013 and their son in summer 2015. The marriage was dissolved in 2017.
Career
In 2006, Williams made a guest appearance on an episode of Law & Order where he portrayed the character Kwame. He also starred in The American Dream and The Sandbox at the Cherry Lane Theater in Greenwich Village, New York City . Both one-act plays were written by the playwright Edward Albee .
In 2008, Williams made his film debut in the supporting role of Leo in One for Four . He also played Drew Collins on the ABC Family series Greek . He appeared there in two episodes. In 2009 he starred in the pilot of the Washingtonienne series , which, however, was not produced. He then signed a contract for the film Law of the Street - Brooklyn's Finest, starring Don Cheadle , Richard Gere , Ethan Hawke , Wesley Snipes and Ellen Barkin . The film was released on March 5, 2010. He also starred as Eric Medina in 8 episodes of the television series Beyond the Break . Williams has starred as Dr. since the sixth season of the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy. See Jackson Avery . With the beginning of the seventh season he is one of the main characters in the series.
In 2008, Williams signed a contract for MGM / United Artists horror production The Cabin in the Woods , directed by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard . In 2010 he worked as the main actor in the trailer parody of the fictional film Dirty Dancing 3 - Capoeira Nights .
He was featured in David Cage's 2018 video game Detroit: Become Human . In it he played Markus, one of three main characters.
Social and political engagement
Williams is the youngest board member of The Advancement Project, a think tank and free, non-profit organization that aims to empower civil rights and focus on legal issues related to racism. Williams is also the producer of Question Bridge: Black Males , a multimedia project that includes art exhibitions and explores the male, African-American identity within society. In this capacity, Williams has made several guest posts for CNN and The Huffington Post .
In October 2014, Williams took to the streets with thousands of other people in Ferguson to protest the killing of African American youth Michael Brown by a police officer. In June 2016 Williams was honored with the BET Humanitarian Award for his commitment, especially for supporting the #BlackLivesMatter movement and his advocacy for social change . In his acceptance speech, Williams drew attention to police violence and racially motivated injustices. The editor Yolanda Sangweni found the speech the most stimulating of the award ceremony.
Filmography (selection)
Movies
- 2008: One for 4 - The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
- 2010: Law of the Street - Brooklyn's Finest (Brooklyn's Finest)
- 2012: The Cabin in the Woods
- 2013: The Butler (The Butler)
- 2013: Snake & Mongoose
- 2016: Money
- 2019: Selah and the Spades
Series
- 2006: Law & Order (1 episode)
- 2008: Greek (2 episodes)
- 2009: Beyond the Break (8 episodes)
- since 2009: Grey's Anatomy
- since 2020: Station 19 (4 episodes)
- 2020: Little Fires Everywhere
Music videos
- 2009: Rihanna - Russian Roulette
- 2011: Estelle Feat. Nas - Fall in Love
- 2017: Demi Lovato - Tell Me You Love Me
Commercials
- 2017: H&M "Christmas Advert With Nicki Minaj "
Video games
- 2018: Detroit: Become Human
Awards
- 2011: Received the Young Hollywood Award for TV Actor of the Year
- 2015: Nomination for the People's Choice Award for Most Popular Television Actor - Drama
- 2016: Received the BET Humanitarian Award
Web links
- Jesse Williams at the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Huffingtonpost.com: Jesse Williams Heats Up Grey's Anatomy ( Memento of the original from October 31, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , October 21, 2009 (English)
- ↑ Lenka Hladikova: Grey's Anatomy: Jesse Williams got married. Serienjunkies.de , September 3, 2012, accessed on September 3, 2012 .
- ↑ Lenka Hladikova: Grey's Anatomy: Jesse Williams became a father . In: Serienjunkies.de . January 10, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
- ^ Stephanie Webber: Jesse Williams Welcomes Second Child With Wife Aryn Drake-Lee . In: usmagazine.com . October 14, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
- ↑ Entertainment Weekly: Jesse Williams gets full-time upgrade ( Memento of the original from June 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , June 8, 2010 (English)
- ↑ Jana Kasperkevic: Jesse Williams: 'Celebrity culture? I am not going to participate in that ' In: The Guardian, October 1, 2015.
- ↑ a b Yolanda Sangweni: Jesse Williams Gave the Most Inspiring Acceptance Speech At the BET Awards In: essence.com, June 27, 2016.
- ↑ Dexter Thomas and Tre'vell Anderson: Jesse Williams says black lives matter - we break down why his BET speech matters In: Los Angeles Times, June 28, 2016.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Williams, Jesse |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | US-American actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 5th August 1981 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Chicago , Illinois |