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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, May 23, 2002

Former Virginia 'hillbilly' not itching to leave show yet

By Samantha Critchell
Associated Press

Jesse L. Martin is all New Yorker now, right down to his mostly black wardrobe and the rapid-fire words that come shooting out of his mouth.

But as a kid in Rocky Mountain, Va., "I was a straight-up hillbilly," he says, complete with heavy-duty Southern accent.

The 33-year-old, who plays New York police detective Ed Green on NBC's "Law & Order," lost the accent in fourth grade after his family moved to Buffalo, N.Y. But Martin says he could see playing Green with a southern twang.

"The people in New York are from all over the world. It wouldn't be crazy to have a guy from the Blue Ridge Mountains come in and become a detective."

Martin first came to the city to study acting at New York University, but he quit one semester shy of earning a degree. Besides being broke, he says, he had been offered his first professional job, in a touring Shakespeare company, and he jumped at it.

That led to other roles, including one in the original cast of the Broadway musical "Rent," and a recurring role as one of Ally's boyfriends on "Ally McBeal." He also was named to the board of directors of The Acting Company, a classical repertory theater founded by John Houseman.

Martin has been on "Law & Order," TV's longest-running current drama, for the past three years, and so far he's not getting itchy to follow former cast members Benjamin Bratt, Chris Noth and Angie Harmon, among others, through the series' well-known revolving door.

"I work with some of the coolest people in the world. ... It's the best film crew I've ever seen," he said. "It works like this really well-oiled machine and all I have to do is get on and go along for the ride."

He got the job on "Law & Order" via a meeting with series creator Dick Wolf in Los Angeles, as it turns out. "I basically asked him if I could have the job," Martin said. "I said, 'Look, all I want to do is your show. I want to go back to New York and work on your show with Jerry Orbach (who plays detective Lennie Briscoe), and if you can find a way to allow me to do that, I'd be eternally grateful.' "

The most difficult thing to adapt to since becoming a recognizable face, Martin said, is being stopped on the streets by strangers. "Usually people are pretty respectful, but it's hysterical to me that people think they know you so well," he said. "They say stuff like, 'Look, I want you to meet my daughter because I think she'd make the perfect wife for you.' "