Jaeden Martell
Martell in 2018
Born
Jaeden Lieberher

(2003-01-04) January 4, 2003 (age 21)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active2013–present
Parent

Jaeden Martell (né Lieberher; born January 4, 2003) is an American actor. He played the role of Bill Denbrough in the 2017 film adaptation of Stephen King's novel It and reprised the role in the film's 2019 sequel. He also appeared in the mystery film Knives Out (2019) and starred in the miniseries Defending Jacob (2020).

Early life

Martell was born on January 4, 2003, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,[1] the son of Wes Lieberher, a Los Angeles–based executive chef, and Angela Teresa Martell.[2] His maternal grandmother, Chisun Martell, is Korean.[2] He lived in South Philadelphia until the age of eight when he moved to Los Angeles.[3]

Career

In the first six years of his career, Martell was credited almost exclusively under his family name, Lieberher. In 2019, he switched to his mother's maiden name, Martell.[4]

Martell's first acting role was in a commercial for Hot Wheels. He appeared in several other commercials after that, including Google, Moneysupermarket.com, Liberty Mutual, Hyundai (for the 2013 Super Bowl), Verizon Fios and General Electric.[5][6] His first major feature film role was in 2014's St. Vincent, where he starred alongside Bill Murray. Murray later recommended Martell to Cameron Crowe for the director's 2015 film Aloha.[3] He played the title character in the 2017 film The Book of Henry.[3] Martell received further recognition for his starring role as Bill Denbrough in the 2017 supernatural horror film It and its 2019 follow-up It Chapter Two.[7]

In 2019, Martell was also a part of Rian Johnson's ensemble cast in the murder-mystery film Knives Out.[7] In March 2019, now credited as Martell, he joined the cast of the Apple miniseries Defending Jacob, based on the William Landay novel of the same name.[8] On April 30, 2020, in an Instagram Live interview with Teen Vogue, Martell confirmed that he had joined the cast of Tunnels in the role of Grayson Mitchell, the younger sibling of a victim of gun violence. The film does not have a set or confirmed release date.[9]

In September 2021, Martell portrayed Morty Smith in a series of promotional interstitials for the two-part fifth season finale of Rick and Morty.[10][11] In February 2021, he joined the cast of Netflix's Metal Lords.[12] In October 2022, he portrayed Craig in the Netflix film Mr. Harrigan's Phone written and directed by John Lee Hancock, based on the short story of the same name from the If It Bleeds collection by Stephen King.[13] In 2023, he was cast in the A24 film Y2K.[14]

Filmography

Film

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2014 St. Vincent Oliver Bronstein
Playing It Cool 6-year-old Me
2015 Aloha Mitchell Woodside
2016 Midnight Special Alton Meyer
The Confirmation Anthony
2017 The Book of Henry Henry Carpenter
It Bill Denbrough
2019 The Lodge Aidan Hall
Low Tide Peter
The True Adventures of Wolfboy Paul
It Chapter Two Young Bill Denbrough
Knives Out Jacob Thrombey
2022 Metal Lords Kevin Schlieb
Mr. Harrigan's Phone Craig
2024 Y2K TBA Filming
Arcadian Joseph Post-production

Television

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2015 American Dad! Peter Junior (voice) Episode: "My Affair Lady"
2015–2016 Masters of Sex Johnny Masters Recurring role (seasons 3–4)
2020 Defending Jacob Jacob Barber Main role
2021 Calls Justin Episode: "Mom"
2023 Barry John Berkman (older) Episode: "wow"

Accolades

Awards and nominations for Jaeden Martell
Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2014 Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards Youth in Film St. Vincent Won [15]
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role – Male St. Vincent Won [16]
2014 Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Youth Performance St. Vincent Nominated [17]
2015 Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Young Actor/Actress St. Vincent Nominated [18]
2015 Online Film & Television Association Best Youth Performance St. Vincent Nominated [19]
2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards Best On-Screen Team (with Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis, Jack Dylan Grazer,
Wyatt Oleff, Jeremy Ray Taylor and Chosen Jacobs) 		It Won [20]

References

  1. ^ "UPI Almanac for Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018". United Press International. January 4, 2018. Archived from the original on January 4, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Brandes, Annika (December 13, 2017). "The 16th Unforgettable Gala Part 1: Michelle Lee, David Lim, and more!". The Kraze Magazine. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Vadala, Nick (March 30, 2017). "Philly-born actor Jaeden Lieberher featured in new trailers for It, Book of Henry". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  4. ^ Chow, Riley (April 24, 2020). "Jaeden Martell opens up about starring in Defending Jacob and changing his name [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW]". GoldDerby. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  5. ^ "St. Vincent Production Notes" (PDF). St. Vincent official website. The Weinstein Company. p. 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 27, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  6. ^ "Midnight Special Press Kit" (PDF). WB Newsroom (in French). Warner Bros. France. p. 24. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Squires, John (November 10, 2018). "Four More Join Knives Out, Including It Star Jaeden Lieberher and Last House on the Left Star Riki Lindhome". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  8. ^ Otterson, Joe (March 20, 2019). "Michelle Dockery, Jaeden Martell Join Chris Evans in Apple Series Defending Jacob". Variety. Archived from the original on March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  9. ^ "Teen Vogue on Instagram: "Actor Jaeden Martell (@jaedenwesley) joined senior social media manager @christinedavitt for a conversation about #DefendingJacob, the best..."". Instagram. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  10. ^ Pulliam-Moore, Charles (September 3, 2021). "Rick and Morty... This Is Heavy". Gizmodo. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  11. ^ Guttmann, Graeme (September 5, 2021). "New Rick & Morty Live-Action Clip Has Christopher Lloyd Eat a Pickle". Screen Rant. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  12. ^ Vlessing, Etan (February 25, 2021). "Jaeden Martell, Isis Hainsworth, Adrian Greensmith to Star in Netflix's Metal Lords". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  13. ^ "Mr. Harrigan's Phone: Donald Sutherland & Jaeden Martell To Star In Netflix Blumhouse Movie – BlumFest".
  14. ^ Grobar, Matt (March 23, 2023). "A24 Sets Disaster Comedy Y2K, To Be Directed By SNL Alum Kyle Mooney; Jaeden Martell, Rachel Zegler, Julian Dennison & More To Star". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  15. ^ "Birdman and genre love from Las Vegas film critics". HitFix. Uproxx Media Group. December 18, 2014. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  16. ^ Krum, Logan (September 7, 2017). "Making IT big". South Philly Review. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  17. ^ ""Boyhood" and "Birdman" Dominate This Year's Washington DC Film Critics Awards". Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association. December 8, 2014. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  18. ^ Hughes, Jason; Pond, Steve (January 16, 2015). "Critics' Choice Movie Awards Winners: The Complete List". TheWrap. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  19. ^ "2014: The Year of Birdman". Online Film & Television Association. Cinema Sight. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  20. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (June 18, 2018). "MTV Movie & TV Awards Winners: Black Panther, Stranger Things Among Top Honorees – Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 5, 2018.

External links

MTV Movie & TV Award for Best Duo
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