by Paul Fischer
Audiences may know Jesse L. Martin as the often brooding
and intense cop on TV's Law and 
Order, a character he has now played
for almost eight years. But behind the tough guy, is a Broadway star,
an extraordinary singer and a sensitive soul, who first impacted audiences
in the original Broadway hit, Rent. Now Martin is back where it all began,
reprising his original role of Tom Collins in the screen version of Rent.
CrankyCritic: Why do you think audiences will flock to see
Rent?
Jesse L. Martin: I guess there is so much to see and so many things to attach
yourself to. You could the most cynical person in the world but there has got
to be something in this story in this music that is going to move you. I hope.
CrankyCritic: What was the biggest surprise to you when you came back to re-visit
this character?
Jesse L. Martin: The fact that I was cast was literally the biggest
surprise. I was nervous about the notion that two of our cast members
weren't
there because, I am sure, there was going to be a whole lot of talk about the
fact that all the original members were back and the truth of the matter was
two weren't there. I did feel like I needed to call them to
make sure that I had their blessings in order to do this movie because I knew
that
they would be devastated that they weren't included, because I would
have been if I wasn't included. I started working on the film with their
blessing.
CrankyCritic: Now having the wealth of experience
you've had between doing
Rent and Law and Order do you feel that you are able to approach the character
very differently this time round? Were you able to give it a fresh perspective?
Jesse L. Martin: Well the only real big difference was the fact that
I was way more relaxed, comfortable and confident about what I was doing
as far as
the
film goes. I was
way, way more relaxed by the time we started working with Chris Columbus and
I felt really sure of myself. When we were on Broadway, and prior to that
at the
New York Theatre Workshop, I wasn't always really sure of what I was
doing or the choices I was making for the character. I went
with
the flow,
tried to keep my energy up and hoped that I was doing the right thing.
CrankyCritic: Dick Wolf could have refused to give
you the time off from Law and Order, so were you kind of nervous
about asking him for the time off to do it?
Jesse L. Martin: I wasn't nervous about asking I was nervous
about what the answer was going to be. But I was so sure about doing
the film that I was willing to do whatever I had to do in order to the
film . . .
CrankyCritic: Would have quit Law and Order?
Jesse L. Martin: I would have had to. Maybe he knew that and,
God bless him, he really wanted me to stick with the show so he made
it rather easy for me to take off and do the movie. Everybody was saying
that it was unprecedented; like he never does that. It showed me he
had a lot of respect for me and he had a lot of respect for the project.
He literally said to 'There is no way you can't do that movie.
You have to be in that movie.' I was like 'Wow. I can't believe
Dick Wolf just made this really easy' and so did NBC. I couldn't
think of a way for me not to be in the show, like how would they do
that, how would I not be in the show and then return? I kept waiting
for the other shoe to drop and that of course didn't happen.
[Martin's character got shot in the chest and is now back in the show]
CrankyCritic: What is your take on your character,
Tom Collins?
Jesse L. Martin: He is the one person in the cast who doesn't
have any lofty artistic ambitions. He literally wants to keep his family
around him and be a humble teacher. The first time you see him, he
has never been in love before -- people don't know that but the
truth of the matter is that is the way that the character was given
to me when we were back in the initial workshop stage, he has never
ever, ever been in love. Angel comes along and "she" [the
character is a crossdressing street musician - cc] is the most
vibrant thing that anybody has ever seen and the humble guy gets the
vibrant one. I am very, very happy about that story line. I thought
it was really, really beautiful that you don't see Collins before
the story happens but he is a particular shy guy and this woman - boy
-, man-thing comes in and literally changes his life and suddenly he
is running around jumping on the subway and dancing on tables. It literally
changes his life.
CrankyCritic: Is there much of Tom in you?
Jesse L. Martin: Yeah, there is a little bit. I wasn't
an actor I would probably be a teacher. I really do believe that teachers
were the first actors. Think about who the teachers were in the beginning
of education and they probably had a stage, they had an audience and
they had to get a bit theatrical in order to get the lesson across.
It makes sense to me that I would have been either an actor or a teacher.
I have such reverence for teachers. I grew up and I had some of the
most dedicated and generous educators. I know for a fact that it is
very difficult to just be a teacher. First of all you don't make
a whole lot of money. You have students who have absolutely no interest
in what you are talking about. You don't have the resources that
you should have; it is an impossible job.
CrankyCritic: Why did you want to be an actor?
Jesse L. Martin: Initially it was to get over my fear of just
speaking in front of people. I grew up in Virginia in a really small
Blue Ridge Mountain town. I had a very thick accent and I was unceremoniously
plucked from Virginia and moved to Buffalo, New York. I was absolutely
terrified to speak in front of people. I was sure they would call me
a hick and all kinds of names and I would be the recipient of school
yard ass kickings for the rest of my young life. I had a teacher who
recognized that and came to me one day and said 'Would you like to
be a part of our after school drama program?' . . . this was about
4th grade. After school meant that I was in trouble someway and I didn't
want to put any sort of misery or worry on my mum because she was working
really hard and I didn't want to have to say to her I have to
do this after school thing. She called and my mother was, like, 'that
would be great'. So suddenly I had the permission to be in this play.
I was terrified because I knew I would have to speak. I was playing
a part of the Parson. So I played the part with fire and brimstone
just like I knew from back in the South and they said it was one of
the funniest things they'd ever seen. All of the kids suddenly
were my pals.
CrankyCritic: Are you surprised you are still doing it now?
Jesse L. Martin: Not at all, no. From that moment on I knew that
that is what I was going to do.
CrankyCritic: You struggled like every actor does
in your early years. Were you reluctant to take on a TV series or was
it the fact that partly TV meant security when Law and Order came
along?
Jesse L. Martin: The bigger decision was the fact that it was Law
and Order and the fact that it was taking place in New York, because
that was the only place that I wanted to be. I am not a Los Angles
person. I have nothing against it but I don't want to live there.
I want to live here. I think it is way more vibrant; there is way more
opportunity; there is cultural opportunities here that that you are
just not going to get anywhere else and anything that is amazing in
this world is eventually going to come through New York City. This
is where I want to be. That is the reason that I was very excited about
taking that job. It is the reason that I am very reluctant to let it
go.
CrankyCritic: You still like doing it though don't you?
Jesse L. Martin: I do still like doing it. I am having a great
time.
CrankyCritic: Were you very shocked by Jerry Orbach's
passing?
Jesse L. Martin: Yes, very much so. I was sure that he was going
to pull though and he gave me every indication that he would pull through
and it happened so quickly that I couldn't believe it.
CrankyCritic: Did you guys swap war stories about being in the
theatre a lot?
Jesse L. Martin: Certainly, I mean he certainly had a whole
lot more war stories then I did . . . the wealth of knowledge that
I gained from being next to him 14 hours a day is invaluable, and he
literally taught me everything there was to know, I mean he was literally
the Prince of New York theatre and I got to work with him every single
day.