Jaeden Martell (né Lieberher; born January 4, 2003) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor, with roles in the comedy drama St. Vincent (2014) and science fiction film Midnight Special (2016). His performance in St. Vincent earned him a nomination for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer. After playing the title character in the drama The Book of Henry (2017), Martell's breakthrough came with his portrayal of Bill Denbrough in the supernatural horror films It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019). This led to further leading roles in horror films, such as The Lodge (2019) and Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022).
Martell had a supporting role in Rian Johnson's mystery comedy Knives Out (2019). Venturing into projects with more mature themes, he played a reserved teenager accused of murder in the Apple TV+ miniseries Defending Jacob (2020). He has since starred in the comedy films Metal Lords (2022) and Y2K (2024).
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[]
Career beginnings and child acting (2014–2016)[]
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. Martell garnered a nomination for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer for his role in the film.
In 2015, Martell appeared in Cameron Crowe's comedy drama Aloha, after Murray had recommended him to Crowe for the role.[7] His next two films, the science fiction film Midnight Special and the independent comedy The Confirmation, followed in 2016. Midnight Special stars Martell as a boy who is on the run with his father from the government and a cult after it is discovered that he possesses special powers.
It and breakthrough (2017–present)[]
Martell's first film of 2017 was the thriller drama The Book of Henry, playing Henry.[7] While the film premiered to negative reviews from critics, Martell received some positive notices for his acting. His next role that year was as Bill Denbrough in the supernatural horror film It, which premiered to positive critical reviews and grossed over $701 million in the box office, marking Martell's first major commercial success. He reprised his role as Bill in the 2019 sequel It Chapter Two,[8] marking another commercial success with over $473 million in box office receipts, despite mixed critical reviews.
Alongside It Chapter Two, Martell had four more releases in 2019. His first that year was the horror film The Lodge. His next two films that year were the drama Low Tide and the coming of age fantasy The True Adventures of Wolfboy. His final release of 2019, after It, was Rian Johnson's murder mystery comedy film Knives Out, with Martell playing Jacob Thrombey, a white supremacist child.[8]
In March 2019, Martell joined the cast of the Apple TV+ miniseries Defending Jacob, based on the William Landay novel of the same name.[9] Also in 2020, it was confirmed by Martell that he was in pre-production for Tunnels, playing the younger siblings of a gun violence victim; however, as of 2024[update] the film has not yet garnered a release date.[10]
In September 2021, Martell portrayed Morty Smith in a series of promotional interstitials for the two-part fifth season finale of Rick and Morty.[11][12] In February 2021, he joined the cast of Netflix's Metal Lords.[13] 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.[14] In 2023, he was cast in the A24 film Y2K.[15]
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Grief | The Child | Short |
| 2014 | St. Vincent | Oliver Bronstein | |
| Playing It Cool | 6-year-old Me | ||
| 2015 | Aloha | Mitchell Woodside | |
| 2016 | Midnight Special | Alton Meyer | |
| The Confirmation | Anthony | ||
| Framed: The Adventures of Zion Man | Walter | Short | |
| 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 | ||
| 2021 | Rick and Morty: C-132 | Morty Smith | Short |
| 2022 | Metal Lords | Kevin Schlieb | |
| Mr. Harrigan's Phone | Craig | ||
| 2024 | Y2K | Eli | |
| Arcadian | Joseph | ||
| TBA | Tunnels | Grayson |
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" |
| Harriet the Spy | Chuck (voice) | Episode: World of Tomorrow |
Accolades[]
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards | Youth in Film | St. Vincent | Won | [16] |
| Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards | Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role – Male | St. Vincent | Won | [17] | |
| 2014 | Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association | Best Youth Performance | St. Vincent | Nominated | [18] |
| 2015 | Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Young Actor/Actress | St. Vincent | Nominated | [19] |
| 2015 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Youth Performance | St. Vincent | Nominated | [20] |
| 2018 | MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best On-Screen Team (with Sophia Lillis, Jack Dylan Grazer,Wyatt Oleff, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Chosen Jacobs and Finn Wolfhard) | It | Won | [21] |
| 2019 | The BAM Awards | Best Cast | It Chapter Two | Won | |
| 2020 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Ensemble | Knives Out | Nominated | |
| Gold Derby Awards | Ensemble of the Decade | Knives Out | Nominated | ||
| Pena de Prata | Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Anthology Series or TV Special | Defending Jacob | Nominated |
Trivia[]
- His maternal grandmother is Korean. His other ancestry is German, English, French-Canadian, Belgian/Walloon, Scots-Irish, and Scottish.
- Played Michael Shannon's character's son in both Midnight Special (2016) and Knives Out (2019).
- Oldest of four half-siblings, from his father. He is raised by his mother.
- Spent everyday for a month learning to play the drums before filming of Metal Lords began.
- Has appeared with Bill Murray in two movies, St. Vincent (2014) and Aloha (2015), although their characters did not interact in the latter film.
- Very good friends with IT co-stars: Wyatt Oleff, Jack Dylan Grazer, Finn Wolfhard and Sophia Lillis.
- Son of Angela Martell and executive chef Wes Lieberher.
- First talk show appearance was on The Ellen Show on 10/21/2014.
- Friends with: Jeremy Ray Taylor, Chosen Jacobs, Maddie Ziegler, Jacob Tremblay, Lia McHugh, Michelle Dockery and Chris Evans.
External links[]
References[]
- ↑ UPI Almanac for Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018 (January 4, 2018).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Brandes, Annika (December 13, 2017). The 16th Unforgettable Gala Part 1: Michelle Lee, David Lim, and more!.
- ↑ Vadala, Nick. "Philly-born actor Jaeden Lieberher featured in new trailers for It, Book of Henry", March 30, 2017.
- ↑ Chow, Riley (April 24, 2020). Jaeden Martell opens up about starring in Defending Jacob and changing his name [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW].
- ↑ St. Vincent Production Notes. The Weinstein Company.
- ↑ Midnight Special Press Kit (in fr). Warner Bros. France.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedphilly2 - ↑ 8.0 8.1 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.
- ↑ Otterson, Joe (March 20, 2019). Michelle Dockery, Jaeden Martell Join Chris Evans in Apple Series Defending Jacob. Variety.
- ↑ Teen Vogue on Instagram: "Actor Jaeden Martell (@jaedenwesley) joined senior social media manager @christinedavitt for a conversation about #DefendingJacob, the best...".
- ↑ Pulliam-Moore, Charles (September 3, 2021). Rick and Morty... This Is Heavy.
- ↑ Guttmann, Graeme (September 5, 2021). New Rick & Morty Live-Action Clip Has Christopher Lloyd Eat a Pickle.
- ↑ Vlessing, Etan (February 25, 2021). Jaeden Martell, Isis Hainsworth, Adrian Greensmith to Star in Netflix's Metal Lords.
- ↑ "Mr. Harrigan's Phone: Donald Sutherland & Jaeden Martell To Star In Netflix Blumhouse Movie – BlumFest".
- ↑ A24 Sets Disaster Comedy Y2K, To Be Directed By SNL Alum Kyle Mooney; Jaeden Martell, Rachel Zegler, Julian Dennison & More To Star (March 23, 2023).
- ↑ Birdman and genre love from Las Vegas film critics. Uproxx Media Group (December 18, 2014).
- ↑ Krum, Logan (September 7, 2017). Making IT big. South Philly Review.
- ↑ "Boyhood" and "Birdman" Dominate This Year's Washington DC Film Critics Awards. Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association (December 8, 2014).
- ↑ Critics' Choice Movie Awards Winners: The Complete List (January 16, 2015).
- ↑ 2014: The Year of Birdman. Cinema Sight.
- ↑ Ramos, Dino-Ray (June 18, 2018). MTV Movie & TV Awards Winners: Black Panther, Stranger Things Among Top Honorees – Full List.