Jesse L. Martin Shares the ‘Crazy Story’ About How He Landed “Law & Order” Role (Exclusive)

The 57-year-old actor admits that he didn’t audition for the role on the longstanding procedural drama

NEED TO KNOW

• Jesse L. Martin learned about a Law & Order opening through a friend and pursued it without an audition
• He convinced producer Dick Wolf to cast him as Detective Ed Green despite never testing with Jerry Orbach
• Martin called joining the show at age 30 a career milestone and praised the welcoming cast, especially S. Epatha Merkerson

Jesse L. Martin had to do some real detective work to get his role on Law & Order.

The Rent actor, 57, tells PEOPLE that landing a spot on the longstanding procedural drama is actually a "crazy story," and in the end, he didn't even have an audition.

Martin initially heard from an old friend that Benjamin Bratt, who played Junior Detective Rey Curtis, one of Jerry Orbach's partners, was leaving the show — and then made it his mission to become Bratt's replacement.

"'I don't know what you wanna do with that information, but I know that that's a great gig and that you would love to do something like that, and I did hear your name pop up as a possibility,'" Martin recalls his friend telling him.

At the time, Martin was working in Los Angeles and starring in Ally McBeal. 

“I called my manager, and I asked him if he knew [producer] Dick Wolf, and he was like, ‘I don't know him, but I can call him,'" Martin says. "Next thing you know, I was in Dick Wolf's office telling him basically that I wanted the job, and he was like, 'Well, you know, I don't know how you found out about this,' and I couldn't tell him."

While he refused to tell Wolf how he heard of the opening, he used the moment to really sell himself — and it worked.

“He's like, 'Well, when you get back to New York, we'll put you in a room with Jerry Orbach and see how you go together,'" Martin remembers.

While the Emmy-winning producer initially wanted to see the two actors test together, Martin was ultimately given the gig without ever reading with Orbach.

"I can't tell you this part, but one thing led to another, and we never even met in the room," he shares. "Suddenly, I had the job, and I was just going back to New York to do the show."

Martin was cast as Detective Ed Green, Detective Lennie Briscoe's partner, played by Orbach.

The actor says he was “super excited” to be on the show. 

“I think I was, like, either 29 or 30. It was obviously a big deal," the Flash actor says. "Certainly the biggest job I'd ever had, and I knew that I was going in with some absolute powerhouses when it came to acting, you know, S. Epatha Merkerson, Sam Waterston, Jerry Orbach."

However, Martin says it was also a bit nerve-racking going toe-to-toe with such respected actors, admitting he was “really worried” that Orbach wouldn't like him. 

“What if we don't get along?" he recalls thinking. "It was instantly humbling. When I got there, I was just like, ‘I'm the new guy. I'm the least experienced here. I sort of have to put my head down and work,' which is exactly what I did."

"Luckily, people were very welcoming. S. Epatha, especially, she totally took me under her wing and showed me the ropes,” Martin shares. 

Martin was on the show from seasons 10 to 18, spanning 198 episodes. He also played the character on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. 

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