Jesse L. Martin Recalls ‘Crazy Story’ of Booking ‘Law & Order’ Role Without Auditioning

Michelle Stein July 6, 2026, 11:16 am

LAW & ORDER, Jesse L. Martin, — Virginia Sherwood / © NBC / courtesy Everett Collection

What To Know

Jesse L. Martin revealed he landed his Law & Order role without ever auditioning.
Martin recalled the unconventional way he wound up as Detective Ed Green on the show.
He described joining Law & Order as the biggest job of his career at that point.

Jesse L. Martin recently revealed the “crazy story” of how he booked his Law & Order role without ever auditioning.

During an interview with People published on July 4, the actor — who portrayed Detective Ed Green in the series from 1999 to 2008 — dished on the unconventional way he booked the part. Martin said he heard through a friend that Benjamin Bratt, who played one of Jerry Orbach‘s partners, Junior Detective Rey Curtis, was leaving the show.

“‘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,” Martin recounted, of what his friend told him. “And I did hear your name pop up as a possibility.'”

Although Martin was starring in Ally McBeal at the time, he called his manager to ask if he knew Law & Order producer Dick Wolf.

“He was like, ‘I don’t know him, but I can call him,'” he recalled. “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.”

Jesse L. Martin and Jerry Orbach in 'Law & Order'

Martin continued, “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.'”

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Ultimately, “one thing led to another,” and Martin never ended up auditioning. “Suddenly, I had the job, and I was just going back to New York to do the show,” he explained.

Martin, who said he was either 29 or 30 at the time, said he was “super excited” to be on Law & Order; he ended up playing Green in Seasons 10 through 18.

“It was obviously a big deal,” he pointed out. “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,” listing S. Epatha Merkerson, Sam Waterston, and Orbach.

Aside from Law & Order and Ally McBeal, Martin is known for portraying Tom Collins in the 2005 film adaptation of Rent, as well as his TV roles in The Irrational and The Flash.