1. Overview
Jaeden Martell, born Jaeden Lieberher on January 4, 2003, is an American actor who began his career as a child actor. He gained early recognition for his roles in the comedy-drama St. Vincent (2014) and the science fiction film Midnight Special (2016). Martell's breakthrough came with his portrayal of Bill Denbrough in the highly successful supernatural horror films It (2017) and its sequel It Chapter Two (2019). His career has since expanded to include significant roles in critically acclaimed and commercially successful projects such as Knives Out, The Lodge, the Apple TV+ miniseries Defending Jacob, and the films Metal Lords, Mr. Harrigan's Phone, Y2K, and Arcadian. This article details his early life, career milestones, notable works across film and television, and the accolades he has received.
2. Early life and background
Jaeden Martell was born on January 4, 2003, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents are Wes Lieberher, an executive chef based in Los Angeles, and Angela Teresa Martell. His maternal grandmother, Chisun Martell, is Korean, making him of one-quarter Korean heritage. He lived in South Philadelphia and attended Independence Charter School until the age of eight. In 2011, he moved with his family to Los Angeles.
3. Career
Jaeden Martell's acting career spans from his early days as a child actor in commercials to his current status as a prominent figure in film and television, marked by a significant name change and a series of impactful roles.
3.1. Early career and commercials
Martell's professional acting journey began with a commercial for Hot Wheels. Following this, he appeared in several other commercials for major brands, including Google, Moneysupermarket.com, Liberty Mutual, Hyundai (for the 2013 Super Bowl), Verizon Fios, and General Electric.
His first major feature film role was in 2014's St. Vincent, where he starred alongside veteran actor Bill Murray. For his performance in St. Vincent, Martell received a nomination for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer. Murray later recommended Martell to director Cameron Crowe, leading to his appearance in Crowe's 2015 comedy-drama Aloha, where he played Mitchell Woodside. His subsequent films in 2016 included the science fiction film Midnight Special, in which he portrayed Alton Meyer, a boy with special powers on the run with his father from the government and a cult, and the independent comedy The Confirmation, where he played Anthony. Martell stands at 67 in (170 cm) tall.
3.2. Name change
For the initial six years of his career, Martell was credited almost exclusively under his birth surname, Lieberher. In 2019, he officially transitioned to using his mother's maiden name, Martell, for his professional credits.
3.3. Breakthrough role
Martell's first film of 2017 was the thriller drama The Book of Henry, in which he played the title character, Henry Carpenter. Despite the film receiving generally negative reviews from critics, Martell's acting performance garnered some positive notices.
His pivotal role came later that year as Bill Denbrough in the supernatural horror film It, an adaptation of Stephen King's novel. The film premiered to positive critical reviews and achieved significant commercial success, grossing over 701.00 M USD at the box office, marking Martell's first major commercial hit. He reprised his role as Bill Denbrough in the 2019 sequel, It Chapter Two. This sequel also performed well commercially, earning over 473.00 M USD globally, although critical reception was mixed. During the filming of It, Martell shared with cinematographer Chung Chung-hoon that he is one-quarter Korean through his maternal grandmother. He also developed a close friendship with his It co-star Wyatt Oleff, with whom he often plays golf and games.
3.4. Subsequent major roles
Following his success in the It films, Martell took on several other significant roles. In 2019, he starred in the horror film The Lodge as Aidan Hall. He also joined the ensemble cast of Rian Johnson's acclaimed murder mystery comedy film Knives Out, playing Jacob Thrombey, a white supremacist child.
In March 2019, Martell was cast in the Apple TV+ miniseries Defending Jacob, based on the William Landay novel of the same name. In this series, he played Jacob Barber, a reserved teenager accused of murder, a role that allowed him to explore more mature themes.
His later major projects include the 2022 Netflix comedy film Metal Lords, where he portrayed Kevin Schlieb. In October 2022, he starred as Craig Poole in the Netflix film Mr. Harrigan's Phone, which was written and directed by John Lee Hancock and based on a short story by Stephen King. In 2024, Martell was cast as Eli in the A24 disaster comedy film Y2K and also appeared as Joseph in the film Arcadian.
3.5. Other notable projects
Beyond his major film roles, Martell has engaged in various other notable projects across film and television. In 2015, he lent his voice as Peter Junior in an episode of the animated series American Dad! titled "My Affair Lady." From 2015 to 2016, he had a recurring role as Johnny Masters in 11 episodes across seasons 3 and 4 of the television series Masters of Sex.
In 2019, he appeared in the drama Low Tide as Peter and in the coming-of-age fantasy The True Adventures of Wolfboy as Paul, a character who embarks on a journey to find his estranged mother, co-starring with actors such as John Turturro, Chris Messina, Eve Hewson, and Chloë Sevigny. In 2020, Martell confirmed his involvement in the pre-production of a film titled Tunnels, where he was cast as Grayson Mitchell, the younger sibling of a gun violence victim; however, as of 2024, the film has not yet received a release date.
In September 2021, Martell portrayed Morty Smith in a series of live-action promotional interstitials for the two-part fifth season finale of the animated series Rick and Morty. He also appeared as Justin in the "Mom" episode of the 2021 television series Calls. Most recently, in 2023, he played an older version of John Berkman in the "Wow" episode of the critically acclaimed series Barry.
4. Filmography
| 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 | Also starring James McAvoy | |
| Knives Out | Jacob Thrombey | ||
| 2022 | Metal Lords | Kevin Schlieb | |
| Mr. Harrigan's Phone | Craig Poole | Post-production | |
| 2024 | Y2K | Eli | |
| Arcadian | Joseph |
5. 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" |
6. Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards | Youth in Film | St. Vincent | - |
| Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards | Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role - Male | St. Vincent | - | |
| 2014 | Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association | Best Youth Performance | St. Vincent | - |
| 2015 | Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Young Actor/Actress | St. Vincent | - |
| 2015 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Youth Performance | St. Vincent | - |
| 2018 | MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best On-Screen Team | It | - |