Jesse Williams
Biography
Jesse Wesley Williams is an American actor, director, producer, and activist born on August 5, 1981, in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is known for playing Dr. Jackson Avery on the ABC medical drama Greys Anatomy from 2009 to 2022 and has appeared in films including The Cabin in the Woods in 2012 and The Butler in 2013. He also provided voice acting and motion capture for Markus in the 2018 video game Detroit: Become Human. In addition to his acting work, he served as an executive producer of the Academy Award-winning short Two Distant Strangers in 2020 and the Tony Award-winning revival of Take Me Out in 2022, earning a nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for the latter.
Career overview
Jesse Wesley Williams was born on August 5, 1981, in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an American actor, director, producer, and activist with 61 known acting credits listed on The Movie Database.
He played Dr. Jackson Avery on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy from 2009 to 2022. In addition to his television work, he has appeared in films such as The Cabin in the Woods in 2012 and The Butler in 2013. He also provided voice acting and motion capture for the character Markus in the 2018 video game Detroit: Become Human.
Beyond his acting roles in television, film, and video games, Williams has worked behind the scenes as a producer. He served as an executive producer of the Academy Award-winning short Two Distant Strangers in 2020. He was also an executive producer of the Tony Award-winning revival of Take Me Out in 2022, for which he received a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
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Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Full filmography
- Montmartre (2026) as Toussaint
- Montmartre (2026) Executive Producer
- Shifting Gears (2025) as Andy
- What We Hide (2025) as Sheriff Ben Jeffries
- What We Hide (2025) Executive Producer
- Hotel Costiera (2025) as Daniel De Luca
- Hotel Costiera (2025) Producer
- Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story (2025) Executive Producer
- Hoops, Hopes & Dreams (2025) Producer
- Following Harry (2024) as Self
- The Great Lillian Hall (2024) as David Flemming
- Your Place or Mine (2023) as Theo
- Secret Headquarters (2022) as Irons
- Only Murders in the Building (2021) as Tobert
- Little Fires Everywhere (2020) as Joe Ryan
- Bottomless Brunch at Colman's (2020) as Self
- Two Distant Strangers (2020) Producer
- With Drawn Arms (2020) as Self
- With Drawn Arms (2020) Executive Producer
- Desus & Mero (2019) as Self - Illustrious Guest
- A Black Lady Sketch Show (2019) as Isaac
- Jacob's Ladder (2019) as Isaac 'Ike' Singer
- Selah and the Spades (2019) as Headmaster Banton
- Random Acts of Violence (2019) as Todd Walkley
- Random Acts of Violence (2019) Executive Producer
- Station 19 (2018) as Dr. Jackson Avery
- The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale (2018) as Self - Special Guest
- Black Hollywood: 'They've Gotta Have Us' (2018) as Self
- Survivor's Guide to Prison (2018) as Self
- Survivor's Guide to Prison (2018) Executive Producer
- United We Stand: The Ali Summit (2018) as narrator
- Band Aid (2017) as Skyler
- The Obama Years: The Power of Words (2017) as Self - Narrator (voice)
- To Tell the Truth (2016) as Self - Panelist
- Money (2016) as Sean
- America Divided (2016) as Self
- BET Presents Love & Happiness: An Obama Celebration (2016) as Self
- Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement (2016) as Self
- Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement (2016) Executive Producer
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015) as Self
- The Spoils Before Dying (2015) as Parker
- The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (2014) as Self
- Late Night with Seth Meyers (2014) as Self - Guest
- Celebrity Name Game (2014) as Self
- The Butler (2013) as Rev. James Lawson
- They Die by Dawn (2013) as John Taylor
- Snake & Mongoose (2013) as Don "The Snake" Prudomme
- Rich Girl Problems (2013) as Peter
- Finding Your Roots (2012)
- The Eric Andre Show (2012) as Self
- The Cabin in the Woods (2012) as Holden McCrea
- J.A.W. (2011) as Enin
- J.A.W. (2011) Co-Producer
- Brooklyn's Finest (2010) as E. Quinlan
- Dirty Dancing 3: Capoeira Nights (2010)
- Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (2009) as Self - Guest
- Washingtonienne (2009) as Keya
- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (2008) as Leo
- Greek (2007) as Drew Collins
- Beyond the Break (2006) as Eric Medina
- Grey's Anatomy (2005) as Jackson Avery
- Grey's Anatomy (2005) Director
- The View (1997) as Self
- The Daily Show (1996) as Self
- Law & Order (1990) as Kwame
- LIVE with Kelly and Mark (1988) as Self - Guest
- Saturday Night Live (1975) as Self - Cameo (uncredited)
- The Emmy Awards (1949) as Self
- Legacy as Troy