# Jaeden Martell

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, the son of Wes Lieberher, a Los Angeles–based executive chef, and Angela Teresa Martell. His maternal grandmother, Chisun Martell, is Korean. He lived in South Philadelphia until the age of eight when he moved to Los Angeles.

## Career
### Early work (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.
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. 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. 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. 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, 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.
In March 2019, Martell joined the cast of the Apple TV+ miniseries Defending Jacob, based on the William Landay novel of the same name. 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, the film has not yet garnered a release date.
In September 2021, Martell portrayed Morty Smith in a series of promotional interstitials for the two-part fifth season finale of Rick and Morty. In February 2021, he joined the cast of Netflix's Metal Lords. 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. In 2023, he was cast in the A24 film Y2K.

## Filmography
### Film

Film :
| Year | Title | Role |
| 2014 | St. Vincent | Oliver Bronstein |
| 2014 | Playing It Cool | 6-year-old Me |
| 2015 | Aloha | Mitchell Woodside |
| 2016 | Midnight Special | Alton Meyer |
| 2016 | The Confirmation | Anthony |
| 2017 | The Book of Henry | Henry Carpenter |
| 2017 | It | Bill Denbrough |
| 2019 | The Lodge | Aidan Hall |
| 2019 | Low Tide | Peter |
| 2019 | The True Adventures of Wolfboy | Paul |
| 2019 | It Chapter Two | Young Bill Denbrough |
| 2019 | Knives Out | Jacob Thrombey |
| 2022 | Metal Lords | Kevin Schlieb |
| 2022 | Mr. Harrigan's Phone | Craig Poole |
| 2024 | Y2K | Eli |
| 2024 | Arcadian | Joseph |

### Television

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" |

## Accolades

Awards and nominations for Jaeden Martell :
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2014 | Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards | Youth in Film | St. Vincent | Won |
| 2014 | Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards | Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role – Male | St. Vincent | Won |
| 2014 | Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association | Best Youth Performance | St. Vincent | Nominated |
| 2015 | Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Young Actor/Actress | St. Vincent | Nominated |
| 2015 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Youth Performance | St. Vincent | Nominated |
| 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 |