# Justice Smith

Justice Elio Smith (born August 9, 1995) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Detective Pikachu (2019), All the Bright Places (2020), Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023), and I Saw the TV Glow (2024).

## Early life

Smith was born in Los Angeles, California. Smith graduated from the Orange County School of the Arts in 2013 and performed in theatre around Orange County. His father is Black and his mother is white.

## Career

In 2014, Smith appeared in Nickelodeon's superhero comedy series The Thundermans, playing Angus in two episodes. He also appeared in the HBO documentary series Masterclass and some Vlogbrothers videos. In 2015, Smith had a supporting role as Marcus "Radar" Lincoln in Paper Towns. In 2016, Smith had a lead role in Netflix's musical drama series The Get Down, playing Ezekiel Figuero, during which Smith employed method acting and took up residence in a dilapidated Bronx apartment. The Get Down premiered in August 2016 and concluded in April 2017.
In 2017, Smith was on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Smith also appeared opposite Lucas Hedges in the Off-Broadway stage production of Yen by playwright Anna Jordan. The production ran at the Lucille Lortel Theatre starting January 2017 and closed on March 4, 2017. In February 2018, Smith co-starred in Every Day as Justin. In June 2018, he portrayed Franklin Webb in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
In 2019, Smith starred in the film Detective Pikachu. He starred alongside Elle Fanning in All the Bright Places, for which filming commenced in the fall of 2018.
In 2020, Justice Smith participated in Acting for a Cause, a live play and screenplay reading series. Smith played Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde and Dennis Ziegler in This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan. The reading raised funds for nonprofit organization including Mount Sinai Medical Center.

## Personal life

Smith came out as queer in an Instagram post on June 5, 2020. He is in a relationship with actor Nicholas L. Ashe. They shot a Calvin Klein campaign ad together in mid-2022.
Smith is an avid Pokémon fan.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2014 | Trigger Finger | Boy at school | |
| 2015 | Paper Towns | Marcus "Radar" Lincoln | |
| 2018 | Every Day | Justin | |
| 2018 | Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | Franklin Webb | |
| 2019 | Detective Pikachu | Tim Goodman | |
| 2020 | All the Bright Places | Theodore Finch | |
| 2021 | The Voyeurs | Thomas | |
| 2021 | Ron's Gone Wrong | Marc Wydell (voice) | |
| 2022 | Jurassic World Dominion | Franklin Webb | Cameo |
| 2023 | Sharper | Tom | |
| 2023 | Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves | Simon Aumar | |
| 2024 | I Saw the TV Glow | Owen | |
| 2024 | The American Society of Magical Negroes | Aren | |
| 2025 | Now You See Me 3 | | Filming |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2014 | Masterclass | Himself | 1 episode |
| 2014–2015 | The Thundermans | Angus | 2 episodes |
| 2016–2017 | The Get Down | Ezekiel "Zeke" Figuero | Lead role; 11 episodes |
| 2019 | Drunk History | Ptolemy XIII | Episode: "Bad Blood" |
| 2021 | Generation | Chester | Main cast; 16 episodes |

### Theater

| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
| 2017 | Yen | Bobbie | Lucille Lortel Theatre | Off-Broadway |
| 2019 | The Mother | Nicolas | Atlantic Theater Company | Off-Broadway |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2022 | The Quarry | Ryan Erzahler | Voice, motion capture, and likeness |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2017 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Yen | Nominated |
| 2017 | Lucille Lortel Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Yen | Nominated |
| 2021 | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor, Comedy Series | Generation | Nominated |
| 2021 | Pena de Prata | Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Generation | Nominated |
| 2022 | The Queerties | Favorite TV Performance | Generation | Nominated |
| 2023 | New York Game Awards | Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a Game | The Quarry | Nominated |
| 2024 | Variety & Golden Globe's Breakthrough Artist Awards | Breakthrough Award | I Saw the TV Glow / The American Society of Magical Negroes | Honoree |
| 2024 | Astra Midseason Movie Awards | Best Actor | I Saw the TV Glow | Nominated |
| 2024 | Gotham Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance | I Saw the TV Glow | Nominated |
| 2024 | Film Independent Spirit Awards | Best Lead Performance | I Saw the TV Glow | Nominated |
| 2024 | Indiana Film Journalists Association Awards | Best Lead Performance | I Saw the TV Glow | Nominated |
| 2025 | Dorian Awards | Film Performance of the Year | I Saw the TV Glow | Nominated |
| 2025 | The Queerties | Favorite Film Performance | I Saw the TV Glow | Pending |