# Jay Ellis

Wendell Ramone "Jay" Ellis Jr. (born December 27, 1981) is an American actor. In 2013, Ellis received his first major role on BET's series The Game. His role as Martin "Lawrence" Walker in the HBO series Insecure (2016-2021), earned him an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series. He later starred in the horror film Escape Room (2019), and appeared in Top Gun: Maverick (2022).

## Early life and education

Ellis' father, Wendell Ramone Ellis Sr., worked for the Air Force, while his mother, Paula Bryant-Ellis, worked as a chief financial officer. He is the only child of the family. He went to 12 schools in 13 years, before attending Concordia University in Oregon, where he played basketball.

## Career

Ellis worked as a public relations intern for the Portland Trail Blazers during their infamous "Jail Blazers" era. After completing his internship, Ellis switched his focus to modeling and started working with Portland-based sportswear companies such as Nike, Adidas and Columbia Sportswear.

### Acting

In 2004, Ellis moved to Los Angeles to focus on his acting career. He launched his career as a professional actor in 2005, when he appeared briefly in single episodes of the television series Invasion and Related. In 2011–2012, he made appearances on the series Grey's Anatomy, NCIS and How I Met Your Mother.
His first major acting role was in 2013, starring in BET's series The Game. In August 2015, it was announced that Ellis has joined the cast of HBO's comedy series Insecure, which premiered in October 2016. He plays the role of Lawrence Walker, who has a long-term relationship with main character Issa Dee played by Issa Rae. For his work on the show, Ellis received the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series award at the 49th NAACP Image Awards.
He starred as Reuben "Payback" Fitch in Top Gun: Maverick.

### The Untold Story: Policing

In 2020, Ellis started hosting The Untold Story: Policing, a four-part podcast series co-produced by Campaign Zero and Lemonada Media Archived December 2, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Through interviews with academics, data scientists, and community organizers, the podcast demystifies police union contracts and investigates how they contribute to violent police misconduct across the United States. Ellis serves as the series’ host, as well as an executive producer alongside DeRay Mckesson, Stephanie Wittels Wachs, and Jessica Cordova Kramer.

## Philanthropy

In 2017, Ellis partnered with leading HIV/AIDS research organization, amfAR.

## Personal life

Ellis has been in a relationship with Serbian model and actress Nina Seničar since 2015. Their daughter Nora was born in November 2019. On July 9, 2022, they married in Italy. On July 11, 2024 their son Noa was born.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2010 | Triple Standard | Lewis | Short film |
| 2011 | Hatched: A Tale of Great Egg-spectations | Jay | Short film |
| 2012 | Election Eve | Jeff | Short film |
| 2013 | Movie 43 | Lucious | Segment: "Victory's Glory" |
| 2014 | Mass Shooting News Team | Unknown | Short film |
| 2014 | The Black Bachelor | Unknown | Short film |
| 2015 | My Favorite Five | Jonathan Colburn | |
| 2015 | November Rule | James Avedon | |
| 2015 | Breaking Through | Quinn | |
| 2015 | Twelve Steps | Ray | Short film |
| 2016 | Like Cotton Twines | Micha Brown | |
| 2016 | Shortwave | Robert | |
| 2018 | In a Relationship | Dexter | |
| 2019 | Escape Room | Jason Walker | |
| 2020 | Thirsty | The young man | Short film |
| 2021 | Escape Room: Tournament of Champions | Flashback - Jason Walker | |
| 2022 | Top Gun: Maverick | Lieutenant Reuben "Payback" Fitch | |
| 2023 | Somebody I Used to Know | Sean | |
| 2024 | Freaky Tales | Sleepy Floyd | |
| 2024 | The Gutter | Lil Patience | Comedy |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | Invasion | Soldier (uncredited) | Episode: "Watershed" |
| 2005 | Related | College student | Episode: "Hang in There, Baby" |
| 2010 | The Bold and the Beautiful | Orderly | Episode: "Episode #1.5922" |
| 2011 | Grey's Anatomy | DJ | Episode: "White Wedding" |
| 2011 | NCIS | Marine PFC Thomas 'Tommy' Hill | Episode: "Restless" |
| 2011 | Let's Do This! | Ugandan Thug #1 / Ceiling Mop Ugandan | TV movie |
| 2012 | How I Met Your Mother | Sound Guy | Episode: "Tailgate" |
| 2012 | Hart of Dixie | Resident | Episode: "Heart to Hart" |
| 2012 | iCarly | Friend #1 | Episode: "iFind Spencer Friends" |
| 2012 | Crash & Bernstein | Derek | Episode: "Coach Crash" |
| 2013 | Dear Secret Santa | Brad | TV movie |
| 2013–15 | The Game | Bryce "Blueprint" Westbrook | Main, 45 episodes |
| 2013 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Naval Flight Officer Randall Baker | Episode: "Purity" |
| 2014 | Masters of Sex | Dr. Cyril Franklin | Episode: "Giants" |
| 2016 | Grace and Frankie | Dan | Episode: "The Anchor" |
| 2016–21 | Insecure | Martin "Lawrence" Walker | Main (seasons 1–2, 4–5); guest (season 3) |
| 2020 | Mrs. America | Franklin Thomas | Recurring role |
| 2023 | History of the World, Part II | Jesus Christ | Recurring role |
| 2025–present | Running Point | Jay Brown | Recurring role |
| TBA | All Her Fault | Colin | In production |

### Producer

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 2020 | Black Box | Feature film |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Awards | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2017 | Black Reel Awards for Television | Outstanding Supporting Actor, Comedy Series | Insecure | Nominated |
| 2018 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Insecure | Won |