Jimmy Jean-Louis

Jimmy Jean-Louis (born August 8, 1968) is a Haitian actor and producer. Born in Pétion-Ville, he moved to Paris at a young age with his family in search of a better life. His early roles were in French television commercials and Spanish musical theatre. Eventually settling in Los Angeles in the late 1990s, he had small roles in The Bourne Identity, Tears of the Sun and Arliss before breaking into larger roles in American television and film. He played the character of "the Haitian" on the NBC television series Heroes from 2007-2010. He played the title character in the 2012 French telefilm Toussaint Louverture.
Early life
Jimmy Jean-Louis was born in Pétion-Ville, near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He lived there until the age of twelve, when he moved to Paris with his family to pursue a modeling career. After moving he experienced a culture shock because of the rural to city lifestyle change. He enrolled in business courses, but quickly realized that his heart lay in performance, and studied at the Académie Internationale de la Danse. His parents returned to Haiti, but Jean-Louis and his brother remained in Paris. Around a decade later in 1991, producers discovered Jean-Louis during one of his dancing stints in a French club. They tapped him to appear in a Coca-Cola advertisement, the success of which prompted Jean-Louis to spend several years modeling across Europe. In London he worked for brands including Gianfranco Ferré and Valentino. Before finding success as a model, he was homeless at times in Paris. By the mid-'90s, he had appeared in music videos for Ophelie Winter, En Vogue, Mariah Carey, Seal, and George Michael. He also began appearing in low-budget independent films in Los Angeles.
Acting career
He worked in musical theatre in Barcelona, Spain, spending three years with musical theater "La Belle Epoque", before moving to Italy where he worked as a model. He had secondary roles in Tears of the Sun, Hollywood Homicide, Monster-in-Law and The Game of Their Lives. He was cast as the romantic lead in the 2006 film Phat Girlz starring opposite Mo'Nique as her love interest. He was cast in the recurring role of The Haitian on the NBC television series Heroes, playing a character who is an associate of Noah Bennet. In an interview on The Post Show on G4, Jean-Louis stated that the Haitian was originally supposed to be from New Zealand, and that the character was going to be named "The Kiwi". He stated that he auditioned three times for the role of D.L. Hawkins, a part which he did not get.
In 2013, it was announced that Jean-Louis had been cast in a recurring role in Arrow. He portrayed "The Captain", an associate of Professor Ivo. In 2015, he took on a supporting role in the British film, The Cursed Ones. He had a recurring role on season one of Claws but was upgraded to a starring role in season 2.
In 2018, he was a jury member at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival and Angouleme Film Festival. In 2019 he both produced and starred in 'Rattlesnakes', based on the stage play by Graham Farrow.
Personal life
Jean-Louis and his wife Evelyn have three children. He enjoys watching and playing soccer and is a member of an amateur soccer club Hollywood United F.C., a team consisting mostly of celebrities and former professionals. He is fluent in five languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Haitian Creole.
Jean-Louis received the key to Miami-Dade County on January 10, 2010 from Mayor Carlos Alvarez. He also received the key to the city of North Miami on May 3, 2018 from Mayor Joseph Smith.
He is a patron of the BrandAID Project.
2010 Haiti earthquake efforts
After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Jean-Louis went to Haiti to search for his elderly parents in Haiti the day after a powerful earthquake struck the nation. Jean-Louis learned that a house he had grown up in collapsed, killing several of his relatives. He is the founder of Hollywood Unites for Haiti, a non-profit charitable aid organization whose original mission was to provide sports and cultural education to underprivileged youth on the island. The group mobilized for disaster relief after the magnitude-7 earthquake. Jean-Louis has taken part in a series of campaigns for Haitian aid, such as singing in the "We Are The World" remake of the original for Haiti in February 2010 which aired during the start of the Olympic Games in Vancouver. As the Ambassador of the Pan American Development Foundation for Haitian children, Jean-Louis testified to the United States Congress on their behalf in 2010.
Jean-Louis was named Ambassador-at-large to Haiti by President Michel Martelly in 2014.
Awards
2012 Best Actor Nomination (Toussaint Louverture (film)) - Monte-Carlo Television Festival
2012 Best Actor Nomination (Toussaint Louverture (film)) - Africa Movie Academy Awards
2012 MPAH Haiti Movie Awards Honorary Award * Motion Picture Association of Haiti
2012 Meilleur Acteur - Festival Vues_d’Afrique
2012 Best Actor Toussaint Louverture (film) - Pan African Film Festival
2013 Excellence in the Arts prize - Caribbean American Heritage Award www.caribbeanheritageawards.org
2015 Best Documentary Nomination (Jimmy Goes to Nollywood) - Monte-Carlo Television Festival
2015 Best Documentary Nomination (Jimmy Goes to Nollywood) - Africa Movie Academy Awards
2017 Best Supporting Actor - Hollywood African Prestigious Awards
2019 Career Achievement Award - Montreal International Black Film Festival
2019 Meilleur Acteur de la Diaspora Africaine (Desrances) - Sotigui Awards
2019 Sotigui D’Or - Sotigui Awards
2019 Impact In Entertainment Award - Face2Face Africa
2020 Best Actor Win at the Africa Movie Academy Awards
Filmography
References
External links
Official home page
Interview with Jimmy Jean-Louis from The Company Podcast
Jean-Louis' non-profit charitable aid organization Hollywood Unites for Haiti
Jimmy Jean-Louis @ ECI Global Talent Management
1968 births
Living people
Haitian male actors
Haitian male models
Haitian men's footballers
American male actors
Hollywood United F.C. players
People from Port-au-Prince
Haitian emigrants to the United States
20th-century male actors
21st-century Haitian male actors
20th-century Haitian people
Men's association football players not categorized by position