Jaeden Martell

b. 2003 · American actor

Biography

Jaeden Martell, born Jaeden Wesley Lieberher Martell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 4, 2003, is an American actor who moved from commercials and child roles to leading parts in horror films and dramas. He is one of the most recognizable young performers to emerge in the 2010s.

The son of chef Wes Lieberher and Angela Martell, he moved with his family to Los Angeles at the age of eight. His first acting job was a Hot Wheels commercial, followed by spots for brands including Google, Liberty Mutual and General Electric. For his early career he was credited mostly under his father's surname, Lieberher, before adopting his mother's name, Martell.

His move into feature films came with St. Vincent (2014), opposite Bill Murray, a performance that earned him a Critics' Choice Movie Award nomination for Best Young Performer. Murray then recommended him to Cameron Crowe, who cast him in Aloha. In 2016 he starred in Midnight Special as a boy with special powers pursued by the government and a cult, and in 2017 he led the drama The Book of Henry, a film that was poorly reviewed, though Martell drew some positive notices.

His breakthrough came as Bill Denbrough in the supernatural horror film It (2017) and its sequel It Chapter Two (2019), both major box office successes. He then moved between genres, taking leads in The Lodge (2019) and Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022), a Stephen King adaptation directed by John Lee Hancock, and a supporting role in Rian Johnson's mystery comedy Knives Out (2019). He also starred in Apple TV+'s miniseries Defending Jacob, about a teenager accused of murder, and later appeared in the comedies Metal Lords and Y2K.

Before turning twenty-five, his career combines big-budget genre filmmaking with more mature projects. He is a clear example of a former child actor who has made the transition to leading roles, and he remains active with new work in development.

Key films

St. Vincent (2014): Oliver, a boy who befriends a neighbor played by Bill Murray, a role that opened the door to feature films.
Midnight Special (2016): a boy with special powers on the run with his father from the government and a cult.
It (2017): Bill Denbrough, leader of the group of children who confront Pennywise, and his breakthrough role.
The Lodge (2019): the lead in this horror thriller, one of his first leading roles in the genre.
Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022): Craig, in the Stephen King adaptation directed by John Lee Hancock.