Jesse Williams

Acting

Jesse Williams

Born 1981-08-05 · Chicago, Illinois, USA

Jesse Wesley Williams is an American actor, director, producer and activist. He played Dr. Jackson Avery on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy (2009–22) and has appeared in films such as The Cabin in the Woods (2012) and The Butler (2013). He has provided voice acting and motion capture for Markus in the video game Detroit: Become Human (2018). He served as an executive producer of the Academy Award-winning short, Two Distant Strangers (2020) and the Tony Award-winning revival of Take Me Out (2022), the latter of which he was also nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

Acting credits

The Cabin in the Woods poster
6.7

Five friends set out for a weekend at a remote cabin in the woods, expecting nothing more than fun and relaxation. As night falls, they discover that something far more unsettling is at work and that nothing about their getaway is what it seems.

The Cabin in the Woods

2012

Brooklyn's Finest poster
6.3

Enforcing the law within the notoriously rough Brownsville section of the city and especially within the Van Dyke housing projects is the NYPD's sixty-fifth precinct. Three police officers struggle with the sometimes fine line between right and wrong.

Brooklyn's Finest

2010

Secret Headquarters poster
6.3

While hanging out after school, Charlie and his friends discover the headquarters of the world’s most powerful superhero hidden beneath his home. When villains attack, they must team up to defend the headquarters and save the world.

Secret Headquarters

2022

The Butler poster
7.3

Cecil Gaines was a sharecropper's son who grew up in the 1920s as a domestic servant for the white family who casually destroyed his. Eventually striking out on his own, Cecil becomes a hotel valet of such efficiency and discreteness in the 1950s that he becomes a butler in the White House itself. There, Cecil would serve numerous US Presidents over the decades as a passive witness of history with the American Civil Rights Movement gaining momentum even as his family has troubles of its own. As his wife, Gloria, struggles with alcoholism and his defiant eldest son, Louis, strives for a just world, Cecil must decide whether he should take action in his own way.

The Butler

2013

Your Place or Mine poster
6.3

When best friends and total opposites Debbie and Peter swap homes for a week, they get a peek into each other's lives that could open the door to love.

Your Place or Mine

2023

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 poster
6.3

Four young women continue the journey toward adulthood that began with "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." Now three years later, these lifelong friends embark on separate paths for their first year of college and the summer beyond, but remain in touch by sharing their experiences with each other.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

2008

Jacob's Ladder poster
4.4

After losing his brother in combat, Jacob Singer returns home from Afghanistan -- only to be pulled into a mind-twisting state of paranoia. Singer soon realizes that his sibling is alive but life is not what it seems.

Jacob's Ladder

2019

What We Hide poster
6.3

After their mother suffers a fatal overdose, two sisters fear being separated by the foster system and decide to hide her body. But when their lie risks being exposed, they must decide how far they’re willing to go to keep their secret.

What We Hide

2025

The Great Lillian Hall poster
7.0

Lillian Hall, a Broadway actress, has never missed a performance throughout her long, illustrious career. Yet in rehearsals for a new play her confidence is challenged. People and events conspire to take away her ability to do what she loves most.

The Great Lillian Hall

2024

Band Aid poster
6.3

A couple who can't stop fighting embark on a last-ditch effort to save their marriage: turning their fights into songs and starting a band.

Band Aid

2017

Snake & Mongoose poster
5.2

The untold story of how two Southern California drag racers, Don "The Snake" Prudhomme and Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen, combined with corporate giants to change the face of sports and ultimately became the most famous rivalry in racing history.

Snake & Mongoose

2013

They Die by Dawn poster
2.7

Four outlaws with a bounty on each head, set a date for a shootout in Langston, Oklahoma. The last man takes the collective bounty. Violence and mayhem ensue.

They Die by Dawn

2013

Money poster
5.4

Two wealthy businessmen are about to get away with $5 million in ill-gotten money until their plans are revealed by an uninvited house guest.

Money

2016

Random Acts of Violence poster
5.3

A pair of comic book writers begin to notice scary similarities between the character they created and horrific real-life events.

Random Acts of Violence

2019

Survivor's Guide to Prison poster
6.4

Today, you're more likely to go to prison in the United States than anywhere else in the world. So in the unfortunate case it should happen to you - this is the Survivors Guide to Prison.

Survivor's Guide to Prison

2018

Following Harry poster
NR

Featuring Harry Belafonte, Aja Monet, Aloe Blacc, and Jesse Williams, Following Harry explores the life and legacy of cultural and civil rights icon Harry Belafonte through the stories of those artists and activists carrying on his life’s work dedicated to social justice.

Following Harry

2024

BET Presents Love & Happiness: An Obama Celebration poster
9.0

A White House concert and celebration in honor of the 8-year Presidency of Barack Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama.

BET Presents Love & Happiness: An Obama Celebration

2016

Selah and the Spades poster
5.2

Paloma, the new girl at an esteemed prep school, is drawn into the daily aggressions of warring senior class factions. She joins the Spades and becomes friends with the Spades’ leader, an enigmatic and scheming cheerleader named Selah.

Selah and the Spades

2019

Montmartre poster
NR

Dissatisfied with her disconnected life, Jo takes a trip to the storied French district of Montmartre. There, she falls for Toussaint, a tour guide with a penchant for poetry, magic and romance. As they grow closer, culture, art and love intertwine, reconnecting Jo to her long-lost passion for life.

Montmartre

2026

J.A.W. poster
NR

Defected members of a futuristic army must destroy a machine that could aide in the destruction of mankind.

J.A.W.

2011

United We Stand: The Ali Summit poster
NR

Chronicling the single-afternoon gathering (June 4, 1967) of 11 American athletes and a politician. Meeting in Cleveland, Ohio, to have a discussion with Muhammad Ali about his refusal to enter the Vietnam War draft.

United We Stand: The Ali Summit

2018

Legacy poster
NR

A group of inmates discuss their daily routines inside prison, their crimes and how they don't tolerate the system. It all changes when a powerful and respected veteran prisoner named Mr. Carter talks about certain important things.

Legacy

Dirty Dancing 3: Capoeira Nights poster
5.2

This short is a parody of the Dirty Dancing series.

Dirty Dancing 3: Capoeira Nights

2010

With Drawn Arms poster
5.4

The story behind a critical moment in American history, spawning one of most iconic images of protest from the past century. At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, the world watched as two American runners, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, took the stage as the U.S. national anthem played, raising their fists in a symbol of black struggle and solidarity.

With Drawn Arms

2020

Behind the camera