Jesse Williams (actor)

Jesse Williams
Williams in 2025
Born (1981-08-05) August 5, 1981
Alma materTemple University
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • producer
  • activist
Years active2006–present
Spouse
Aryn Drake-Lee
(m. 2012; div. 2020)
Children2

Jesse Wesley Williams (born August 5, 1981) is an American actor, director, producer, and activist best known as Jackson Avery on Grey's Anatomy (2009–22; 2024). He has also appeared in films such as The Cabin in the Woods (2012) and The Butler (2013). He 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). He also acted in the latter and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.