Duane Martin (born August 11, 1965) is an American actor. He began his career making appearances on numerous television sitcoms before starring as Robert James on the UPN/ CW sitcom '' All of Us'' (2003–2007) and as Detective Ben Baines on the police-procedural series ''

L.A.'s Finest ''L.A.'s Finest'' (also known colloquially as ''Bad Girls'') is an American action film, action crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier; and produced by Sony Pictur ...

''. Martin has also appeared in many films throughout his career including '' White Men Can't Jump'' (1992), '' Above the Rim'' and '' The Inkwell'' (both in 1994), ''

The Faculty ''The Faculty'' is a 1998 American science fiction horror film directed and edited by Robert Rodriguez with a screenplay by Kevin Williamson. It stars Jordana Brewster in her film debut, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Josh Hartnett, Shawn Ha ...

'' and '' Woo'' (both in 1998), '' Deliver Us from Eva'' and '' Ride or Die'' (both in 2003), and '' The Seat Filler'' (2004).

Early life and education

Martin was born in the

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

borough of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. He played

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

basketball at NYU and was signed as an undrafted free agent to a non-guaranteed contract in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) with the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

in 1989. However, he was soon cut and never actually played in the NBA.

Career

Martin's early television work includes an appearance on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

comedy series '' Out All Night'', starring

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...

, Vivica A. Fox and

Morris Chestnut Morris Lamont Chestnut (born January 1, 1969) is an American actor. He first came to prominence for his role as Ricky in the 1991 film ''Boyz n the Hood''. He has appeared in feature films such as ''G.I. Jane'', ''The Brothers (2001 film), The B ...

. He also appeared in the music video for

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...

's 1994 song "

I'll Make Love to You "I'll Make Love to You" is a song by American R&B group Boyz II Men for the Motown label. Written and produced by Babyface, it was released on 26 July 1994 as the lead single from the group's second album, '' II'' (1994). The song was a commer ...

". In 1998, Martin was a cast member of the short-lived Fox sitcom '' Getting Personal'', with Vivica A. Fox and

Jon Cryer Jonathan Niven Cryer (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor. Born into a show business family, he made his film debut with a lead role in ''No Small Affair'' (1984); his breakout role was as Duckie in the John Hughes (filmmaker), John Hughe ...

. From 2003 to 2007, he portrayed TV reporter Robert James on the UPN/ CW sitcom '' All of Us''. Acting alongside his then-wife Tisha Campbell, he had a recurring role as Chuck on the sitcom ''

Rita Rocks ''Rita Rocks'' is a Lifetime original sitcom that ran from October 20, 2008 to December 7, 2009. It was the network's first original comedy in over a decade. The series debuted alongside re-runs of '' Reba'' as part of a new comedy hour for Tues ...

'' (2009). He later played Fernando on '' The Paul Reiser Show'' (2011). Martin's notable feature film roles include Willie in '' White Men Can't Jump'' (1992), Jr. Philips in '' The Inkwell'' (1994), and Kyle Lee Watson in '' Above the Rim'' (1994). In the romantic comedy film '' The Seat Filler'' (2004), he starred as Derrick Harver, a law student who falls in love with a celebrity. Martin plays himself in the BET comedy series '' Real Husbands of Hollywood''. In 2017, he portrayed Louil Silas, Jr. in the television miniseries '' The New Edition Story''.

Personal life

Martin met actress Tisha Campbell in 1990. The couple wed on August 17, 1996, and have two sons. In February 2018, Campbell filed for divorce, which was finalized in December 2020. In February 2024, Martin announced he was engaged to model Ashley Marie Jones.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

BET Comedy Awards *2004: Nominated, "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Box Office Movie" – ''Deliver Us From Eva'' *2005: Nominated, "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" – ''All of Us''

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

*1993: Nominated, "Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special" – ''CBS Schoolbreak Special''

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

*2007: Nominated, "Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series" – ''All of Us''

References

External links

*
Duane Martin cast bio on The CWDuane Martin's biography on filmbug
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Duane 1965 births Living people 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors NYU Violets men's basketball players Basketball players from New York City Sportspeople from Brooklyn American male television actors Male actors from Brooklyn American men's basketball players 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American male actors