Justice Elio Smith (born August 9, 1995) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom'' (2018), '' Detective Pikachu'' (2019), '' All the Bright Places'' (2020), '' Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves'' (2023), and '' I Saw the TV Glow'' (2024).

Early life

Smith was born in Los Angeles, California. Smith graduated from the Orange County School of the Arts in 2013 and performed in theatre around Orange County. His father is Black and his mother is white.

Career

In 2014, Smith appeared in

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

's superhero comedy series '' The Thundermans'', playing Angus in two episodes. He also appeared in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

documentary series '' Masterclass'' and some Vlogbrothers videos. In 2015, Smith had a supporting role as Marcus "Radar" Lincoln in '' Paper Towns''. In 2016, Smith had a lead role in

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

's musical drama series ''

The Get Down ''The Get Down'' is an American musical drama television series created by Baz Luhrmann and Stephen Adly Guirgis. The series debuted on Netflix on August 12, 2016, and was cancelled after one season. Produced by Sony Pictures Television, the s ...

'', playing Ezekiel Figuero, during which Smith employed

method acting Method acting, known as the Method, is a range of rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, understanding, and expe ...

and took up residence in a dilapidated

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

apartment. ''The Get Down'' premiered in August 2016 and concluded in April 2017. In 2017, Smith was on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 list. Smith also appeared opposite Lucas Hedges in the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

stage production of ''Yen'' by playwright Anna Jordan. The production ran at the Lucille Lortel Theatre starting January 2017 and closed on March 4, 2017. In February 2018, Smith co-starred in '' Every Day'' as Justin. In June 2018, he portrayed Franklin Webb in '' Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.'' In 2019, Smith starred in the film '' Detective Pikachu''. He starred alongside

Elle Fanning Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998) is an American actress. Her works include both independent films and blockbusters, and her accolades include a National Board of Review Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and ...

in '' All the Bright Places'', for which filming commenced in the fall of 2018. In 2020, Justice Smith participated in '' Acting for a Cause'', a live play and screenplay reading series. Smith played Jack in ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde, the last of his four drawing-room plays, following ''Lady Windermere's Fan'' (1892), ''A Woman of No Importance'' (1893) and ''An Ideal Husban ...

'' by

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

and Dennis Ziegler in '' This Is Our Youth'' by

Kenneth Lonergan Kenneth Lonergan (born October 16, 1962) is an American playwright, screenwriter and film director. He is known for his works which explore complex emotional and interpersonal dynamics. He has received several awards including an Academy Award a ...

. The reading raised funds for nonprofit organization including Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Personal life

Smith came out as

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

in an

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

post on June 5, 2020. He is in a relationship with actor Nicholas L. Ashe. They shot a

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer. In 1968, he launched the company that later became Calvin Klein. In addition to clothing, he has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery. ...

campaign ad together in mid-2022. Smith is an avid ''

Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...

'' fan.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theater

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Justice 1995 births 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American male actors African-American LGBTQ people American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American people of French-Canadian descent American people of Italian descent American queer male actors LGBTQ people from California Living people Male actors from Los Angeles Orange County School of the Arts alumni