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Justice Elio Smith (born August 9, 1995) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom'', '' Pokémon: Detective Pikachu'', and ''
All the Bright Places ''All the Bright Places'' is a young adult fiction novel by Jennifer Niven which is based on the author's personal story. The novel was first published on January 6, 2015 through Knopf Publishing Group and is Niven's first young adult book. A fi ...
''.


Early life

Smith was born in California. Smith graduated from the Orange County School of the Arts in 2013 and has performed in shows around
Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...
.


Career

In 2014, Smith appeared in
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
's superhero comedy series ''
The Thundermans ''The Thundermans'' is an American comedy television series created by Jed Spingarn that aired on Nickelodeon from October 14, 2013 to May 25, 2018. The series stars Kira Kosarin, Jack Griffo, Addison Riecke, Diego Velazquez, Chris Tallman, R ...
'', playing Angus in two episodes. He also appeared in the HBO's documentary series ''
Masterclass Yanka Industries, Inc., doing business as MasterClass, is an American online education subscription platform on which students can access tutorials and lectures pre-recorded by experts in various fields. The concept for MasterClass was conceiv ...
'' and some ''
VlogBrothers Vlogbrothers (sometimes stylized as VlogBrothers or vlogbrothers) is a video blog channel on YouTube. The Internet-based show is created and hosted by the Green brothers: John Green and Hank Green. The first incarnation of the brothers' online ...
'' videos. In 2015, Smith had a supporting role as Marcus "Radar" Lincoln in ''
Paper Towns ''Paper Towns'' is a novel written by John Green, primarily for an audience of young adults, and was published on October 16, 2008, by Dutton Books. The novel is about the coming-of-age of the protagonist, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen and his search fo ...
''. The film was directed by Jake Schreier and released on July 24, 2015, by
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
. In 2016, Smith broke out in the lead role of Ezekiel Figuero in
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
'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 the first season. Produced by Sony Pictures Television ...
'', during which Smith employed the technique known as
method acting Method acting, informally known as The Method, is a range of training and rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, u ...
by taking up residence in a dilapidated Bronx apartment. ''The Get Down'' premiered in August 2016 and concluded in April 2017, being cancelled shortly thereafter. In 2017, Smith was on
Forbes 30 under 30 ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 is a set of lists of people under 30 years old issued annually by ''Forbes'' magazine and some of its regional editions. The American lists recognize 600 business and industry figures, with 30 selected in twenty industries ...
List. Smith also appeared in New York, opposite
Lucas Hedges Lucas Hedges (born December 12, 1996) is an American actor. A son of filmmaker Peter Hedges, he studied theater at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Hedges began his acting career with a supporting role in Wes Anderson's com ...
, in the Off-Broadway stage production of ''Yen'' by playwright
Anna Jordan Anna Jordan (born 28 September 1979) is an English playwright, director, screenwriter and acting tutor. Her work has been presented at The Royal Court, Royal Exchange (Manchester) and internationally, with several productions of her plays in the ...
. The production ran at the Lucille Lortel Theater starting January 2017 and closed on March 4, 2017. In February 2018, Smith co-starred in '' Every Day'' as Justin, the boyfriend of lead character Rhiannon. A few months later, in June 2018, he portrayed Franklin Webb in '' Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom'', which turned out to be his first big breakthrough. Smith starred in the 2019 blockbuster ''
Pokémon Detective Pikachu ''Detective Pikachu'' (also known as ''Pokémon: Detective Pikachu'' and released as in Japan after the original game) is a 2019 comedy film directed by Rob Letterman. Based on the ''Pokémon'' franchise, the film is a loose adaptation of the ...
'', a live-action film based on the video game of the same name. He starred alongside
Elle Fanning Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998) is an American actress. She made her film debut as the younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character in the drama film '' I Am Sam'' (2001). As a child actress, she appeared in several films, i ...
in ''
All the Bright Places ''All the Bright Places'' is a young adult fiction novel by Jennifer Niven which is based on the author's personal story. The novel was first published on January 6, 2015 through Knopf Publishing Group and is Niven's first young adult book. A fi ...
'', directed by Brett Haley from a screenplay by Liz Hannah and Jennifer Niven, the latter of whom authored the novel upon which the film is based. Filming commenced in the fall of 2018. In 2020, Justice Smith participated in '' Acting for a Cause'', a live classic play and screenplay reading series created, directed and produced by Brando Crawford. 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. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...
by Oscar Wilde and Dennis Ziegler in
This is Our Youth ''This Is Our Youth'' is a play by American dramatist and screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan. It premiered Off-Broadway in 1996 and since been produced all over the world, including the West End, Broadway Sydney and Toronto. Plot The play takes pla ...
by
Kenneth Lonergan Kenneth Lonergan (born October 16, 1962) is an American film director, playwright, and screenwriter. He is the co-writer of the film ''Gangs of New York'' (2002), and wrote and directed '' You Can Count on Me'' (2000), ''Margaret'' (2011), and ' ...
. The reading raised funds for non-profit charities including Mount Sinai Medical Center.


Personal life

Smith
came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
as queer in an Instagram post on June 5, 2020, and said he is in a romantic relationship with actor Nicholas L. Ashe. He mentioned in a behind the scenes video of '' Detective Pikachu'' that he is a '' Pokémon'' fan, and still has the first-generation '' Pokémon Trading Cards''.


Filmography


Film


Television


Theatre


Video games


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Justice 1995 births 21st-century American male actors African-American male actors American male film actors American male television actors LGBT African Americans LGBT male actors LGBT people from California Living people Male actors from Los Angeles Orange County School of the Arts alumni Queer actors Queer men American LGBT actors 21st-century African-American people