Jesse L. Martin finds rational reasons to love ‘Irrational’

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — There’s a pattern to the major television roles Jesse L. Martin has played. In projects such as “Law & Order,” “The Flash” and his new NBC series “The Irrational,” the Virginia native has taken on roles where he’s been involved with stopping bad guys.

It was a more traditional approach with “Law & Order” as he played Det. Ed Green on the “Law” part of the crime series. The action took on a more super nature with “The Flash” where he played Det. Joe West. He was the only major character on the comic book inspired series to never gain a permanent superpower.

Now, on “The Irrational,” Martin plays renowned professor of behavioral science Alec Mercer who lends his expertise on an array of high-stakes cases involving governments, law enforcement and corporations. His insight and unconventional approach to understanding human behavior lead him and the team on a series of intense, unexpected journeys to solve illogical puzzles and perplexing mysteries.

When asked whether he has sought out these crime-fighting roles or if the producers of such shows come looking for him, Martin has a very simple answer.

“Initially, I was attracted to any role where anyone would allow me to act,” Martin says. “So that’s what happened with ‘Law & Order.’ I just got in with a perfect situation for me to get to work with these iconic actors.”

The “Law & Order” productions are based in New York and that meant a lot of performers from the theater world were cast in the TV show. Martin started his career working in theater making his Broadway debut in “Timons of Athens.”

It was his portrayal of Tom Collins in “Rent” that brought Martin his first major attention. He also appeared in stage productions of “La Boheme,” “The Government Inspector” and “The Threepenny Opera.” Martin was able to do stage work while starring on 198 episodes of “Law & Order” from 1999-2008.

“I got to play that role for a long time. I guess there is a world where people see you play those kind of roles so they want to see you play more of those kind of roles,” Martin says. “Fortunately, I was able to move into other spaces where I was doing some of the same work.”

Martin looks at his role in “The Irrational” as the perfect evolution of his career. He gets to play a character who gets to solve crimes but is completely different from his past roles.

Part of what makes the role so different is that Mercer carries a lot of scars – both emotionally and physically. His character was involved in a church bombing that burned a large portion of his body. It also left him with a mystery of his own that is slowly playing out in the series.

“That’s a big part of our story,” Martin says. “He had a traumatic event that not only lives inside of him, but you can see it on his face every single day. It is not one of those traumatic events that you can hide.

“The other characters on the show are constantly checking in on him to see if he is OK because he is dealing with others going through trauma and they are worried Alec may be triggered.”

The transition to this character started with “The Flash.” His character was involved with stopping super villains, but he spent an equal amount of time being a father and husband who always brought a soothing voice of reason to every problem.

Martin is quick to point out that “The Flash” was set in a “fantastic world” while “The Irrational” finds itself anchored in more reality.

“In ‘The Flash,’ the emotions were high and low. The way I was needed as a character was intense,” Martin says. “In this show, it can be very, very intense but there is a humility, a humble space that this scientist works from that leads to me getting into the stories in quite a subtle way which I really appreciate and like.”

Martin feels very connected to Mercer. Part of that comes from his realization that the skills his character has to read body language and use psychology are similar to the skills an actor needs. He’s found that the scientific approach Mercer is using has become a great learning experience for him when looking at his profession.

The insights revealed in the series have made Martin a little cautious in what he does in his real life because he is looking at the world through the tools he has picked up from Mercer. Martin smiles and adds that is probably not fair to friends and family because no one wants to be scrutinized by their behavior.

“The Irrational” also stars Maahra Hill, Travina Springer, Molly Kunz and Arash DeMaxi. It airs at 10 p.m. Mondays on NBC.

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