Justice Jesse Smith

Many viewers first became acquainted with actor Justice Smith through his role on the popular series "The Get Down" (Netflix, 2016-). Born in Los Angeles in 1995, Smith was the middle child of nine, with both of his parents working as musicians. He became fascinated with acting from a very early age, and set his sights on performing by middle school, when he landed a role in a commercial for Apple. While attending Orange County School of the Arts, where he won a nomination for the U.S. Presidential Scholar of the Arts, Smith appeared in a small role in the thriller "Trigger Finger" (2012). After graduating, he appeared in an episode of the web series "Miss Guidance" (2014). He soon moved up the ladder with a two episode stint on the kids series "The Thundermans" (Nickelodeon, 2013-), before appearing in his first feature film, playing Radar in the coming of age drama "Paper Towns" (2015). With slightly more exposure under his belt, Smith then moved on to audition for the series "The Get Down" (Netflix, 2016-), a show about a group of teens living in the Bronx during the late '70s amidst the burgeoning hip-hop scene. Smith had never harbored a very strong interest in rap, but he was required to demonstrate his rapping abilities during his audition. After learning a Biggie Smalls song for the occasion, he performed the tune for casting agents and was rewarded with a call-back. He eventually joined the series in the lead role of Ezekiel 'Zeke' Figuero, a Bronx teen drawn into the nascent hip hop scene.