Jamie Hector has an obvious scar on his left smile line that extends up to his jawline, but no matter how much the media wishes to demystify the scar, the actor won’t reveal how he got it.
Jamie Hector has been active in the entertainment industry since 1997. An American actor of Haitian extraction, he is mainly known for his portrayal of a drug kingpin named Marlo Stanfield on The Wire, a crime drama television series.
His character is probably the most violent among all the drug kingpins portrayed in the series as respect is very important for him and as a result, he goes about ordering the deaths of people that disrespect or undermine his authority.
The Wire definitely wouldn’t have been the same without the Marlo character as portrayed by Hector. He gave so much life to the character that Rolling Stone ranked him at the second spot on its 40 Greatest TV Villians of All Time. Only Michael Emerson’s portrayal of Ben Linus on Lost was ranked above him.
As much as Hector is appreciated for the Marlo role, he is admired for his portrayal of Detective Jerry Edgar on the police procedural streaming television series, Bosch. Bosch and Queen of The South, another crime drama television series where he plays Devon Finch, are some of the actor’s ongoing projects.
Disregarding these shows, he has been seen on other popular productions like Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI: Miami, Person of Interest, Heroes, and much more. Especially for the roles that required a portrayal of violence, it has been expressed that Jamie’s facial scar adds a bit of sly to the characters.
10. The Wire Actor Wasn’t Born With The Facial Scar and He Doesn’t Like Talking About How He Got It
Given that Jamie Hector has become very popular for what he does, with millions of admirers scattered across the globe, it is only natural that almost everything about him is a newsworthy piece. With many of his fans wondering how he got the visible facial scar on his left smile line, Jamie seems to dislike talking about it.
From what we gathered, he has been asked how he got the scar on his cheek a few times but evaded discussing the story behind it. In one of his interviews, the actor reportedly stated that he uses the scar to produce emotions for the characters he portrays and specified that he doesn’t like discussing how he came about it. Also, it is hard to think of any negative way it has affected his career.
9. Jamie Hector Isn’t a Stranger To Violence In Real Life
Several actors have portrayed thugs in movies but have been fortunate to not experience violence in real life. This is not the case for Jamie Hector who has had to protect his family in a gun battle. Sometime in July 2009, it was reported that a gun battle broke out at a baby shower party the actor threw to celebrate his wife’s pregnancy.
According to reports, a gatecrasher repeatedly fired at some of his guests, killing a fellow and leaving another two injured. Nonetheless, the actor soon released a statement wherein he commiserated with the victim’s family and specified that he had nothing to do with the incident. Hector stated that the shooting incident had nothing to do with his family or any of the guests they invited to the party.
8. He Began Acting After High School and Made His Professional Debut In 1997
The beginning of Jamie Hector’s career as an actor has been traced back to his days after high school. The Bosch actor reportedly auditioned with a community theater company following his graduation from high school and it marked the beginning of his journey in the profession. He would later proceed to college to further his education. While at that, he got to make his professional debut as an actor.
Records have it that his first role as a professional actor was as Tony Sands in the “Is It a Crime” episode of the police drama, New York Undercover; this was in 1997. In the years that followed, he was seen in movies and TV shows like Prison Song, The Day the Ponies Come Back, He Got Game, The Beat, Third Watch, and much more.
To polish his acting skills and prepare himself for the opportunity of a serious role, Hector attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute located in New York City; this was after he graduated from college. He soon landed a lead role as Banny on Five Deep Breaths, a 2003 short film directed by Seith Mann which in retrospect, Jamie has described as a defining moment for his career. The short film received great reviews and multiple awards.
7. The Worst Moment of His Career Was During His Role On Law & Order
Before Jamie Hector played the Five Deep Breaths lead role which he has proclaimed as the defining moment of his career, he experienced what he has described as the worst moment of his career on the set of Law & Order. While still training at Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, Jamie landed a small part on the police procedural and legal television series. He imagined it would be his big break in the industry but what he experienced had him vowing to find another profession.
As a newbie, Hector didn’t know how things worked and waited for hours to play his part. Because of this, he fell asleep and was rudely awoken to play the part which made him forget his lines. When his stand-in loudly wondered who hired Hector for the role, it added to his pressure which made it even more difficult for him to remember his lines. This left the director and producers frustrated. But with some encouragement from late actor Jerry Orbach, he delivered the lines and expected to get some praise which didn’t happen.
Hector disliked the way he was treated and told his acting coach thereafter that he was done with Hollywood. As one would expect of a coach, he was encouraged to not give up.
6. Jamie Hector Kept His Acting Career a Secret From His Family Until The Wire
It was in 1997 that the actor made his professional debut but his family knew nothing about it until when he started playing Marlo Stanfield on The Wire. Confirming this on the Racheal Ray Show, Jamie divulged that he kept his acting career a secret not only from his parents but from his sister as well.
Even though he had appeared on dozens of shows and movies, they didn’t know about it until he was on The Wire. According to him, they learned about his acting career during the premiere of the show when HBO sent a limousine to their home and he asked them to come along with him. Understandably, they were shocked to learn he was famous but were okay with it. Jamie said he had to keep it a secret from them but didn’t explain why he felt so.
5. The Actor Is Also a Producer
Having spent over two decades in the movie industry as an actor, Jamie Hector has spread his wings to become a producer as well. His first project in this capacity was as the executive producer of the 2013 TV movie titled Grow. The movie released on the 22nd of March 2013 and was directed by Jonathan Kesselman and written by Paul Mastroianni and Peter Pietrangeli. Alongside the writers and director, Adam Davenport and Steve Yandrich, Hecto is one of the executive producers of the television film and he played a character named Sosa therein.
After Grow, he executed the production of Taking Chance, a 2014 short drama film directed by Jerry LaMothe. It stars Nathanya Alexander, Dajour Chuck, and DaShawn Jackson. While Jamie Hector is the executive producer, Alisa Payne and Ally Roberson are the producers. His latest works as an executive producer are in two episodes of Nobodies, a comedy series created by Hugh Davidson, Larry Dorf, and Rachel Ramras. He executed the production of the show’s second and third episodes in its first season. They are respectively titled “This Is How We Do It” and “No Problem”.
4. Jamie Owns a Clothing Line Called Royal Addiction
More than being an actor and a producer, Jamie Hector has been exploring other sectors to maximize the financial opportunities that come with being a popular and celebrated figure. One of the things he has done to augment his earning is to launch a clothing line called Royal Addiction. He opened the urban clothing company based in Brooklyn, New York, sometime in 2007. Over the years, he has been seen sporting branded T-shirts of the line.
Another way through which he has augmented his income is through video game roles. The actor cum producer has been featured on several video games since 2005 when he appeared as an Additional Soldier on The Warriors and as Miguel in the action-adventure game, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. In 2010, he was seen as Emile-A239 on the first-person shooter game, Halo: Reach. He reprised the role in 2019 on Gears 5, a third-person shooter video game that The Coalition developed. Before this, he pulled off the role of Vice Overseer Liam Byme on Dishonored 2, another action-adventure video game.
Through acting and his other sources of income, several platforms have estimated his net worth to be around $2 million.
3. The 52 Years Old Actor Is Public-Spirited
Hector doesn’t look as old as his age and it has left many asking questions about his real age. To the best of our knowledge, the actor was born in 1972, precisely on the 7th of October. Although he is of Haitian descent, his place of birth was in Brooklyn, New York, where he was also raised.
Jamie Hector is very public-spirited and he exemplified this by assisting victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Jamie was one of the first people who set out to raise money for the survivors. In one of his interviews, he divulged that he had always been assisting Haiti before the tragedy. So, it naturally became the next course of action for him. The actor worked with several organizations to raise funds, including his church, Christian Cultural Center, which donated $12,000 to Haiti.
2. He Is The Founder of a Nonprofit Organization Called Moving Mountains
As part of his efforts to make a meaningful contribution to his society, Jamie Hector founded Moving Mountains, a nonprofit establishment that works with young people. He created the platform in the early days of his career and it now serves as an avenue through which he can spread the experience he has gained from his career for the benefit of young people who would want to pursue a career in the field. Jamie believes that arts are an effective means of empowerment for youths to overcome adversity.
In all, the operations of Moving Mountains revolve around youth development through the theater/film industry. The charity organization essentially provides access and opportunity to learn about what it takes to thrive in the competitive industry. To attain its goals, the establishment works with multiple popular figures in the business, including Hill Harper, David Simon, Jimmy Wahlberg, Michael K Williams, Aisha Hinds, Mona Scott Young, LL Cool J, and more.
1. Jamie Hector Is Married to Jennifer Amilia and They Are Parents to Two Kids
The American actor is a family man. It is known that he is married to Jennifer Amelia, his long-time girlfriend. Jamie prefers to keep his private life away from the public. What this means is that a lot of information about his family life is not readily available. In fact, it is hard to tell how he met his wife, how long they dated, and when they got married. While it has been claimed in some quarters that they got married in 2005, Heightline has been unable to substantiate these reports, we can only confirm that they celebrate their anniversary every 21st of August.
Jamie Hector’s wife runs a luxury wedding and event planning company called Jennifer Amelia Events, LLC. As culled from the company’s site, Amelia developed a passion for what she does as a young girl. She enjoyed looking at the pictures on her mother’s interior design magazines and soon found herself seeking to design the spaces around her. It culminated in the birth of her company and Amelia has not only planned high-end weddings but also charity galas, private dinners, and events of that sort.
Jennifer and Jamie are parents to two children. They had their first child, a daughter, in 2009 and welcomed their second child, a son, in 2009. Theirs is a happy family that lives in Brooklyn, New York.