Justice Smith Bio
Justice Elio Smith, born on August 9, 1995, is an American actor recognized for his work across major film franchises and independent cinema. He first gained widespread attention for his roles in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) and Detective Pikachu (2019), two of the largest studio releases of their respective years. Over the following seasons, he built a reputation for choosing varied projects, ranging from big-budget adventure films to intimate character dramas and critically discussed genre pieces.
Across his career, Justice Smith has balanced blockbuster ensemble work with smaller, performance-driven projects such as All the Bright Places (2020), Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023), and I Saw the TV Glow (2024). His choices have shown an interest in stories that explore identity, friendship, and emotional vulnerability. This combination of mainstream visibility and selective indie work has shaped his standing as a working actor in contemporary Hollywood.
Early Life and Background
Justice Elio Smith was born on August 9, 1995, in Los Angeles, California. Growing up in Southern California placed him near the center of the American entertainment industry, which made early exposure to film, television, and theater a natural part of his upbringing. The region’s dense network of acting classes, youth programs, and casting opportunities helped shape his early interest in performance.
Smith has described his family as multiracial; his father is Black and his mother is white. This background became a recurring point of discussion in later interviews, particularly as his career introduced him to roles dealing with identity and representation. From a young age, he showed interest in storytelling and performance, eventually channeling that energy into formal training.
He attended the Orange County School of the Arts, a public arts high school known for preparing students for careers in the performing and visual arts. Smith graduated from the program in 2013. During his teenage years, he also performed in theater productions around Orange County, gaining practical stage experience before transitioning to on-screen auditions. These early years established the foundation for his professional acting path.
Path to Acting
Justice Smith began his professional screen career in 2012, taking on small television guest roles and building experience in front of the camera. In 2014, he appeared in Nickelodeon’s superhero comedy series The Thundermans, playing a character named Angus across two episodes. That same period included appearances in the HBO documentary series Masterclass and several online video projects, including work with the Vlogbrothers channel. These early credits allowed him to practice on-set work and develop relationships within the industry.
In 2015, Smith secured a supporting role as Marcus “Radar” Lincoln in the film Paper Towns, an adaptation of the popular John Green novel. The project introduced him to a wider audience and connected him with established cast members working on mainstream young-adult adaptations. The role demonstrated his ability to balance humor and emotional weight, two qualities that would define many of his later performances.
Smith’s profile continued to rise in 2016 when he was cast in a lead role on the Netflix musical drama series The Get Down. Playing Ezekiel Figuero, a young aspiring artist navigating the cultural landscape of the Bronx in the late 1970s, he committed to the part using method-acting techniques, including living in a run-down Bronx apartment during production. The show premiered in August 2016 and concluded in April 2017, giving Smith sustained exposure and critical attention ahead of his move into feature films.
Justice Smith Career
Early Career (2012–2015)
Justice Smith’s earliest professional work included guest appearances on Nickelodeon’s The Thundermans and small documentary segments, including the HBO series Masterclass and collaborative videos with the Vlogbrothers. These roles provided consistent on-set experience and helped him build an audition reel. Although the parts were small, they marked his transition from student productions to professional television sets.
His first widely recognized screen credit came with Paper Towns in 2015, where he played Marcus “Radar” Lincoln. The role placed him alongside established young-adult actors and offered him the chance to work on a studio feature. Paper Towns performed well with its target audience and introduced Justice Smith to casting directors working on similar projects.
Breakthrough (2016–2018)
The Netflix series The Get Down marked Smith’s first major television lead and remains one of his defining early projects. Premiering in August 2016, the musical drama traced the rise of hip-hop and disco culture in the South Bronx, with Smith’s Ezekiel Figuero at the center of the story. Critics praised the show’s ambition and atmosphere, and Smith’s grounded performance earned him notice as a leading dramatic talent.
Off-screen, Smith continued to develop his craft on stage. In early 2017, he appeared opposite Lucas Hedges in the Off-Broadway production Yen by playwright Anna Jordan, which ran at the Lucille Lortel Theatre from January through March 2017. That same year, he was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, a milestone reflecting his growing industry profile.
Smith’s transition to leading-man status in feature films began in February 2018 with Every Day, in which he co-starred as Justin. The film, based on the David Levithan novel, follows a supernatural being who inhabits a different body each day. Later that year, he joined the ensemble of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, released in June 2018, playing Franklin Webb. The film was a global box-office success and represented Smith’s entry into large-scale franchise filmmaking.
Continued Success (2019–2024)
In 2019, Justice Smith starred in the live-action Pokémon film Detective Pikachu, further cementing his presence in major studio releases. The film brought the long-running video game franchise to theaters and gave Smith one of his most commercially visible roles. He also starred alongside Elle Fanning in All the Bright Places, a Netflix drama whose production had commenced in the fall of 2018.
During 2020, amid widespread industry shutdowns, Smith participated in Acting for a Cause, a live play and screenplay reading series. He performed in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest and Kenneth Lonergan’s This Is Our Youth, helping raise funds for nonprofit organizations including Mount Sinai Medical Center. The readings kept him connected to the theatrical community during a difficult period.
Smith later appeared in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023), a fantasy adventure that reunited him with genre material on a large scale. In 2024, he starred in I Saw the TV Glow, a critically discussed genre film that explored themes of identity and memory. These projects showcased his range across action, fantasy, and indie storytelling.
Notable Works and Milestones
Justice Smith’s signature work includes his starring role in The Get Down, his portrayal of Franklin Webb in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, his lead role in Detective Pikachu, and his performances in All the Bright Places and I Saw the TV Glow. His inclusion on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2017 and his Off-Broadway work in Yen marked significant early milestones. His career-defining moment arrived with the global success of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Detective Pikachu, which established him as a recognizable face in international film releases.
Personal Life
On June 5, 2020, Justice Smith publicly came out as queer in an Instagram post. He is in a relationship with actor Nicholas L. Ashe, with whom he shot a Calvin Klein campaign in mid-2022. Beyond his acting work, Smith is an avid Pokémon fan, a personal interest that has resonated with audiences familiar with the franchise he helped bring to the screen.
