Jared Martin Profile
Born in New York City, Jared’s father was a prolific cover artist and cartoonist for the New Yorker Magazine (C.E.M.), and his mother a dancer, model and artist. After graduating from the Putney School in Putney, Vermont, Jared attended Columbia University, graduating with a B.A. degree in English Literature and a minor in Art History.
Jared began his multi-faceted acting and arts career in 1967 by working for the New York Times where he read galleys and helped select books suitable for review. He also wrote capsule reviews for the New York Times Sunday Book Review Section. During the next several years he founded Group 6 Productions, a New York City film and stage production company while simultaneously creating art history curricula for a prestigious art institute. It was at this time Jared began actively seeking professional acting roles. For the next twenty five years Jared starred in Hollywood movies, internationally known TV series, acted on and off the Broadway stage, made public relations appearances as a good will ambassador, began recording events in his life through photography and wrote two novels. While producing and directing the movie “In Deeper”, commissioned by Mayor Edward Rendell of Philadelphia, he became aware of the plight of disadvantaged youth of the inner city. He knew his sizeable experience as an actor and producer could be translated into a film program for at-risk youth as a way to both reach and teach them skills and to become civically aware of their communities’ issues. This resulted in Jared’s co-founding a nonprofit called the Big Picture Alliance in 1994.
Since then, Jared has received over fifteen film industry awards for his student-produced films, including the 1998 Cine Eagle, has mentored over three dozen Big Picture Alliance young staff members, one of whom won the first-ever Sundance Film Award for film editing, created a film production company which produces films for social service and cultural nonprofits, and hosted “Philly Live”, an interview talk show series. Currently he is senior lecturer at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia where he teaches a course in Acting for Film using a proprietary curriculum he designed. He also manages and provides technical direction for the career of Yu Wei, his wife; a well-known Chinese classical dancer. In 2006 he authored 'Yu Wei's Dance Book', and 'Dazhengzhao, a 1000 Year Old Chinese Village”, a book of pictures and text about his latest trip to China.
