Jimmy Jean-Louis (born August 8, 1968) is a Haitian actor and producer. Born in Pétion-Ville, he moved to Paris at a young age with his family in search of a better life. His early roles were in French television commercials and Spanish musical theatre."Haitian actor Jimmy Jean-Louis joins cast of ‘Heroes Reborn’ on NBC", interview by Taroue Brooks, Rolling Out, 13 August 2015. Accessed 12 April 2017. Eventually settling in Los Angeles in the late 1990s, he had small roles in The Bourne Identity, Tears of the Sun and Arliss before breaking into larger roles in American television and film. He played the character of "the Haitian" on the NBC television series Heroes from 2007 to 2010. He played the title character in the 2012 French telefilm Toussaint Louverture. In 2024, he co-produced and acted in the Indian film The Goat Life alongside Prithviraj.
Early life Jimmy Jean-Louis was born in Pétion-Ville, near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He lived there until the age of twelve, when he moved to Paris with his family to pursue a modeling career. After moving he experienced a culture shock because of the rural to city lifestyle change. He enrolled in business courses, but quickly realized that his heart lay in performance, and studied at the Académie Internationale de la Danse. His parents returned to Haiti, but Jean-Louis and his brother remained in Paris. Around a decade later in 1991, producers discovered Jean-Louis during one of his dancing stints in a French club. They tapped him to appear in a Coca-Cola advertisement, the success of which prompted Jean-Louis to spend several years modeling across Europe. In London he worked for brands including Gianfranco Ferré and Valentino. Before finding success as a model, he was homeless at times in Paris. By the mid-'90s, he had appeared in music videos for Ophelie Winter, En Vogue, Mariah Carey, Seal, and George Michael. He also began appearing in low-budget independent films in Los Angeles.
Acting career He worked in musical theatre in Barcelona, Spain, spending three years with musical theater "La Belle Epoque",Jimmy Jean-Louis biography at the Mobile Film Festival 12th Edition website (in Spanish and several other languages). Accessed 12 April 2017.Jimmy Jean-Louis biography on Comme au Cinéma (in French). Accessed 12 April 2017. before moving to Italy where he worked as a model. He had secondary roles in Tears of the Sun, Hollywood Homicide, Monster-in-Law and The Game of Their Lives. He was cast as the romantic lead in the 2006 film Phat Girlz starring opposite Mo'Nique as her love interest. He was cast in the recurring role of The Haitian on the NBC television series Heroes, playing a character who is an associate of Noah Bennet. In an interview on The Post Show on G4, Jean-Louis stated that the Haitian was originally supposed to be from New Zealand, and that the character was going to be named "The Kiwi". He stated that he auditioned three times for the role of D.L. Hawkins, a part which he did not get.
In 2013, it was announced that Jean-Louis had been cast in a recurring role in Arrow. He portrayed "The Captain", an associate of Professor Ivo. In 2015, he took on a supporting role in the British film, The Cursed Ones. He had a recurring role on season one of Claws but was upgraded to a starring role in season 2.
In 2018, he was a jury member at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival and Angouleme Film Festival. In 2019 he both produced and starred in 'Rattlesnakes', based on the stage play by Graham Farrow.
In 2024, He co-produced and acted in The Goat Life, an Indian-Malayalam language movie. he played the role of a Somalian man named Ibrahim Kadhar who knowledge of escape routes.
Personal life Jean-Louis and his wife Evelyn have three children. He enjoys watching and playing soccer and is a member of an amateur soccer club Hollywood United F.C., a team consisting mostly of celebrities and former professionals. He is fluent in five languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Haitian Creole.
Jean-Louis received the key to Miami-Dade County on January 10, 2010 from Mayor Carlos Alvarez. He also received the key to the city of North Miami on May 3, 2018 from Mayor Joseph Smith.
He is a patron of the BrandAID Project.BRANDAID PATRONS
2010 Haiti earthquake efforts After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Jean-Louis went to Haiti to search for his elderly parents in Haiti the day after a powerful earthquake struck the nation. Jean-Louis learned that a house he had grown up in collapsed, killing several of his relatives. He is the founder of Hollywood Unites for Haiti, a non-profit charitable aid organization whose original mission was to provide sports and cultural education to underprivileged youth on the island. The group mobilized for disaster relief after the magnitude-7 earthquake. Jean-Louis has taken part in a series of campaigns for Haitian aid, such as singing in the "We Are the World" remake of the original for Haiti in February 2010 which aired during the start of the Olympic Games in Vancouver. As the Ambassador of the Pan American Development Foundation for Haitian children, Jean-Louis testified to the United States Congress on their behalf in 2010.
Jean-Louis was named Ambassador-at-large to Haiti by President Michel Martelly in 2014.
Awards
2012 Best Actor Nomination (Toussaint Louverture (film)) - Monte-Carlo Television Festival 2012 Best Actor Nomination (Toussaint Louverture (film)) - Africa Movie Academy Awards 2012 MPAH Haiti Movie Awards Honorary Award * Motion Picture Association of Haiti 2012 Meilleur Acteur - Festival Vues_d'Afrique 2012 Best Actor Toussaint Louverture (film) - Pan African Film Festival 2013 Excellence in the Arts prize - Caribbean American Heritage Award 2015 Best Documentary Nomination (Jimmy Goes to Nollywood) - Monte-Carlo Television Festival 2015 Best Documentary Nomination (Jimmy Goes to Nollywood) - Africa Movie Academy Awards 2017 Best Supporting Actor - Hollywood African Prestigious Awards 2019 Career Achievement Award - Montreal International Black Film Festival 2019 Meilleur Acteur de la Diaspora Africaine (Desrances) - Sotigui Awards 2019 Sotigui D'Or - Sotigui Awards 2019 Impact In Entertainment Award - Face2Face Africa 2020 Best Actor Win at the Africa Movie Academy Awards 2023 Best Supporting Actor Win at the Africa Movie Academy Awards
Filmography
Film Year Film Role Notes 2002 Derailed Henry The Bourne Identity Wombosi bodyguard #5 Uncredited 2003 Tears of the Sun Gideon Hollywood Homicide Gianfranco Ferre Clerk This Girl's Life Action Jackson 2005 Monster-in-Law Prince Amir Age of Kali Ferdinand The Game of Their LivesJoe Gaetjens 2006 Phat Girlz Dr. Tunde Jonathan Cousines Ralph Haitian film Le President a-t-il Le Sida Dao Haitian Film by Arnold Antonin 2008 Diary of a Tired Black Man James Adventures of Power Aubelin Loaded Antonio The Ball is Round Jay Jay Mfede Also known as Golden Goal! (USA) 2009Orpailleur Myrtha Moloch Tropical Francis I Sing of a Well Narrator 2010 Coursier Loki French film Sinking Sands Jimah Sanson Relentless Candidate The Penthouse Buzz McManus 2011 A Butterfly Kiss L'homme au tableau 2012 Toussaint Louverture Toussaint Louverture French telefilm 2013 One Night In Vegas Nick Doctor Bello The Mark of the Angels-Miserere Puyferrat Five Thirteen JJL 2015 The Cursed Ones Paladin UK/Ghanaian film by Zissou Pictures Ltd. Joy Toussaint 2016 The Empty Box Toussaint 2017 Cargo Jean Catastropico Damien Esohe Gary Baba Nigerian/USA film 2018 The Outer Wild Ramson 2019 Rattlesnakes Robert McQueen Desrances Francis Desrances Everything But A Man Max 2020 Citation Lucien N'Dyare Rise Modu 2022 Detective Knight: Rogue Godwin Sango Detective Knight: Redemption Godwin Sango 2023 Detective Knight: Independence Godwin Sango Assassin Club Inspector Leon Jagged Mind Papa Juste 2024 Aadujeevitham Ibrahim Khadiri Indian Malayalam-language filmAlso producer Dead Money Faizel 2025 July 7 Renel Monise The fire and the Moth Contractor 2026 The Creek John West Viper Shadow Melodrama Aimé
Television
Year Title Role Notes1993 Emmanuelle Forever Emmanuelle's Love Emmanuelle's Magic Tribesman in the hut Emmanuelle's Secret Emmanuelle in Venice 2001 Arliss Caesar Montenez 1 episode 2003 The District Jean-Paul Bertrand 1 episode Fastlane Haitian #1 1 episode 2005 Dr. Vegas Xola 1 episode The Shield Ididsa Okoye Episode: "A Thousand Deaths" 2006–2009 Heroes The Haitian Recurring role (32 episodes) 2007 Heroes Unmasked Himself 3 episodes 2010 Entertainment Tonight Himself February 4, 2010 The Mo'Nique Show Himself February 4, 2010 2013 Arrow The Captain Recurring role 2014 Extant Pierre Lyon 2 episodes 2015 Heroes Reborn The Haitian Recurring role (6 episodes)2017 Claws Dr. Gregory Ruval Recurring role (season 1)Starring role (season 2) The Brave Lieutenant 1 episode Juste un regard Eric Toussaint 6 episodes The Way Inspector Morand 10 episodes 2018S.W.A.T. Sal Desir 1 episode 2019 SMILF Henri 1 episode 2022 Captain Clément Galpin Episode: "La Baie des Anglais"
References
External links
Official home page
Interview with Jimmy Jean-Louis from The Company Podcast Jean-Louis' non-profit charitable aid organization Hollywood Unites for Haiti Jimmy Jean-Louis @ ECI Global Talent Management