Law & Order alum Jesse L. Martin has remembered being approached by the husband of a murder victim, fearful that an episode inspired by his spouse’s case would interfere with the trial.
Martin, 57, starred as Detective Ed Green from 1999 to 2008 on the ongoing police procedural, famously known for adapting the headlines of serious, often deadly real-life crimes.
Speaking to People in a new interview, the actor recalled, “There was a point later in my tenure there when it looked a little like things were getting closer to the original story than it felt comfortable to do.”
While he was vague about the actual case, Martin explained that the person had been murdered in Manhattan and the “case was in court.”
“We were doing a version of said story, and one of the persons that was involved, who was the spouse of the person murdered, was well aware that we were doing a version of that story,” he recounted.
“Someone knocked on my trailer door, and it was the husband of the person who was killed. He was there with his child — a little baby — and he was in tears,” Martin said. “He was like, ‘This could mess up the case for us. I need your help. I don’t want this to happen.’”
In that moment, the actor said he felt “absolutely useless” and had “no idea what to do,” so he went and “got one of our producers in hopes to calm him.”
While Martin insisted that Law & Order has always been intentional in “changing the stories enough,” the man was convinced that “we were literally just telling that story.”
“It’s the first time I felt like even though I wasn’t responsible, I had felt totally responsible for what this story actually turns out to be because I didn’t want it to affect him, obviously, or his family, or the story, the legacy,” Martin admitted.
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The episode, which he did not name, still went forward with its original storyline.
Although “there was a piece in it that mimicked [the case],” Martin insisted, “it wasn’t the same story at all.” The Independent has contacted NBC for comment.
Law & Order first debuted in 1990 with the original cast of George Dzundza, Dann Florek, Chris Noth, Michael Moriarty, Richard Brooks and Steven Hill.
Martin joined the cast in season 10 and remained a series regular until season 18. He appeared on the show, alongside Jerry Orbach, Angie Harmon and Sam Waterston.
The flagship series, which was renewed for a 26th season, has spawned several spin-offs, including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and the recently canceled Law & Order: Organized Crime.
