Jon Michael Hill

Jon Michael Hill is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective Marcus Bell in the CBS series Elementary (2012–2019) and Detective Damon Washington in the ABC series Detroit 1-8-7 (2010–2011).

Jon Michael Hill
Alma mater	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2007–present

Life and career

Hill^[1] played football and the saxophone during his high school years before focusing on pursuing an acting career, attending a summer drama program at Northwestern University.^[2] graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.^[2] While at the university, he appeared in stage productions of King Lear, Six Degrees of Separation and Ain't Misbehavin'.^[2]

Hill played the role of Puck in the 2007 Shakespeare in the Park production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.^[3] In 2009, Hill was nominated for the Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play for The Tempest at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois. In 2010, Hill was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Play in Superior Donuts opposite Michael McKean.^[4] In the same year, he began his role as Detective Damon Washington in the ABC police drama Detroit 1-8-7.

Hill's other television credits include Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Person of Interest, and Eastbound & Down. He then went on to star in the CBS series Elementary, wherein he played the role of Detective Marcus Bell. In 2018, he made his directorial debut with the Elementary episode "The Worms Crawl In, the Worms Crawl Out".^[5][6]

In 2025, Hill received his second Tony Award nomination for Best Actor for his role in the play Purpose. The play also won the Tony Award for Best Play.^[7]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	The Last Stain	Brodsky	Short film
2011	Falling Overnight	Troy
2015	Standing8	Abdul	Short film
2016	No Pay, Nudity	New Kid
	In the Radiant City	Richard Gonzalez
2018	Pass Over	Moses
	Widows	Reverend Wheeler
2020	Sanctuary	Reggie	Short film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010–2011	Detroit 1-8-7	Detective Damon Washington	Main cast; 18 episodes
2011	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Tre Davis	Episode: "Spiraling Down"
2012	Eastbound & Down	Darnell	6 episodes
	Person of Interest	Curtis	Episode: "Wolf and Cub"
2012–2019	Elementary	Detective Marcus Bell	153 episodes; also director of "The Worms Crawl In, the Worms Crawl Out"
2020	The Good Fight	Jumaane Jenkins	Episode: "The Gang Is Satirized and Doesn't Like It"
2022	The Accidental Wolf		Episode: "Abyss"
2022–2023	61st Street	Pastor Richards	9 episodes
2024	A Man in Full	Conrad Hensley	Main cast

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Ref.
2006	The Unmentionables	Etienne	Regional, Steppenwolf Theatre Company	[8]
2007	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Puck	Off-Broadway, Delacorte Theatre	[9]
2008	Kafka on the Shore	Performer	Regional, Steppenwolf Theatre Company	[10]
2009	The Tempest	Performer
	Superior Donuts	Franco Wicks	Broadway, Music Box Theatre	[11]
2011	The Hot L Baltimore	Bill Lewis	Regional, Steppenwolf Theatre Company	[12]
2013	Head of Passes	Crier
2016	Constellations	Roland
2018	Pass Over	Moses	Off-Broadway, Lincoln Center Theatre	[13]
2019	True West	Austin	Regional, Steppenwolf Theatre Company	[14]
2021	Pass Over	Moses	Broadway, August Wilson Theatre	[15]
2022	True West	Austin	International, Galway International Arts Festival
2023	The Refuge Plays	Walking Man	Off-Broadway, New York Theatre Workshop
2024	Leroy and Lucy	Leroy	Regional, Steppenwolf Theatre Company	[16]
2025	Purpose	Nazareth "Naz" Jasper	Broadway, Helen Hayes Theatre	[17]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2010	Tony Award	Best Featured Actor in a Play	Superior Donuts	Nominated	[18]
	Outer Critics Circle Award	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play		Won
	Theatre World Award			Won
2019	Lucille Lortel Award	Outstanding Actor in a Play	Pass Over	Nominated
2025	Tony Awards	Best Actor in a Play	Purpose	Nominated
	Outer Critics Circle Award	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play		Nominated