Eddie Jemison

The Cable Guy in Las Vegas

Eddie Jemison has that face everyone recognizes but almost nobody can name right away. His perpetually worried teen-like face flooded the screens of half the planet when Steven Soderbergh cast him in Ocean’s Eleven in 2001. He played Livingston Dell, the surveillance expert who sweated bullets every time he had to break into someone else's server.

It was his lottery ticket.

Before that box office hit, Jemison honed his craft on the Chicago theater scene during the 1990s. He wasn't chasing fast fame, since his look never fit the traditional square-jawed leading man mold. In 1996, he made his film debut in Schizopolis, starting a creative partnership with Soderbergh that would last for decades.

But his career didn't stop under the casino lights. In 2007, he appeared in Waitress, a small independent gem directed by Adrienne Shelly that became a cult phenomenon. Jemison played Ogie, a persistent and somewhat eccentric suitor who proved his range went far beyond being the go-to tech sidekick.

Television as a refuge for broken characters

As the film industry became obsessed with superhero franchises, Jemison found a solid niche in cable television. In 2009, he signed on to the HBO series Hung to bring Ronnie Haxon to life. The role let him explore a bitterer, more pathetic side that perfectly suited the production's disillusioned tone.

Nobody plays a weird guy better than he does.

And that's the thing: his ability to convey anxiety without saying a single word is a tool casting directors use often. Between 2015 and 2018, he played Mr. Boss in the series iZombie. In this project he traded his usual victim roles for the role of an organized crime boss who was terrifying precisely because of his harmless appearance.

Because Jemison understands that a character actor's power lies in restraint. He doesn't need to shout to dominate a scene. In 2017, he joined the cast of Chicago Med to play Dr. Stanley Stohl, and his presence brought a bureaucratic rigidity that contrasted with the hospital's emotional chaos.

Music and Directing Under the Radar

Away from the Hollywood spotlight, he maintains a creative life rooted in his New Orleans roots. For years he was part of the band Love Junkies, where he indulged his side as a musician. That artistic drive led him behind the camera in 2013 to direct Coffee, Kill Boss alongside his wife, Julia LaBorde.

The movie was a dark comedy experiment shot on a tiny budget. Filming barely lasted fifteen days and took place in an almost claustrophobic setting. He wasn't aiming to break the box office, but it taught him how the industry works from the other side of the camera.

In 2023, he appeared in Cruel Summer, playing Steve Chambers across several episodes of the second season. His appearance confirmed he remains a reliable presence in any television thriller. Despite changes in digital viewing, he prefers to keep a low profile and choose projects where the script matters more than the paycheck.

The production of Coffee, Kill Boss was largely funded through a crowdfunding campaign that raised 30,000 dollars.