Meet Jay Ellis, who plays Jay Brown in Netflix’s Running Point
Ellis plays the love interest of Isla, portrayed by Kate Hudson, in the hit sports drama that just premiered its second season
The highly anticipated second season of the hit series Running Point, executive-produced by Kate Hudson and Mindy Kaling and starring the former in the leading role, was released on Netflix on April 23.
The plot follows Hudson’s Isla Gordon, a social butterfly who suddenly finds herself appointed president of the Los Angeles Waves, a professional basketball team. It was a family business – the presidency was held by her brother Cam Gordon (Theroux) until he had to step down due to a drug-abuse scandal.
In the romance department, Isla gets involved with the LA Waves’ head coach, Jay Brown, played by Jay Ellis. The Gordons’ long-time family rival, Luke McShay (Scott Speedman), who owns the LA Raptors, emerges as a love interest too.
So, who is Ellis?
What’s his background?
Ellis was born Wendell Ramone Ellis Jr on December 27, 1981, in Sumter, South Carolina. His father served in the US Air Force while his mother worked in finance and was previously on the Consumer Advisory Council for the Federal Reserve.
“I went to 12 schools in 13 years across a couple of different states,” the 44-year-old shared in an interview with Monarch Magazine.
The star, who was in the BET comedy drama The Game from 2013 to 2015, attended high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, alongside actor Josh Henderson. He graduated summa cum laude from Concordia University in Portland, Oregon. He led the university’s student body as its president and played basketball.
Ellis also spent parts of his childhood in California, Texas, Florida and Ohio, and was reportedly based in the Philippines and Germany for a short time.