James Roch (born June 6, 1983) is an American model and actor. After playing football for Stanford University and (briefly) the Oakland Raiders, Roch began appearing in national commercial and print ad campaigns before getting into acting full-time.[1] He is best known for the role of Nurse Kenny Fournette on the NBC drama The Night Shift.
JR Lemon | |
|---|---|
| Born | James Roch Lemon II June 6, 1983 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2009–present |
Early life
editRoch was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. After graduating high school, he attended Stanford University and played running back on the Stanford Cardinal football team while also earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Science & Engineering in 2005. He played briefly for the Oakland Raiders, but was cut during 2006 training camp. After moving to the Los Angeles area to continue his football training, he went on to pursue modeling and acting.[2]
Career
editRoch was an action-capture actor for the Madden NFL series of video games from 2009 through 2012.[2] In 2017, Roch portrayed Devin Wade, the protagonist of Madden NFL 18's "Longshot" story mode.[3] His first film role was as the main character Jenkins in the little-known stoner comedy Bad Batch. He next appeared in the 2012–13 Web series Shadow Love before getting his big break in 2013 when he was cast in his first major film role: playing Oliver in Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas.[4] Most recently, he appeared as Nurse Kenny Fournette, a main character on the NBC medical drama The Night Shift,[5] which ran for four seasons (2014–2017).[6]
Filmography
editFilm and television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Bad Batch (as J.R. Lemon) | Jenkins | film |
| 2012–2013 | Shadow Love (as J.R. Lemon) | Amir | 10 episodes |
| 2013 | A Madea Christmas | Oliver | film |
| 2014 | Hawaii Five-0 | Jordan Lewis | Episode: " Ho’oilina " |
| 2014–2017 | The Night Shift | Nurse Kenny Fournette | Main cast, 45 episodes |
| 2015 | Whitney | Reporter | TV movie |
| 2021 | Black Lightning | Cousin Donald | Episode: "Painkiller" (backdoor pilot) |
| 2021 | FBI | Terrance | Episode: "Know Thyself" |
| 2022 | Grey Elephant | Will | film |
| 2023 | Law & Order: Organized Crime | Deputy Inspector Ray Thurman | Recurring, 8 episodes |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Madden NFL 18 | Devin Wade | Protagonist of Longshot |
| 2018 | Madden NFL 19 | Devin Wade | Protagonist of Longshot: Homecoming |
References
edit- ^ Pendleton, Tonya. "Football Player Turned Actor JR Lemon Works 'The Night Shift'". blackamericaweb.com. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
- ^ a b "JR Lemon, Celebrity". tvguide.com. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
- ^ Smith, Joel (August 22, 2017). "Madden NFL 18's Longshot Proves to Be a Real Touchdown". Operation Sports. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
- ^ "'Madea's' JR Lemon, Robert Bailey, Jr. Work NBC's 'Night Shift'". chicagodefender.com. 2014-05-29. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
- ^ "The Night Shift Cast Bios -- Kenny". nbc.com. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
- ^ Porter, Rick (November 17, 2016). "'The Night Shift' renewed for Season 4 on NBC". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 18, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2017.