Jose Rene Martinez

Birth Name

Jose Rene Martinez

Mini Biography

Jose Rene Martinez (J.R.) is an actor, agent and retired soldier. He was built-in in Shreveport, LA, to Maria Zavala. He has two sisters, Consuelo and Anabel, who were aloft in El Salvador with his mother's family. Anabel died as a toddler afore he anytime accommodated her. At nine years old J.R. confused with his mother to Hope, Arizona, area he lived until he was 17. At 17, he confused to Dalton, Georgia, a abode he proudly calls his hometown. During his chief year he played able assurance for the Dalton Top Academy Catamounts if they went to Georgia's State Championship. Playing able football was his dream until he suffered an abrasion his chief year. After top academy he abutting the army. Martinez was appreciative to serve, as a way to accord something aback to a country that had already accustomed so abundant to him and his family. In September of 2002, J.R. underwent Basic and Advanced Training at Fort Benning, Georgia, area he acquired abilities as an 11-B Infantryman. After advertisement to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in January of 2003, he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division.

In March of 2003, J.R. was deployed to Iraq, and on April 5, beneath than a ages into his deployment, he was confined as a disciplinarian of a Humvee in Karbala, if his larboard foreground annoy hit a land-mine. Three added soldiers with J.R. were ejected from the afire vehicle, but Martinez was trapped inside. He suffered smoke assimilation and astringent burns to added than 40 percent of his body. Martinez claims that while he was angry for his activity and apprehension medical advice in Iraq, his sister Anabel, appeared to him, giving him the backbone to break alive.

After he was pulled out of the Humvee, J.R. was abandoned to a bounded medic base in Iraq and again Landstuhl, Germany, for actual care. He was eventually beatific to Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio, Texas. He spent 34 months in accretion at BAMC and underwent 33 altered surgeries including derma grafts and corrective surgery.

During his time in recovery, a assistant asked him to allege to a bake patient, who had just apparent his physique for the aboriginal time and had become withdrawn. After an almost 45-minute visit, the accommodating opened the blind absolution ablaze in his allowance and his heart. J.R. again accepted the appulse he had on this accommodating and absitively to use his acquaintance to advice others, visiting with several of the patients in the hospital, administration his adventure and alert to theirs.

J.R. has become a awful approved motivational speaker, traveling the country to advance his bulletin of animation and optimism. He devotes himself to assuming others the accurate amount in authoritative the a lot of of every situation. He is alleged on by a wide-range of groups, including ample corporations, veterans groups, non-profits and schools, and has aggregate the date with the brand of all-around self-help authority Tony Robbins and Evangelist Dave Roever. Martinez has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The New York Times and PEOPLE Magazine. He has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, 60 Minutes, The View, CNN, FOX News, Good Morning America, Univision, forth with added above civic account outlets.

J.R. plays 'Brot Monroe' on the Emmy Award acceptable daytime ball "All My Children." In accurate Hollywood fashion, J.R. was encouraged by a acquaintance to go on the accessible casting alarm that AMC put out for a adept to accompany the cast. After several affairs with producers he was casting and an amateur was born. Due to his popularity, what started as a three ages adventure arc developed into a three year stint. His role as an afflicted Iraq action adept mirrors his own life. J.R. will be dancing with Karina Smirnoff on division 13 of ABC's "Dancing With The Stars."