Born in Manhattan, Jared Christopher Martin was the son of famed New Yorker artist and illustrator Charles E. Martin. He attended The Putney School in Vermont and Columbia, then followed De Palma to Hollywood.
Martin roomed with Brian De Palma when they both attended Columbia University in New York and appeared in the first and third features of the director's career:Murder a la Mod(1968) and The Wedding Party(1969).
Martin's career also included starring roles on two sci-fi TV series: 1977's The Fantastic Journey at NBC and a 1988-90 adaptation of War of the Worlds, which aired in syndication.
