Martin Hewitt

Hewitt garnered mostly neutral reviews for his portrayal of David Axelrod. Variety commented that "Since he’s center stage most of the time, it’s fortunate that newcomer Martin Hewitt registers so strongly. Zeffirelli has dressed and photographed his find almost in the style of some of his mentor Luchino Visconti’s neo-realist heroes, with two-day beard growths and anachronistic Clark Gable undershirts." Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that Hewitt "has neither the resources nor the opportunity to convey much about how David's mind works, even though this is what the story hinges on." Nevertheless, Hewitt said, "I don't care what anyone says; I am proud of that film."

Hewitt has confirmed that he and Shields were never romantically involved in real life, stating that they "became good friends, but we're not close." Shields later vouched for this in her 2014 memoir, There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me. "Martin and I got along well and enjoyed working with one another. We neither fell in love nor hated each other...All we were required to do was convince people we were in love. This approach freed us both up to become actual friends."

Branching out into home inspection to help pay the bills, he opened his own company in 1993. "Any time my agent would call and say, 'We want you to read for this,' " he says, "I'd go, 'Man, I've got an inspection.'"As of 2015, Hewitt still owns his home inspection service in San Luis Obispo, California.

While Hewitt was filming Crime Lords in South Africa in 1989, he met German-born flight attendant Kerstin Gneiting, whom he married in 1990. They divorced in 2015. Their two children are daughter Guinevere and son Cailean.

After appearing in his second film, Yellowbeard (1983), in which he portrayed the son of Graham Chapman's character, Hewitt spent the 1980s shooting forgettable B movies and doing the occasional TV guest spot. Of the films he appeared in during the '80s included: April Fool, later to be titled Killer Party (1986); The Falling (1987); and Two Moon Junction (1988). In the latter film, he portrayed Chad, the fiance of Sherilyn Fenn's character. Hewitt previously worked with Fenn in Out Of Control (1985). Hewitt had also done straight-to-video flicks including Crime Lords (1991), Carnal Crimes (1991) and Night Rhythms (1992). He eventually left show business.

While enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, CA and working as bartender and valet car park/parking lot attendant, Hewitt saw an ad for an open call for a film directed by Franco Zeffirelli and beat out 5,000 actors, including Tom Cruise and Timothy Hutton, for the male lead. Hewitt had originally envisioned a Shakespearean career, but suddenly he was starring opposite Brooke Shields in Franco Zeffirelli's Endless Love, a 1981 forbidden teen romance film. According to Hewitt, "Some people actually wrote that I was discovered in a parking lot."

Martin Hewitt (born February 19, 1958) is an American businessman and former actor. He is best known for his film debut as David Axelrod in Franco Zeffirelli's Endless Love (1981). His last role was a 2003 episode of ER.

Martin Hewitt was born on February 19, 1958 in San Jose, California. He is the second oldest of six children to Peter and Heather Hewitt. Peter Hewitt is a retired owner of a medical-equipment manufacturing firm. Hewitt's early years were spent in California, England, Belgium, and Michigan.