Justin Mentell 1982-2010‘Mirrored’
Actor Justin Mentell, best known for his role in the popular television series Boston Legal, was killed in a car crash near Madison, Wisconsin on Monday, February 1, 2010.
The 27-year-old was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from his 2005 Jeep after it careened down an embankment and struck several trees. Iowa County Coroner William Finley pronounced Mentell dead at 9:00 a.m., at the scene of the crash on Highway 39 near Mineral Point.
According to Chief Deputy John Pepper, “It looks like he had been there for several hours. There are a lot of trees in that area, so if you were driving on 39, you wouldn’t be able to see the vehicle. The farmer who discovered the accident was traveling on Moscow Road after the sun came up, and he saw the jeep in a field. We don’t believe that alcohol was a factor in the incident. There was no evidence of that here. It is possible that Mr. Mentell fell asleep at the wheel.” See accident report here.
Justin grew up in Waukegan, Illinois and joined the Northbrook Children’s Theater where he played one of the Lost Boys in a production of “Peter Pan”. He was also an accomplished speedskater and was named to the U.S. Junior National Long Track team in 2000, taking fourth overall at the national championships.
He attended Northern Illinois University where he majored in acting and spent a summer at the Moscow Art Theatre as part of an exchange program. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2005.
The actor appeared in 10 episodes as lawyer Garrett Wells on Boston Legal from 2005-2006. He received a Screen Actors Guild nomination in the category of Best Ensemble Cast in a Comedy Series in January 2006. His last body of work was a film role in the Walt Disney Pictures family feature “G-Force” in July 2009.
Artist James Zahn reports that the young actor had come back to his roots recently. He said, “He moved back to Waukegan to focus on his art and his music. A biography on Mentell’s website states: “Justin quit acting in July 2009 to focus solely on his passion for art – a love he’s embraced for over four years. Mentell, with some downtime while filming Boston Legal and a hint of curiosity, headed to the local art store.”
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