PHOTO BY BRIAN JAMIE
When did you first realize that you wanted to get into acting?
Jake: “I realized I wanted to get into acting towards the tail end of my baseball career. All I wanted to do was play professional baseball for the New York Mets, but I had a bunch of injuries and it didn't work out. I knew I loved performing and that a lot of athletes transitioned into acting after their playing careers ended. So I jumped into an acting class recommended to me by a friend and right away I knew it was what I wanted to do.”
You currently star as Stephano Luciano in the Amazon Prime Series “Class Act”. Can you tell us a little about the show and your character?
J: “The show is a dramedy about an out of the box acting class in Hollywood. Eric Roberts plays our teacher and tries to help us become better actors but teaches life lessons as well. My character is a bit of a loner type. Stephano starts out as the starving artist, living in his car, trying to work his was up. Similar to my own experience when I arrived in LA.”
You also wrote and produced this series. How did you first get the idea for it and decide to pursue it?
J: “I got the idea for Class Act because I'm constantly trying to create projects. One of the first things I did when I got to Hollywood, was join an acting class. So parts of the the show are actually true. I had previously acted and produced on another Amazon Show as well, so I had gained experience of working on a project like this. I was lucky to have a great team around me, and to have Amazon involved as well.”
What’s it like working on the set? Do you have a favorite episode that you filmed of the show?
J: “Set was a lot of fun because a lot of the cast had worked together before, so we were all friends. Also because the show has a lot of comedic elements to it, the vibe on set was really light. In between setups Eric Roberts was telling us stories, cracking jokes, so we had a lot of fun.
My favorite episode of the show was the last one of the season, which was the Christmas episode. I had a few fun scenes with Eric and at that point, our chemistry as an ensemble was at its highest I'd say. It was also one of the only episodes that had almost every character in it.”
PHOTO BY BRIAN JAMIE
In 2018 you won a Daytime Emmy for “Outstanding Digital Daytime Drama Series” as a producer. How did you feel when that happened?
J: “I was extremely grateful to win such a prestigious award. I had a goal to win an Emmy or an Oscar by the age of 30. So I was able to hit that by 26, but I also learned something about myself after hitting that goal.
I got to bring my mom to the Emmys, go up on stage and see a lot of people I watched on TV in the audience, but I felt exactly the same. When I feel the most inspired and fulfilled is when I am acting or creating. For me, the gratification comes in the doing, not the result.”
Are there any other projects we can expect from you soon?
J: “I just had a small role in a movie called The Comeback Trail, that stars Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Tommy Lee Jones which I believe is coming out over the winter. We are also starting pre-production for season 2 of Class Act, so we should have new episodes out around Spring of next year.”