# Jake Epstein

Jacob Lee Epstein (born January 16, 1987) is a Canadian actor and singer. He is known for playing Craig Manning, a musician with bipolar disorder, on Degrassi: The Next Generation. He has also had recurring roles in the television series Designated Survivor and The Hardy Boys.
On Broadway, Epstein originated the role of Gerry Goffin in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. He has also starred as Melchior in the national tour of Spring Awakening and played Will in the national tour of American Idiot.

## Early life

Epstein was born in Toronto, Ontario. His mother, Kathy Kacer, is a Norma Fleck Award-winning writer of children's stories about the Holocaust, and his father is a lawyer. He also has an older sister, Gabi, who is an actress and jazz singer.
Epstein is Jewish, and was raised in Conservative Judaism. Epstein stated in 2019, "I would consider myself spiritually Jewish rather than religiously Jewish."

## Career
### Musical theatre

Epstein made his professional stage debut in a production of Our Town, which played at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in 1999. After this, Epstein played the Artful Dodger in a production of Oliver!. The musical played at the Princess of Wales Theatre between November 2, 1999 and January 2, 2000.
In 2009, he starred as C.B. (Charlie Brown) in a Canadian production of Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead. Later that year, Epstein joined the first national tour Spring Awakening, where he replaced Kyle Riabko as Melchior Gabor. His first performance with the tour was on July 7, 2009, and stayed with the tour until it ended in 2010.
In July 2011, Epstein joined the original Canadian production of Billy Elliot the Musical. He played the role of Tony Elliot, Billy's older brother, in the production which played at the Canon Theatre in Toronto. After that show closed, Epstein played Will in the first national tour of American Idiot, which began in December 2011. In a 2013 interview, Epstein said that Will was the most challenging role had had ever played. He said, "I sat on a couch and never left the stage for the majority of the show. That experience was a whole lesson in pacing, in creating a whole world for yourself on stage..."
In 2012, Epstein made his Broadway debut in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which played at the Foxwoods Theatre. He was the alternate for the lead role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Epstein referred to the role as a "childhood fantasy come true."
Epstein was cast as Gerry Goffin in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, opposite Jessie Mueller. The musical had a pre-Broadway engagement at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, where it played September 24 and October 20, 2013. He then originated the role when it transferred to Broadway, where it began performances at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on November 12, 2013. Epstein later shared that playing Carole's ex-husband was uniquely challenging because Carole encouraged him to not portray Gerry as the villain, even though the script changes increasingly presented him that way. He left the show in 2014 after a year of performances, citing vocal problems and fatigue of playing a real person being portrayed as brooding and villainous. However, Epstein temporarily returned to the show in 2016, where he reprised his role opposite fellow Canadian actor Chilina Kennedy, who starred as Carole.
In 2016, Epstein starred as a closeted gay man in the off-Broadway show Straight. He said of the script:
   "What resonated with me is how a straight person is just a person, but a gay person is a gay person—it's part of the title you give somebody...I thought the whole angle that the play takes about not a fear of coming out but a fear of definition, a fear of being labeled as a gay man, was an argument that's not really made in our sort of post-acceptance society. It's not about a guy who's afraid of coming out..."
At the 2019 Toronto Fringe Festival, Epstein premiered his solo cabaret show Boy Falls From the Sky. The show is a retelling of his experiences in show business, including his time on Degrassi: The Next Generation, the challenges of auditioning for musicals, and his experiences on the ill-fated musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Epstein was encouraged to write the show at the encouragement of his wife, who he credits with helping him realizing the power and authenticity of "...somebody with a microphone, telling a true story, something that's funny or horrific or whatever..." Mirvish Productions expressed interest in the show, and presented it at the Royal Alexandra Theatre between April 19 and May 29, 2022 and received widespread positive reviews. Epstein has since performed the show across Canada, including in Hamilton, Barrie, and in Quebec at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts.
Epstein will star as Frank Carter in the pre-Broadway engagement of Life After, which will play at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto between April 16 and May 4, 2025.

### Television

After appearing on the TV show The Zack Files, he played Craig Manning on Degrassi: The Next Generation for five seasons and won the Gemini Award. The character of Craig became a musician on the show and had to cope with parental abuse and bipolar disorder. Epstein said, "At the time, mental illness was not really something anyone was talking about. There was a huge stigma attached — I had never seen [bipolar disorder] on TV, and certainly not in a teenager. I loved the opportunity to portray someone who was conflicted and not perfect..." Craig impregnated a girl named Manny who gets an abortion, and Epstein noted that those episodes were "initially banned" in the United States. Epstein indicated that he "got the chance to really flesh out this guy that felt like a darker extension of me."
He left Degrassi during the fifth season to attend the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal and made theater his new focus. Epstein said, "One of the things I love about theatre is how raw it is. There's no faking it… I really wanted to have a base in theatre, and that kind of opened up all these doors for me." Epstein returned to Degrassi for minor guest appearances in season 6–8.
Epstein played "geeky FBI computer nerd" Chuck Russink in the American TV show Designated Survivor (2016–2018). It was cancelled by ABC after two seasons, and he was no longer in the show when it was picked up and aired by Netflix for a third season.

## Personal life

Epstein married actress Vanessa Smythe in 2018. They welcomed their first child, son Miles August Epstein, on May 25, 2023.

## Theatre credits

| Year | Production | Role | Theatre | Category |
| 1999 | Our Town | Joe Crowell | Royal Alexandra Theatre | Soulpepper Theatre / Mirvish Productions |
| 1999 | Oliver! | Artful Dodger | Princess of Wales Theatre | Mirvish Productions |
| 2008–2009 | Cinderella: The Sillylicious Family Musical | Prince George | Elgin Theatre | Ross Petty Productions |
| 2009 | Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead | CB | Six Degrees Theatre | Regional: Toronto |
| 2009–2010 | Spring Awakening | Melchior Gabor | First National Tour | First National Tour |
| 2010–2011 | Beauty and the Beast: The Savagely Silly Family Musical | Prince Zack / The Beast | Elgin Theatre | Ross Petty Productions |
| 2011 | Billy Elliot the Musical | Tony Elliot | Canon Theatre | Mirvish Productions |
| 2011–2012 | American Idiot | Will | First National Tour | First National Tour |
| 2012–2013 | Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark | alt. Peter Parker/Spider-Man | Foxwoods Theatre | Broadway |
| 2013 | Beautiful: The Carole King Musical | Gerry Goffin | Curran Theatre | Pre-Broadway engagement: San Francisco |
| 2013–2014 | Beautiful: The Carole King Musical | Gerry Goffin | Stephen Sondheim Theatre | Broadway |
| 2016 | Straight | Ben | Acorn Theatre | Off-Broadway |
| 2016–2017 | Beautiful: The Carole King Musical | Gerry Goffin | Stephen Sondheim Theatre | Broadway |
| 2019 | Boy Falls From the Sky | Himself | Supermarket Bar | Toronto Fringe Festival |
| 2019 | Dear Jack, Dear Louise | Jack Ludwig | Arena Stage | Washington, D.C. |
| 2022 | Boy Falls From the Sky | Himself | Royal Alexandra Theatre | Mirvish Productions |
| 2023 | Boy Falls From the Sky | Himself | Five Points Theatre | Barrie, Ontario |
| 2023 | Boy Falls From the Sky | Himself | Theatre Aquarius | Hamilton, Ontario |
| 2023 | Boy Falls From the Sky | Himself | Sylvan Adams Theatre | Segal Centre for Performing Arts |
| 2024 | The Last Timbit | Shane | Elgin Theatre | |
| 2025 | Life After | Frank Carter | Ed Mirvish Theatre | Pre-Broadway engagement: Toronto |

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | Crown Heights | N/A | |
| 2007 | Charlie Bartlett | Dustin Lauderbach | |
| 2012 | Blood Pressure | Josh Trestman | |
| 2013 | Jesse | Jesse Turner | Short film |
| 2015 | 4th Man Out | Marc the artist | |
| 2015 | As I Like Her | Jimmy | Short film |
| 2015 | Borealis | Fergus | |
| 2015 | Full Out | Coach Pierce | |
| 2016 | Zaide | Saul | Short film |
| 2018 | Mouthpiece | Danny | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1999 | Ricky's Room | Bradley | |
| 1999 | Real Kids, Real Adventures | Chris Gilmore | Episode: "Lost & Found: The Richard Prieur Story" |
| 2000 | Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire | Duffy | Television movie |
| 2000 | Quints | Brad | Television movie |
| 2000–2002 | The Zack Files | Cam Dunleavy | Main role |
| 2002–2009 | Degrassi: The Next Generation | Craig Manning | Main role (seasons 2–5); guest role (seasons 6–8) |
| 2003 | The Eleventh Hour | Jacob McGibbon | Episode: "Shelter" |
| 2003 | Girls v. Boys | Himself | Contestant Hawaii |
| 2005 | Radio Free Roscoe | Jackson Torrance | Episode: "Musical Influences" |
| 2006 | Angela's Eyes | Brad | Episode: "Undercover Eyes" |
| 2007 | The Good Witch | Brad | Episodes: "Halloween Prophecy, parts 1 & 2" |
| 2008 | Paradise Falls | Jim | Episodes: "Revelations", "Stardust" |
| 2009 | Being Erica | Malcolm Abrams | Episode: "Battle Royale" |
| 2009 | Degrassi Goes Hollywood | Craig Manning | Teleivision movie |
| 2011 | My Babysitter's a Vampire | David Stachowski | Episode: "Blue Moon" |
| 2012 | Murdoch Mysteries | Eddie Driscol | Episode: "Murdoch Night in Canada" |
| 2015 | Remedy | Jake Ruben | Episodes: "Fight or Flight", "Day One" |
| 2015 | Charming Christmas | Woody | Television movie |
| 2016–2017 | Degrassi: Next Class | Craig Manning | Episodes: "#ThrowBackThursday", "FactsOnly" |
| 2016–2018 | Designated Survivor | Chuck Russink | Recurring role |
| 2017–2019 | Suits | Brian Altman | Recurring role (seasons 7–9) |
| 2017 | Gone | Stephen | Episode: "Ride" |
| 2017 | Backstage | Clive Richie | Season 2 Episode 25 |
| 2017 | Home for the Holidays | Charles Ponzi | Television movie: Christmas special of Murdoch Mysteries |
| 2019 | Frankie Drake Mysteries | Bruce Fordham | Episode: "A Brother in Arms" |
| 2019 | Mistletoe & Menorahs | Jonathan Silver | Television movie |
| 2019 | A Storybook Christmas | Taylor Haldway | Television movie |
| 2020 | Star Trek: Discovery | Dr Attis | Episode: "Die Trying" |
| 2020 | Christmas at Maple Creek | Carter | Television movie |
| 2021 | Eight Gifts of Hanukkah | Daniel Myers | Television movie |
| 2022 | The Umbrella Academy | Alphonso Hargreeves / Sparrow Number Four | Recurring role (season 3) |
| 2022 | Hudson & Rex | Todd Harvey | Episode: "Den of Snakes" |
| 2022–2023 | The Hardy Boys | Mr. Adrian Munder | Recurring role (seasons 2–3) |
| 2023 | The Wedding Contract | Adam | Television movie |
| 2023 | What We Do for Love | Jason Sharpe | Television movie |
| 2023 | Laughing All the Way | Mike Baxter | Television movie |
| 2023 | Sincerely Truly Christmas | Robert Riley | Television movie |

## Discography

* 2008: Music from Degrassi: The Next Generation ("My Window")
* 2009: Degrassi Goes Hollywood: Music from the Original Movie ("Rescue You" and "Swan Song")
* 2014: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2001 | Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a TV Movie (Comedy) – Supporting Young Actor | Quints | Nominated |
| 2003 | Young Artist Awards | Best Ensemble in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) | Degrassi: The Next Generation | Nominated |
| 2003 | Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Leadying Young Actor | Degrassi: The Next Generation | Nominated |
| 2003 | Gemini Awards | Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series | Degrassi: The Next Generation | Won |
| 2004 | Gemini Awards | Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series | Degrassi: The Next Generation | Nominated |
| 2004 | Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Leadying Young Actor | Degrassi: The Next Generation | Nominated |
| 2005 | Young Artist Awards | Outstanding Young Performers in a TV Series | Degrassi: The Next Generation | Nominated |
| 2006 | Young Artist Awards | Best Young Ensemble Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) | Degrassi: The Next Generation | Nominated |
| 2018 | Hollywood North Film Awards | Best Performance – Canadian Short Film | Okay / The Talk / Zaide / Hypostasis / I Lost My Mind | Nominated |
| 2022 | Dora Mavor Moore Awards | Outstanding New Musical | Boy Falls From the Sky | Nominated |
| 2022 | Dora Mavor Moore Awards | Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role | Boy Falls From the Sky | Nominated |