Jake Epstein

Jacob Lee Epstein, born January 16, 1987, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, established his acting career early. He made his professional stage debut in 1999 in “Our Town” at the Royal Alexandra Theatre and later played the Artful Dodger in “Oliver!” at the Princess of Wales Theatre. Epstein gained widespread recognition for his role as Craig Manning on the television series “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” appearing in five seasons from 2002 to 2007. His portrayal of a musician grappling with parental abuse and bipolar disorder earned him a Gemini Award.

Epstein’s career expanded significantly into theatre, including his Broadway debut in “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” as an alternate for Peter Parker/Spider-Man in 2012. He originated the role of Gerry Goffin in the Grammy-winning musical “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” which premiered in San Francisco in 2013 before moving to Broadway. His stage work also includes national tours of “Spring Awakening” (as Melchior) in 2009-2010 and Green Day’s “American Idiot” (as Will) in 2011-2012. He continued to take on diverse roles in television, recurring as Chuck Russink in “Designated Survivor” (2016-2018) and Brian Altman in “Suits” (2017-2019), demonstrating his versatility across various platforms.

More recently, Epstein has appeared in prominent streaming productions, with a recurring role on Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy” (2022) as Alphonso Hargreeves and Hulu’s “The Hardy Boys” (2022-2023) as Adrian Munder. His work in made-for-television movies includes “The Wedding Contract” (2023) and “Eight Gifts of Hanukkah” (2021) for Hallmark. In 2019, he premiered his solo cabaret show, “Boy Falls From the Sky,” at the Toronto Fringe Festival, which later played at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in 2022 and across Canada. Epstein is slated to star as Frank Carter in the pre-Broadway engagement of “Life After” in 2025. He is married to actress Vanessa Smythe, with whom he has one child.