Many people dabble in music and acting, and even fewer continue to pursue it. An even smaller group of people make these subjects their main pursuit in life rather than just a hobby. One of these select few is Jacob Moran.
Jacob’s life had been surrounded by and submerged in music and acting since as far back as he can remember. At just 18 months old, Jacob was already playing with drums and inspired by his dad’s stint on broadway and his mom’s singing prowess.
“I believe my passion and purpose became clear at a very young age. I was about 18 months old when I started playing the drums. It was a set of timbalies that my parents brought back from South Africa when my Mom was pregnant with me. My Dad was a drummer on Broadway (Riverdance) while working his job on Wall Street and my mom sings and grew up in the theater and was working as a publicist in NYC,” Jacob recalls.
From there, Jacob’s career was headed with a quick upward trajectory. His professional career began when he booked the National broadway tour of “School of Rock” at eleven years old and more followed. Now a freshman in high school, Jacob’s career has brought him into contact with many successful people and through those relationships he has discovered other interests including financial investing.
“I am a professional actor and student. I began my “career” on stage and then found my passion for television and film. I am also a freshman in high school and in a specialized program called the Innovation Diploma. Unlike “typical” learning, we (approx 30 students per grade that stay together for the 4 years of high school) work with fortune 500 companies as design thinkers for solving problems, implementing new programs and processes and impacting the community through growth, innovation and change,” Jacob states.
Jacob has been able to adapt and meet the challenges that covid has presented. He now has had many opportunities to work with different coaches and actors all because of the power of online meetings. Additionally, the flexibility of these options has given Jacob the ability to leverage his time to do even more than originally planned, including time to have some fun and get his scuba license.
“Prior to Covid all of the auditions, for the most part, were in person. However, now I can leverage my time better, as most “first calls” are on tape. We have a studio set up in my home to tape auditions and voice overs and I work virtually with my NY and LA acting coaches over zoom. It is pretty cool. I can even do my voice lessons virtually! This past year I filmed the Universal/Blumhouse feature “The Black Phone” which grossed over $100 Million in the first month. That blows me away,” Jacob noted.
Jacob has many other exciting projects that he is working on and have challenged him as an actor to learn and do more with each role. He explains them below:
“After we wrapped The Black Phone, I filmed “New Shoes,” which is a 22 minute short that we hope to make into a feature film next year. It is a slice of life based on writer and co-director Thommy Kane’s childhood, which involved growing up with a heroin addicted, single mother who worked as a sex worker from home. The role was hard and yet, very rewarding. I am also committed to film another really culturally relevant film called “Regarding Veronica”. It is heart felt drama that tackles social justice themes including transgender, same sex parents and even suicide, but all of it is told with a light touch through the point of view of a child.”
To find out more about Jacob, follow him on instagram here and check out his website here.