Publisher: Authority Magazine

Go for No — Each “no” response you get brings you one step closer to the “yes.” I wish I knew from the first audition that you most likely won’t book the role. Not that you shouldn’t always do your best, but remember that just one person gets the job, and you never know what casting and producers are looking for. When the phone does ring with the yes, you won’t be expecting it and man, is that a great call!

As a part of our series about pop culture’s rising stars, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jacob Moran.

Jacob Moran is best known for his role “Billy” in the Blumhouse blockbuster feature film, The Black Phone. He also has a lead role “Tristan” in the upcoming 2023 short film, New Shoes (newshoesfilm.com). Jacob has also recently had roles on NBC’s New Amsterdam and ABC’s The Wonder Years. Jacob’s passion for performing and music began when he was very young. After having performed in over 50 shows as the lead drummer, Jacob took to the theater stage and toured with Broadway’s School of Rock for over 300 performances in the U.S. and Canada. Jacob has several passions outside of acting including scuba diving, wake surfing, mountain biking, playing pickleball, and having fun with his friends. Jacob is a high school freshman and resides in Atlanta, GA with his family.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

Thank you so much for having me! Well, I am definitely still growing up. I’ll be sixteen in June. It is pretty wild to think about all that I have done so far and really, I am just getting started. I was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. It’s a great place to live and work. Since I could walk, I have been banging on the drums and music has always been a big part of our family. My dad is also a drummer and my mom loves to sing. Our family is really close. From my siblings to my grandparents to our cousins, aunts and uncles, we spend a lot of time together. We celebrate pretty much everything together and I love that. I go every summer to stay with my grandparents in Florida for a week. My grandfather helped me get scuba certified down there and that was awesome! They have been very supportive and influential in my life. Growing up really changed when we lived on the road for a year. Our family has always loved to travel, but touring was different. I had just turned eleven and as a family we had to figure out how to travel to 33 cities in the U.S. and Canada. I know this was challenging for my family and yet, somehow we pulled it off. I grew up pretty fast with all of the responsibility of a full time job, managing school, music and acting lessons and moving every week. But, I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. So far, growing up has been pretty amazing!

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

I remember this day like it was yesterday. My mom and I were in NYC for my 10th birthday. We saw Hamilton and then The School of Rock. I turned to her when the show was over and said that is what I want to do. I want to be on that stage playing music and rocking out like that. If you know my mom, she puts things into action and we made this a goal. I auditioned that year for the School of Rock, but I didn’t get the part. A year later, I
auditioned again and found myself at callbacks in Orlando, FL and then another one in NYC. In July of 2019, we packed our bags and headed out to California where I started the year long journey on the road with the Broadway National Tour. It was awesome!

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I really find the business and people I meet fascinating. Being on the road and in so many cities, I was able to do things I had never done before. Probably one of the most interesting experiences was flying a seaplane over Lake Coeur d’Alene in Idaho. The pilot switched places with me and I took control of the plane for quite a while. That feeling of freedom and flying really inspired me, and as a result, I am working towards my pilots license. I just built a flight simulator in my room.

One other interesting story is the time I spent in the makeup trailer while filming The Black Phone. In most of the scenes I was dead, so I had to look dead. It was pretty creepy. Each day I would head to the makeup trailer for a three hour process of hair and makeup. The process included adding an extension in my hair and a lot of prosthetics on my face and neck to create the gashes. The makeup team was some of the best in the business, and the stories they shared and techniques they showed me were so amazing. The first time I met Ethan (Hawke) was actually in the makeup trailer. He was getting his mask put on and that was a fascinating process to watch, too. It is unbelievable just how much goes on behind the scenes to make it all come together.

It has been said that mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Very early in my career, one of my first short films, we had to film this scene where I was hit in the head and I fell on the ground. When we were filming the shot of me on the ground, the camera was about 2 inches from my face and for some reason I couldn’t get into character and kept laughing, literally non-stop laughing. It was awful because I knew how unprofessional it was but I just couldn’t seem to stop. This was a great learning experience for me because as I filmed more projects, it helped me learn how important it is to stay in character and forget about where the camera is during a scene.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

A few exciting things are happening. Newshoesfilm.com where I play the lead, “Tristan,” is hitting the festival circuit this year and I am filming two other new projects this year that I can’t talk about yet… but can’t wait to tell you all about them, I hope soon!