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 stated in 2019, "I would consider myself spiritually Jewish rather than religiously Jewish."
Career
Theatre
Epstein made his professional stage debut in a production of Our Town, which played at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in 1999.
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..."
Epstein was cast as Gerry Goffin in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, opposite Jessie Mueller. 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. He said of the script: