JACOB KAPUT

Jacob, you grew up in Chicago and then moved to Los Angeles in 2017. How did that change your perspective, both as a person and as a creative?

Raised in Chicago, I learned the value of toughness, community, and down-to-earth quality. Even as a young kid, immersing myself in the blue-collar work ethic and diversity of cultures taught me to perceive people and the world the way I do.

When I moved to Los Angeles in 2017, I shifted my perspective creatively. I was placed in an environment where creativity is not only encouraged, but amplified in everyday life. As an actor, blending Chicago’s realism with LA’s artistic freedom allows me to approach roles with both authenticity and imagination alike, shaping who I am as both a person and as a creative thinker.

You started acting classes at The Playground the same year you arrived in LA. What do you remember about those first classes, and when did you realize acting could become something serious for you?

My mom always wanted to be a singer, and I think signing me up for acting classes was her way of giving me the head start she never had, even if at the time, acting never felt like it might extend beyond The Playground. I was already an outgoing kid growing up in Chicago, but those early classes accelerated my growth, helping me build both fundamental skills and more creative approaches to performing.

I started to see acting and performing in general as a real possibility after landing a few small film roles and commercials. Conversations with directors, writers, producers, and other actors only accelerated my confidence, turning what once felt like a far-fetched idea into a genuine passion and something I could truly see myself pursuing.

After getting an agent and booking background work, you landed a national Samsung commercial. How did that early professional experience shape your confidence or expectations as an actor?

I don’t think I realized how good the background gigs were until just recently in my life when I’ve had to get real jobs. Background acting, in the best way possible, introduced me to the world of filming and a lot of what goes into it.

I was genuinely dumbfounded when I found out I got a real commercial. I was only 12 and looking back, I can certainly say I couldn’t even grasp the gravity of that accomplishment. I expected nothing from acting when I first moved here, now I expect the utmost professionalism, hard work, and dedication from myself from an acting standpoint but also in my personal life. The whole experience taught me Hollywood isn’t a far off, unreachable place, but it’s an obtainable experience in my backyard.

For a while, acting stepped aside as ice hockey became a big part of your life. What does being a goalie teach you that also helps you in acting or storytelling?

In my humble opinion, I think ice hockey goalie is one of the hardest positions in sports. Everything from the flexibility, technique, rigorous training, hand-eye coordination, pressure and mental aspects is expected of goalies everyday. Being a hockey player in general is demanding, but as a goalie, you really feel the weight of the team.

Hockey has a very tough, no weakness culture which I think really helped me define myself physically and mentally, while on the other hand, acting culture is about when and how you display your emotions and acting really taught me how to control them and expose them for the better. Together, metal and physical growth through hockey complimented and still compliments my emotional journey through acting.

Meeting Daemon Hillin led to your role in Bring the Law at just 16. What did that first real role teach you about being on a film set?

Daemon was super cool and down to earth, totally contrary to what I was conditioned to think about the industry, which mostly cooled my nerves for what is to come in my career. My first movie role was a thrill, truly. My call time for the first day had me come like four hours early which was great because I got to meet tons of cool people working on Bring the Law and I got to watch a really cool shootout scene. I think the experience really taught me that no matter how big or small a role is, everyone has an equal shot to impress and kill their role.

Scout Taylor-Compton was impressed enough to write a role specifically for you in Last Chance Motel. How did it feel to have a character created with you in mind, especially while doing your own stunts?

I’m convinced Scout is the kindest woman in Hollywood. Since day one, she’s treated me and my family as her family and never been anything but the best director and person to work with. I was tremendously surprised and very thankful Scout thought I had it in me to have a larger role in her next project, Last Chance Motel. The role felt like me when I was 13-14, a nerdy comic book kid buried in the pages of a dramatic thriller, so the fact I got to play it was funny and fitting.

The stunts in Last Chance Motel might have been my favorite part if it were not for the red corn syrup in my mouth most of the time. I actually hate the sight of blood, real or fake and it tasted like a minty syrup. Not the best combination!

Of course though, those moments when you have to spit up fake blood half the day may not be on your bucket list, but they’re the moments that shape you into the person you need to be. I had to quickly get over my fear of blood in order to be immersed in my character.

You turned 17 while filming Last Chance Motel and have just turned 18 recently. How do you feel you’ve changed creatively and personally in such a short time?

Ever since my earliest memories, I’ve been creatively innate but also restless. When I was younger, I used to organize my matchbox cars with OCD precision, to having my legos participate in a full scale war against my GI joes when I was a toddler, to playing instruments as a young teen, to writing and composing music as a teen, to writing full scripts and IP’s as a young adult.

I think my evolution as a creative thinker in such a short span of time has been proof that I have a lot in store for the near future.

You’re currently writing several scripts, including a sci-fi thriller. What draws you to that genre, and what kinds of stories do you feel compelled to tell right now?

I’m super excited about my script. I’m writing a couple but the ‘big one’ I’m working on is called Songs of Akadia. I would describe it as: At its core, it’s a story about hope, craving, and the quiet war between surviving today and your identity tomorrow. It poses questions like, what is hope and where does it come from? What happens when authority replaces the truth? The tension doesn’t just come from external threats, but from the psychological weight of choice: how far would someone go to protect their meaning, connection, and freedom when the world keeps demanding compromise for the greater good. It’s vulnerable, emotional, reflective, less about spectacle and more about what it costs to remain human when everything is designed to make you not.

The reason I am drawn to sci-fi is because the first video game I ever played, at the age of around five, was Halo 3. The impact Halo 3 and the halo games have had on me is unmeasurable and they influence me in everything I gravitate to creatively and everything I’m drawn to in day to day life. The writers of Halo, like Marcus Lehto and Joseph Staten, have really influenced the types of stories I want to tell, while the composer and sound designer of Halo, Martin O’Donnell has probably had the most influence on me overall. His music in general is some of the greatest work composed in the modern era soundtrack wise, in my opinion. His music also personifies the importance of music in whatever story you try to tell and how it can influence a scene, moment or relationship which has really taught me the stakes of great music in media.

Personally, going to the movies the last few years hasn’t been too enjoyable for me. Most of the movies I watch now don’t scratch the same itch that movies like Gattaca, Whiplash, The Thing, No Country For Old Men and Miracle did for me. I love a good, compelling story that makes me want more and I want nothing more than to tell a story as good as any of the movies I’ve mentioned. So right now, I want to tell stories that aren’t cliche and meant to sell tickets or to make a quick buck. I want to make stories that can change a person’s world view, ask tough questions, motivate people, move people and inspire people to create, just as I was inspired to create rather than solely consume.

You’re balancing high school at Calabasas High with acting, sports, and writing. How do you manage that rhythm, and what keeps you grounded?

The acting, writing and sports are what keep me grounded. They help me keep a well rounded schedule which is great for staying lucid and on my toes. I think people who don’t extend themselves to any and everything they can are doing themselves a disservice by limiting their intellectual and creative mind as well as their physical resilience.

Thankfully, my extra curriculars aren’t what weigh me down, but is the propellant that launches me forward, challenging me physically, strengthening me mentally and shaping me emotionally all for the better.

Beyond acting and writing, music is also part of your life. How do playing piano and violin, and composing your own music, influence the way you approach characters and stories?

Music is a different language. Music is just like learning French or German and learning a whole new culture. Music acts as the foundations to all I express and everything I try to accomplish. Piano and violin were instrumental in my life with metaphorically turning the gears in my brain and accelerating my progress of putting abstract into concrete with a simple bow movement or key tap.

How I see it, characters in stories are just like instruments. Like a string orchestra, each character supports each other in one way or another. Some characters are louder than others, some are softer, some are bigger, some smaller, but one thing they all have in common is they are all different. The violin might sound a bit like a viola, but if you listen carefully, they sound very different. In the start of a piece, the cello might be playing in pizzicato, while by the end, he’s playing vibrato. The same principles are true in character on screen. Everyone is similar in the fact they are all different. They all vary in appearance, expression, and how they change from beginning to the end.