Jacob Artist is an actor, best known for his roles in American Horror Story (2016), After The Dark (2013) and Glee (2012).
Personal life[]
Jacob was born to Darrell and Judith Artist in Williamsville, New York. His father is African American, whereas his mother is of Polish descent. He has a younger sister who is also a fan of Glee.
He began dancing at the age of five at David DeMarie Dance Studios and is a trained jazz, hip hop, tap, and ballet competition dancer. When he turned eleven, he realized that dance was what he loved and wanted to do. During high school, he danced with the Infinity Dance Project, and participated in Chautauqua Institution's summer dance school. He began taking voice lessons through the Community Music School in Buffalo. He was named Teen Dancer of the Year at the American Dance Awards finals in 2007 and Senior Mr. Onstage of NY at Onstage NY finals in 2009.
Jacob graduated from Williamsville South in 2010. He auditioned for Juilliard and got in, but turned it down to be an actor. He feels as if he had gone to Juilliard, he would have been wondering what would have happened if he decided to pursue an acting career. His parents, grandparents and sister were supportive of his decision.
Career[]
He began to get the "acting bug" when he was fifteen. He moved out to Los Angeles with his dad since he was only seventeen at the time. Jacob began his professional acting career in 2011 with an episode on Bucket and Skinner's Epic Adventures. Other television credits include Melissa & Joey, How to Rock, and the romance film Blue Lagoon: The Awakening. His manager got him an audition for Glee and he went in singing for the casting director. He has stated that prior to his audition he had never done a singing performance before. He received a callback where he had to sing and act; then a few days later, he found out he was going to test with Ryan Murphy and the FOX executives. He found out he got the part hours before it was announced.
He was cast in White Bird, where he will portray the love interest of Shailene Woodley's character. In July 2013, he was chosen as one of the eleven Abercrombie & Fitch's Stars on the Rise.
In 2015, Artist was cast in the recurring role of FBI recruit, Brandon Fletcher on the ABC thriller series Quantico.