Degrassi - The Weirdos {Jake/Craig} #6: Because we hope he's having the time of his life in American Idiot. - Page 11

**JustMe2000** · 11-07-2021, 09:03 PM

From September, Jake doing his rock star thing in the pool.

**kaleidocat** · 11-22-2021, 03:04 PM

Okay, before we get into all the Christmas movies he's ho ho ho-ing about, let's talk about another Lifetime movie he was recently in. Danger Next Door.

Premiered on Lifetime on October 24th of this year. You can also watch the show on Philo, FuboTV and Sling. And streaming on all of Lifetime's platforms, I'm assuming.

Quote:

After a violent mugging, soon-to-be parents Robin and Ben flee the city for the idyllic countryside, a perfect place to raise their child. Unfortunately their disturbingly attentive neighbors have their own agenda for Robin and her family.

IMDB

Here's some stills! For those of us who haven't watched.

You should meet my neighbors.

"Honey, I love the kitchen!" They have nice stuff for a young couple.

"Honey, I don't like these plates anymore."

"Honey, I guess I can live with the plates."

**JustMe2000** · 12-02-2021, 10:50 PM

Our boy's got another new holiday movie coming out and in this one he actually celebrates Chanukah (I think). I'll let the co-mod take that up that topic and instead I'll post Jake's IG post celebrating his wife's birthday.

officialjakeepstein- Happy birthday to my favourite person on the planet.

**kaleidocat** · 12-03-2021, 04:19 PM

He has two new Christmas movies out and a Hanukkah one.

Looking all this up has been like untangling holiday lights.

Candy Cane Candidate premiered on December 20th on Lifetime.

Quote:

Natural-born leader, Julia, returns to her hometown of North Falls for Christmas to drown her sorrows in eggnog, cookies, and Yuletide after her recent political campaign for city council ended in a landslide loss. It's the perfect place for Julia's holiday escape — until she realizes coming home means running into her old high school rival, Parker, the arrogant know-it-all who beat her in a race for senior class president.

Jake plays Parker.

A Christmas Village Romance premiered on December 2nd on Lifetime.

Quote:

When romance novelist Diana (Jeni Ross) learns that Maple Creek, a charming pioneer village, is struggling to stay afloat, she uses her notoriety to help generate interest in the town by sponsoring a Christmas gala. Diana rallies her family and friends to pitch in, but she’s challenged at every turn by the village blacksmith and town historian, Carter (Jake Epstein). Sparks fly as the two must work together to save the village in time for Christmas. But when her gorgeous cover model and secret crush, Greg (Olivier Renaud), surprises Diana the night before the big Christmas gala, she’s torn on who to choose and must take a page out of her novels to figure out her true happily ever after.

officialjakeepstein

Had zero fun filming this.
Eight Gifts of Hanukkah premieres Fri DEC 3RD 8/7c on @hallmarkchannel @w_network
Let’s get lit.

**kaleidocat** · 01-02-2022, 04:05 PM

I'm going to dump out Jake Epstein's Christmas stocking and show you a bunch of Candy Cane Candidate related media.

Parade | Cast Your Ballot! Lifetime's Original Christmas Movie, Candy Cane Candidate, Brings Politics To the Holidays in the Sweetest Way

The List | Jake Epstein On Candy Cane Candidate, Degrassi, And More - Exclusive Interview

Quote:

And do you have any holiday traditions you're looking forward to this year?

Yeah, I mean, my wife celebrates Christmas, I celebrate Hanukkah, but I always feel like it's some let-down if I say that out loud or something because I am in Christmas movies. But I sort of discovered Christmas about five years ago when I was serious with my now wife and fell in love with it.

And it's sort of a joke in her family because I'm the most gung-ho about Christmas. I love all the traditions. Family is so important to me, so I love just the idea of having this time of year to really spend time with the people you love and letting them know how much you love them. I get to spend time with my nephews around this time of year. I think that's probably the thing I'm looking forward to most is just kind of that quality time with people.

But we do a Christmas where we're hosting our family for Christmas Eve this year. And there's a drinking tradition. There's a ping-pong tournament tradition. Everyone sleeps over; we get up and have a huge brunch in the morning. So I just think what's cool is that someone like me who's actually not Christian, that I really just appreciate the holiday so much and love it.

The List |Why Jake Epstein Is So Proud Of His Christmas Movie Candy Cane Candidate - Exclusive

The List | Jake Epstein Shares His Favorite Memories Of Playing Craig On Degrassi - Exclusive

Quote:

Jake Epstein said one of the most fun elements of his time on "Degrassi" was that his character, Craig Manning, was a musician. Epstein is a musician himself, and since his time on the show, he's been in broadway productions and is even coming out with his own one-man show. In his own words, the actor was and is still "obsessed with music," so playing a character that incorporated that was an exciting opportunity.

Epstein said some of the best moments to make on the show were "All of the scenes when Craig is rehearsing with his band, and I just have memories of all of us with our instruments, and they would tell me to shut up because I would just be like trying to play during every scene." Epstein loved incorporating his love for music with acting so much that he said he's searching for more roles like that going forward.

Filming "Degrassi" also gave Epstein the chance to meet and work with one of his musical idols. He was a huge fan of Hugh Dillon, the lead vocalist for The Headstones. So, when Dillon came on the show to play the father of Epstein's character, it was a great moment for the actor. " I just thought that was the coolest thing in the world. And I loved filming scenes with him," Epstein said.

**JustMe2000** · 01-16-2022, 09:42 PM

It's Jake's birthday and his real life sister, fictional stepfather and fictional almost stepmother all put out IG posts celebrating the big day.

gabifayepstein- Birthcup Facecake Jakeday

It’s @officialjakeepstein ‘s BDAY!
Feeling so lucky that we got to create something so special this year.
Our budget may have increased since the basement chronicles of 1994-1996 but the play never changes.
Barbies > Xmen forever.
Love ya and have the best day,
Xo Epstein Sib the First
#epicepsteins #famjam

pat_mastroianni- Happy Birthday to this guy. @officialjakeepstein Hope this year is filled with joy and success. #degrassi #craigmanning #joeyjeremiah #stepson #stepdad #hellhathnofury #umbrellaacademy #jakeepstein

staciemistysyn- Jake shots on his birthday!
1 still, 1 candid and my fave.

Please help me in wishing him a happy birthday and be sure to check out his one-man show:
Boy Falls from the Sky rescheduled at the CAA for April/May 2022.

So proud of my almost stepson

#birthday #show #theatre #degrassi #Craig #nextgeneration

**kaleidocat** · 02-17-2022, 01:44 PM

And there is still no release date. This article answers some of the questions I had for season 3: The Umbrella Academy Season 3: Netflix Unveils New Posters, Can You Identify All Hargeeves? TLDR: Jake's not on the new poster, no new trailer, no release date, 10 episodes.

**JustMe2000** · 03-12-2022, 06:34 PM

How many times has this show been squeezed out by Covid? Here's hoping it makes it to the finish line this time.

officialjakeepstein- Link in bio for tickets!

Shout out to my all-star team:
Directed and developed with Robert ‘keeper of the bees’ McQueen,
Music Supervision and Orchestrations by Daniel ‘baby daddy’ Abrahamson,
Music Direction by David ‘hair of flames and passion’ Atkinson,
Lighting Design by Amber ‘USA USA!’ Hood,
Sound Design by William ‘Man of Steel ears’ Fallon,
Set design by Brandon ‘never get a haircut’ Kleiman,
Stage managed by Collette ‘voice of calm and wisdom’ Berg, Erika ‘the legend’ Morey and Emmanuelle ‘can’t wait to meet you’ So,
Justin ‘headbanger for life’ Han on drums,
Lauren ‘slick fingers’ Falls on bass,
Production Managed by Brianne ‘making it happen’ Gwartz,
And of course co-produced by Derrick ‘king of Toronto theatre’ Chua,
as well as Mirvish ‘please bring back Hamilton’ Productions.

Come see our show!

Link to
buy tickets

**kaleidocat** · 03-18-2022, 10:50 AM

And Umbrella Academy has a date, new promo video, and still with Jake and his two face.

Quote:

The Sparrows — Ben is joined by Justin Cornwell’s Marcus, Britne Oldford’s Fei, Jake Epstein’s Alphonso, Genesis Rodriguez’s Sloane, Cazzie David’s Jayme, and Dread-Inducing Psykronium Cube — are “smart, stylish, and about as warm as a sea of icebergs” and “immediately clash with the Umbrellas in a violent face-off that turns out to be the least of everyone’s concerns,” Netflix teases of Season 3. “Navigating challenges, losses, and surprises of their own — and dealing with an unidentified destructive entity wreaking havoc in the Universe (something they may have caused) — now all they need to do is convince Dad’s new and possibly better family to help them put right what their arrival made wrong. Will they find a way back to their pre-apocalyptic lives? Or is this new world about to reveal more than just a hiccup in the timeline?”

TV Insider: ‘The Umbrella Academy’ Season 3 Premiere Date Set: The Sparrows Have Landed (VIDEO)

Just Jared: 'The Umbrella Academy' Season 3 Release Date, Trailer & First Look Images Revealed - Watch!

Just Jared: Full Sized Promo Photo

Deadline: ‘The Umbrella Academy’ Gets Season 3 Premiere Date On Netflix — First Photos & Teaser

**JustMe2000** · 04-04-2022, 09:54 PM

Jake will be on the upcoming season of the Hardy Boys on Hulu...playing a teacher.

officialjakeepstein From student to teacher.
Catch me in old Degrassi episodes now on @hbomax, and in the upcoming season of Hardy Boys on @hulu.

#howdidthishappen

**kaleidocat** · 04-06-2022, 06:40 PM

The Hardy Boys looks like something I would watch. Hmm. It is weird though because I watched (rereuns!) of the Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Mysteries and they looked much older. These kids have a Stranger Things/Goonies type bond that I enjoy. I never did check out the new Nancy Drew show(s?).

Jake's teacher character flashes when they are talking about suspects. He did it. I'm calling it already. I hope he's demonic anyway.

I also watched The Hardy Boys | Getting Ready for Season 2 | Hulu. There is no Jake. Because he's an adult. No one cares about us old people. It is my birthday next month and the whole year always caves in on me in April. Just throw dirt on me already.

**JustMe2000** · 04-10-2022, 07:47 PM

Nancy Drew is another show that's on HBO Max. The first couple seasons in particular are very enjoyable. It's also pretty supernaturally, which might be a plus for you. Or not.

Jake did an interview on the CBC which you can follow the link to listen to. He got to play a Glen Gould piano which is pretty damn cool.

**kaleidocat** · 04-17-2022, 04:53 PM

The press for Jake's show is coming in! Here's all the stuff just from The Star.

Quote:

While Epstein wants the show to be entertaining, it’s also serving a deeper purpose, helping to reignite his love of musicals following a number of years when that relationship turned cold. After starring in two Broadway shows and finding himself very unsatisfied, he returned to Toronto and swore off the genre. “I was like, ‘I’m not doing musicals again,’” he recalls. “‘I don’t want to talk about them. I don’t want to see them. I don’t want to listen to them.’”

The difficulty he experienced was the disparity between how great everything was supposed to be and the way things actually felt. “Everybody around me assumed I was living my absolute dream,” he says, “but I was struggling.”

read more: ‘Degrassi’ star Jake Epstein returns to the stage in a musical about performing in musicals

**JustMe2000** · 04-18-2022, 08:52 PM

And the wife checks in....

vanessasmythe- Okay heads up if you who don’t like gushy posts, seek cover. Yea just wanted to take an Instagram second to celebrate my beast of a loving husband who has poured every ****ing pore of himself into this little solo show called boy falls from the sky that opens this week. I remember years ago, after either one of my shows or maybe it was his sister’s, the two of us talked about how he had a solo show inside him. How he had stories and perspective and jokes and wild tales that belonged on the stage, and that we’re born(e) on the stage. We started slow. Daring him to tell a story at The Spoke storytelling night with Outside the March. Then he wrote some more. Shared tiny previews at free times cafe, then got a slot at Toronto Fringe. Then got Robert McQueen who is a story whisperer if there ever was one, and the two of them developed these stories into a singular and winding show. Yea. It’s been pretty wild to witness up close. All the rehearsing and changes and exploration. All the incarnations with different collaborators and at different venues and in different towns. And of course the held breath postponements and the shake up of changing venues and the two of us living in partial lock down as we mask up and cross fingers to get him across the finish line. Yea. I know this one demands an exposure of guts that most other shows he’s done don’t. And I know that I love him so hard for reminding me that we all need to tell and trade our stories as long as we live.
So hey. Happy fricken opening week to the guy I crushed hard on in high school. And happy fricken broken legs to the guy I bullied into marrying me some 15 years later. Have a great time, you chien chaud.

**kaleidocat** · 04-20-2022, 11:51 AM

His wife seems just awesome.

I don't know how to describe someone I don't know but I'm happy for those two nerds. She was at his first show last night, because, of course. Also in her stories is hearing him singing through the walls. Oh to be their neighbor.

More press:

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludwig van toronto

What is the genesis of ‘Boy Falls from the Sky’?

I was asked to perform my act in Lennox, Massachusetts, but I didn’t have an act, so I worked up something that became this show. One of the sources was storytelling. My wife, Vanessa Smythe, who is an actor/writer, hosted monthly storytelling evenings at Crow’s Theatre where people told real stories about their own lives. This encouraged me to start writing down some of my experiences. Robert McQueen is my favourite director, and I pitched him the idea of me being a musical theatre actor who hated musicals. I suggested a show that went deeper than a cabaret, but was not a therapy session, and that’s where we began.

The heart of the show is your Broadway experience, and it seems to have been a great lie. From an outside perspective, getting cast as Peter Parker in ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark’, and originating the lead role of Gerry Goffin in ‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’, seems like a very big deal.

Getting to Broadway had been my dream and obsession. Everyone was so excited for me, and I told them that I was living my dream. I never told anyone the truth about the downside. I kept the real experience to myself. The reality is that I came back to Toronto and stopped singing.

I understand that stage fright was one of those negatives you kept to yourself.

I started off doing national tours of hit shows like Spring Awakening and American Idiot, the Green Day musical. I experienced stage fright with Spring Awakening. There is immense pressure when you’re playing lead roles at Washington’s Kennedy Centre or the Oriental Theatre in Chicago. In Spring Awakening, there were several sex scenes where I had to pull my pants down. I couldn’t stop shaking, and I got a bad review. Stage fright was something I had to live with, knowing that each new city meant another review. In American Idiot, I also broke my voice because I had to rough it up to sound like Green Day.

read more: ludwig van toronto - INTERVIEW | Jake Epstein Dishes On Musical Memoir ‘Boy Falls From The Sky’

Quote:

Originally Posted by the globe and mail

Sometimes I’m very blinkered because I focus on theatre. You were on Designated Survivor, on two seasons of Suits, you’re going to be on The Umbrella Academy soon. So, this may a funny question, but how famous are you?

I’m the worst person to answer that question! I’m going to say: I’m not famous. I suppose when I was younger, I had a level of fame from Degrassi. I quit the show to go to the National Theatre School, which a lot of people thought I was crazy to do.

The Degrassi level fame is an interesting level of fame.

In Toronto, even when I used to get recognized for Degrassi, it was never like: “You’re the guy on Degrassi.” It was like: “My former roommate played Lou in that scene with you on Degrassi.” Or: “My uncle was the lighting gaffer on Degrassi.”

Okay, so a related question then: How well do you know Drake? You were most recently in his I’m Upset video.

Well, I grew up with Drake – so I knew him as a young person. As a friend who you party with and hang out with and got to shoot Degrassi with … Seeing someone like that become the most famous rapper on the planet is a really weird incredible thing. I’m pretty happy for the guy. But yeah, not sure if he’s showing up to the show!

The only time I recall him going to theatre in Toronto was at Soulpepper right after Weyni Mengesha took over.

I had someone come knock on my door the other day, he was like: “I paved your neighbour’s driveway … Aren’t you the guy from Degrassi?” I said, yes. And he said: “I paved Drake’s barber’s driveway.” I didn’t totally know what reaction to give.

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Fan Forum > TV Shows - Past > Degrassi > The Weirdos {Jake/Craig} #6: Because we hope he's having the time of his life in American Idiot.