BB Exclusive: Jake Hunter Talks his New Series, Class Act
Amazon Prime Video has been releasing a slew of new content over these past few years including Jake Hunter’s series, Class Act. Hunter not only stars in the new series, but he also created the hit series.
We had the chance to sit down and chat with the star about his series, his character, Stephano, working with Amazon Prime Video, leaving baseball and so much more. You can check out our interview below.
Tell us about your new series, Class Act and your character, Stephano?
“Class Act is a dramedy about actors in a bizarre acting class in Hollywood. The show displays the struggle of ‘making it’ but also the ridiculous things we deal with in LA. My character Stephano is a bit of the loner outcast in the group. He genuinely cares about being a great artist but like everyone, has obstacles that come up that make it difficult to achieve his dreams.”
How did you come up with the idea for this new series?
“I came up with the series literally just because I wanted to create something. I don’t consider myself a real writer but I didn’t have people who wanted to help me at the time so I wrote what I knew. The story of Class Act is loosely based on my story.”
Did you always want to write and produce or was that something that came on later in your career?
“I didn’t always want to write and produce but because I got into the industry later than most, a the age of 24, I decided I had to learn how to do everything to catch up with people who have been doing this their whole lives. So pretty much write from the start I was writing, producing, and acting in my own projects.”
You can read the rest of our interview under the jump. Class Act is available to watch on Amazon Prime now!
How tough was it to bring this show to life?
“It’s always a process to bring projects to life, but I had experience working on The Bay so I learned a bit about how it worked. The pieces came together pretty perfectly, Marcus Perry did a great job directing, Eric Robert’s acting’s was brilliant, and I’m extremely grateful to Amazon for working with us.”
You seem to have a very good relationship with Amazon Prime Video, how did that come to be?
“My relationship started when I was on The Bay which was an Amazon show. I was lucky enough to win an Emmy on that show and then from there we were able to continue to collaborate on the my project Class Act. I feel like a lot of getting things done is based on relationships so being able to work with them prior was a big help.”
What made you decide to leave baseball and get into acting?
“Unfortunately I had reached the end of the road with baseball. I took it as far as I could go. I played through college and was playing in a semi pro league in upstate New York. One day I drove 7 hours to a Philadelphia Phillies tryout. When I arrived I was told they cancelled it. By that time with injuries I was a shell of myself anyways. I stopped at a Chipotle where I was randomly approached and given a card by an agent. That ended up getting me into it.”
Was acting something you were always passionate about?
“Not at all. When I was in 5th grade my acting teach Ms. Hannah didn’t give me the lead to our play but instead one line I shared with someone else. A few days before the play she cut the line. I vowed to never act again, but the universe had other plans I guess!”
Can you share any other projects you are working on?
“I had a small role in a new movie called The Comeback Trail with Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Tommy Lee Jones. I have a few projects I shot a few projects this year as well that will be hitting the festival circuit to keep an eye out for. One called Harmony In Gold, a film by Julie Pacino. Another called Tribes, a film by Nino Aldi. Lastly a pilot directed by Stefanie Abel Horowitz called What’s to Come, that I partnered with the EP of Euphoria Hadas Mozes Lichtenstein. So a lot of exciting things in the works!”