We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jacob Hacker. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jacob below.

Jacob, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

I often feel mischaracterized because of how young I look despite being in my mid-thirties. Along with looking young I have a naturally nice demeanor and I feel people underestimate my real potential for leading roles. In college I was actually able to break through the mold of the nice guy and landed the role of Mathew Poncelet in “Dead Man Walking”. It was about a prisoner on death row for some very violent crimes. I remember hearing the comments like ‘you’re too pretty to play Matt” from peers when I would reveal I had aspirations of auditioning for the spring lead. The lead was supposed to be very tatted up and there was an upperclassman who fit the description and had the reputation as the best actor in school. I knew I had to do something different but not outlandish to get a real look for the lead. I actually got fake water-press-on tattoos and placed them all along my arms. I then had a white v-neck t-shirt and put a blue long sleeve button up on similar to what I’ve seen to inmates wear. Then put gel in my hair but did not style it yet. I also did not shave a few days prior to add some scruff to my face. Time for the audition. During the audition the director chose half a dozen guys read with the women she was auditioning for the female lead role, Sister Helen Prejan. I was not one of the six chosen to read with the ladies. I never got to read as Matthew Poncelet for the entire audition. But then at the end of the audition she asked had anyone prepared a monologue. I did prepare a monologue for Matt. The script starts off with Matt reciting a letter to Sister Helen and I memorized the entire thing. Right before I gave the audition I rolled up my sleeves to reveal my tattoos. I opened my button shirt and slicked back my hair to resemble an inmate. Then delivered a very good monologue. I got a call back which lead to another intensive audition with a few of the female lead candidates and ultimately I got the lead role. It was a life changing experience being the lead of a very big production with lots of media and publicity attached. I even got to have a slice of pizza with the actual Sister Helen Prejan who flew in for a motivational speech right before we opened. It taught me to prepare for that exact moment and keep the poise and composure to fully seize an opportunity. In Denver and in the Front Range markets there are many experienced and talented actors so I have figured out I need to diversify and never stop gaining new talents.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Well the story of how I got the role of Matt Poncelet in college gave me the confidence to pursue acting as a career. I’ve been living in Colorado for ten years and I’m proud of what I have accomplished but very hunger for more. Being a semi-professional actor it means that a good percentage of my income comes from acting or performance gigs but ultimately I do need a day job to pay the bulk of my bills. It has been a challenge finding a steady stream of income that allows me to have the hours 6-10pm open for rehearsals and performances. A theatre performance usually has 3 weeks of performances which are 4 nights a week but rehearsals could range from 3-5 weeks with 3-5 night commitments. So the work leading up to performances can be stressful and the balance between rehearsing so you don’t get replaced and working enough to stay fed becomes a very big balancing act most of us actors have to go through. I have worked hotels at the front desk and bistro, I’ve waited tables, done personal training, worked a call center, and was even a parkour coach for about a year. I currently have 3 jobs that I juggle. I live in Colorado Springs so I work as a carpenter and run crew member at the Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, I am a standardized patient for UCCS’s Nursing Program, and I am a Tour Guide for Adventures Out West and can give tours on Segways, Mountain Bikes, and in a Jeep. I am very proud of the professional relationships I have developed over the years and how being an actor has played into the day jobs I get hired for.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

The biggest thing I think society can do to best support artists is by showing up. There are many things to do in Colorado that can cost a pretty penny but seeing a live show or visiting an artist’s exhibit is the best way we can show support and help artist thrive in Colorado and most of these experiences are very affordable. It seems like the average concert ticket to Red Rocks is somewhere between $75-$200 depending on the performance when a live theatre ticket is about $25-50. I’m not saying a local community theatre production is the same entertainment value but we as a part of the artistic community need to recognize that big venues and professional talent is who we compete against. Which leads me to my second biggest opinion about supporting artists is that we need creative venues that are just as artistic as the artists. It boggles my mind that finding space for a performance or home for a theatre company is one of the biggest hurdles we as artists have to jump through. This is where the business owners of these venues need to step up and understand that filling commercial stage venues to the highest bidder is bad for creativity and bad for the artistic community. We as artists need a better relationship with business owners who own commercial performance space.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I have two major goals as an actor. I want to become the best actor I can and perform at my highest level and collaborate with as many creative minds as possible. When I say I want to become the best actor I possibly can I understand that it is a very subjective and maybe not completely my decision. When I was being recruited for baseball in high school I heard some very good advice coming from a pro scout. He said dreams and goals are two completely different things. Dreams have a significant purpose but ultimately a dream is something you can not control. I couldn’t make an MLB team draft me and I can’t make a Director on the professional circuit hire me as an actor. However the goals I have within in my dream of being a professional actor are measurable, accurate, and have a time line. One major goal is to audition every year for the Colorado Theatre Guild auditions that happen in the spring. I need 2 monologues that total out to be 2 minutes in length combined. I also needed to have enough Colorado Theatre Guild performances which was 5 to be considered for the audition which took several years to obtain. Now in the world of professional theatre you can become an Equity (professional) actor 2 different ways, by earning credits through the Equity Membership Program or by paying the equity fee which is around $2500 every year. But once you become Equity level you can not do community level theatre even if it pays. Which leads me to the second goal I mentioned, working with and collaborating with as many creative minds as possible. We have a thriving semi-professional and community theatre level talent all along Denver and the Front Range and I’m blessed to work with former professionals, like minded individuals, and creatives from all around the world even though I am not a full time actor.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: jacobnhacker
• Facebook: Jacob N Hacker

Image Credits

Ralph Giodarno, Chris Webber for main headshot.