Jake T. Austin

Early life

Austin was born in New York City, the son of Giny Rodriquez Toranzo and Joe Szymanski. His middle initial, "T", is taken from his mother's maiden name. His mother is of Puerto Rican, Argentine, and Spanish descent, and his father is of Polish, Irish, and English ancestry. Austin embraces his Puerto Rican heritage, though he has said that he is not fluent in Spanish. He has a younger sister, Ava.

Career

2002–2006: Beginnings

Austin's career began in 2002 when he appeared in commercials. A year later, he appeared in his first credited acting role as Kid 1698 in a comedy sketch on Late Show with David Letterman. In 2005, he landed his first major role – voicing Diego, the cousin of Dora, on the hit Nickelodeon animated series Dora the Explorer. He continued to voice Diego on the spin-off series, Go, Diego, Go!, for three seasons. Along with voicing Diego, Austin was cast in multiple voice roles for the feature films The Ant Bully and Everyone's Hero – he was also cast in the Comedy Central special Merry F %$in' Christmas. In 2006, Austin landed the lead role of Angel Macias in his first live-action feature film, The Perfect Game, which was based on a true story about the first non-U.S. team to win the 1957 Little League World Series. The film would not be released in the United States until more than three years later due to post-production financing difficulties.

2007–2011: ''Wizards of Waverly Place''

Austin appeared in his first Walt Disney Company production in 2007 when he portrayed Chris in the Disney Channel original film Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board. Later that same year, he was cast as Max Russo in the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place. He played the youngest sibling of a wizarding family, co-starring with Selena Gomez and David Henrie. Until the end of Wizards of Waverly Place in 2011, Austin appeared in multiple Disney productions. In the summer of 2009, he played the role of Max Russo in the Wizards on Deck crossover episode which included two other popular Disney shows, The Suite Life on Deck and Hannah Montana.

During the same summer, he starred in the television film Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie. The film was a ratings hit, becoming the second most-viewed Disney Channel film at that time, behind High School Musical 2. It was also the #1 scripted telecast of 2009. Austin made his live action feature film debut in 2009 with the role of Bruce, an orphan who hides numerous dogs in an abandoned hotel, in the DreamWorks film Hotel for Dogs. In the fall of 2010, Austin was named as one of the "25 Brightest Latino Stars Under 25" by Latina magazine. He wrote and sold his first screenplay, Kings of Suburbia, which he described as being written in the same vein as his favorite film Stand by Me.

2011–2015: ''The Fosters''

In 2011, Austin voiced the role of Fernando, an orphaned Brazilian boy who is forced to capture exotic birds, in the 20th Century Fox animated musical film Rio. He reprised the role in the sequel, Rio 2. He was also in the romantic-comedy film New Year's Eve, released in December 2011. The following year, he had guest roles on the Lifetime comedy-drama Drop Dead Diva as Samuel Forman, a 16-year-old multimillionaire, and on the NBC legal drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Rob Fisher, the boyfriend of a girl whose family is murdered.

Austin landed his next major role in 2013, when he was cast as Jesus Foster in the ABC Family family/teen drama series The Fosters. The series tells the story of two moms raising both biological and foster children in a "multi-ethnic" household in San Diego, California. He played Jesus for two seasons until he left the show in the second-season finale in 2015. In a statement on his departure, Austin said: "I'm honored to have been a part of such a groundbreaking series ... Thank you for letting me be a part of your family, it's been a pleasure." His role was recast for the third season, with Noah Centineo.

2016–present

In 2016, he provided the voice for Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle in the DC Comics animated direct-to-video film Justice League vs. Teen Titans. On August 30, 2016, Austin was revealed as one of the contestants who would compete on season 23 of Dancing with the Stars. He was partnered with professional dancer, Jenna Johnson. On September 20, 2016, Austin and Johnson were announced as the first couple to be eliminated from the competition. In October 2018, it was announced that Austin joined the cast of Adverse, a neo-noir thriller starring Mickey Rourke. Adverse had its premiere at the opening of the Fantasporto Festival on February 28, 2020, in Portugal.

Personal life

Austin divides his time between living in Los Angeles and New York. He has two dogs, Bogey and Beju. His family owns a restaurant called The Clarksville Inn in West Nyack, New York, which was originally built in 1840 and served as a hotel.

Austin devotes time to various charitable causes including the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to children who have life-threatening medical conditions; the Starlight Children's Foundation, which is dedicated to improving the quality of life for children with chronic and life-threatening medical conditions; and Variety Power of Youth initiative, which partners with young stars to help raise money for their chosen causes. He has also supported the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, stating "I know how important it is to have a supportive environment and feel good about yourself, especially as an adolescent."

In October 2020, Austin discussed his biracial familial heritage and the importance of voting in the upcoming election: "... whether it's via mail-in voting or at the polling place, becoming active in the electoral process is so important. Whether the person on the ticket is running for local, state or national positions, our role as their constituents starts with voting."

Filmography

Film

Television

Video game

Awards and nominations

References

References

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2. "Selena Gomez on being Latin". ShowbizCafe.
3. "Interview: Jake T. Austin". Miss O & Friends.
4. "Jake T. Austin "Max Russo"". Disney Channel Medianet.
5. Hernández, Lee. (January 7, 2009). "Jake T. Austin's 'powers' beyond TV". New York Daily News.
6. Arreola, Cristina. (December 3, 2014). "20 THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT JAKE T. AUSTIN". [[Latina (magazine).
7. "Interview: Jake T. Austin 'Go, Diego, Go!'". Miss O & Friends.
8. "Meet The Voice of Diego: Jake Toranzo Szymanski". Nick Jr..
9. "EVERYONE'S HERO : An Interview with Raven Symone and Jake T. Austin". BlackFilm.
10. "Interview: 'The Perfect Game's' Jake T. Austin". Cinema Blend.
11. (March 10, 2010). "'The Perfect Game' stages ninth-inning comeback". [[Los Angeles Times]].
12. Levin, Gary. (October 18, 2007). "Nielsens: Friday night was 'Murder' on ABC". [[USA Today]].
13. (October 23, 2007). "Cable's most-watched shows, Oct. 15–21". [[USA Today]].
14. "'Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie: Jake T. Austin Interview". TV.com.
15. (August 27, 2009). "'Wizards of Waverly Place' Movie Casts Spell". [[TV Guide]].
16. (December 29, 2009). "Top 100 Most-Watched Telecasts On Basic Cable For 2009 – Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.
17. (January 13, 2009). "Jake T. Austin Interview 'Hotel For Dogs'". Chuck The Movieguy.
18. "The 25 Brightest Latino Stars Under 25: Jake T. Austin". [[Latina (magazine).
19. (April 15, 2010). "Jake T. Austin Writing A Script – 'Kings Of Suburbia'". MTV Movies Blog.
20. (February 22, 2013). "Twentieth Century Fox Animation Announces RIO 2 Casting".
21. (March 18, 2011). "Who's the Married Actor Kissing...". Today.
22. Nededog, Jethro. (March 7, 2012). "'Wizards of Waverly Place' Star Jake T. Austin Lands 'Drop Dead Diva' Guest Role (Exclusive)". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
23. (January 13, 2012). "'Law & Order: SVU': Jake T. Austin Books Guest Role". [[HuffPost]].
24. Goldberg, Lesley. (October 18, 2012). "'Wizards of Waverly Place's' Jake T. Austin to Co-Star in Jennifer Lopez's ABC Family Pilot (Exclusive)". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
25. Mink, Casey. (March 24, 2015). "'The Fosters' Finale: Jake T. Austin Confirms Series Exit – Is Jesus Dead?". Hollywood Life.
26. (June 8, 2015). "'The Fosters' Recasting Jesus After Jake T. Austin's Departure". Hollywood Life.
27. Sands, Rich. (January 18, 2016). "Roll Call: Meet the Cast of Justice League vs. Teen Titans". TVInsider.com.
28. (August 30, 2016). "'DWTS' 2016 Celebrity Cast Revealed: Ryan Lochte, Amber Rose, Rick Perry Among Star Lineup". Good Morning America: Yahoo.
29. (September 20, 2016). "'Dancing with the Stars' Results Live Blog: The First Elimination of Season 23". buddytv.com.
30. (January 2009). "Jake T. Austin Goes To "The Dogs"". [[OK!]].
31. "Saving An Historic Building". Nyack-Piermont NY Patch.
32. (March 24, 2010). "Jake T. Austin Interview: A Stellar Night 2010". ClevverTV.
33. "Jake T. Austin – Variety's Power of Youth". CharityBuzz.
34. (November 2018). "Jake T. Austin attends boys and girls club of hollywood dream big gala". [[look to the stars]].
35. (October 2020). "Jake T. Austin Leadership". [[latino leaders]].
36. "Jake T. Austin (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors.
37. Kubicek, John. (2016-09-20). "'Dancing with the Stars' Results: The First Elimination of Season 23".
38. "27th Annual Young Artist Awards". 26th Young Artist Awards.
39. "2007 Imagen Foundation Awards". Imagen 2007 Awards.
40. "28th Annual Young Artist Awards". 27th Young Artist Awards.
41. "2008 Alma Awards". AOL TV.
42. "29th Annual Young Artist Awards". 29th Young Artist Awards.
43. "2009 Teen Choice Awards". CinemaBlend.
44. "30th Annual Young Artist Awards". 30th Young Artist Awards.
45. "31st Annual Young Artist Awards". 31st Young Artist Awards.
46. (February 13, 2013). "Kids' Choice Awards 2013 TV nominees- EXCLUSIVE".
47. "FINAL TIDE OF NOMINEES ANNOUNCED FOR "TEEN CHOICE 2013" AIRING SUNDAY, AUGUST 11, LIVE ON FOX".
48. Coggan, Devan. (June 9, 2015). "Teen Choice Award nominations pit Zayn Malik against One Direction".