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Jake Kasdan
Kasdan in March 2012
Born	Jacob Kasdan (1974-10-28) October 28, 1974 (age 50) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Occupations	Director producer screenwriter actor
Years active	1983–present
Spouse	Inara George
Children	3
Father	Lawrence Kasdan
Relatives	Jonathan Kasdan (brother) Mark Kasdan (uncle)

Jacob Kasdan (born October 28, 1974) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), Bad Teacher (2011), Sex Tape (2014), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), Jumanji: The Next Level (2019), and Red One (2024).

Early life

Jacob Kasdan was born to Meg (née Goldman), a writer and Lawrence Kasdan, a writer and director in Detroit. Jacob grew up in a Jewish family with little religious education. His younger brother, Jon Kasdan, also works in the film and television industry as an actor and writer.

Career

Jake Kasdan has directed eight films: Zero Effect (1998), Orange County (2002), The TV Set (2006), Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), Bad Teacher (2011), Sex Tape (2014), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), Jumanji: The Next Level (2019), and Red One (2024). He has also worked in television, most notably with Judd Apatow as a consulting producer and director on Freaks and Geeks and as a director on Undeclared. He has directed numerous stage productions. He is attached to direct a family film adaption of a John Grisham novel, Calico Joe.

In 2008, Kasdan received his first Golden Globe nomination for Walk Hard in the Best Original Song category (shared with John C. Reilly, Apatow, and Marshall Crenshaw), but lost to "Guaranteed" from Into the Wild (written by Eddie Vedder). As a child, Kasdan made appearances in his father's movies such as The Big Chill and Silverado (in the former he is an autograph seeker at a funeral and in the latter a stable boy).

After the success of New Girl, Kasdan announced that on July 11, 2012, he had signed a deal with 20th Century Fox Television, through The Detective Agency to pursue his own projects. In February 2015, Fox announced that it had greenlit a pilot for the comedy The Grinder to be directed by Kasdan and starring Rob Lowe. On March 26, 2019, The Detective Agency's producing partners Kasdan and Melvin Mar reupped, and signed a new overall deal at 20th Century Fox Television.

In October 2021, it was announced that Disney+ had given a series order to a television adaptation of the graphic novel American Born Chinese. It will be produced by 20th Century Fox Television with Kelvin Yu and Charles Yu as writers and executive producers, Marvin Mar and Kasdan as executive producers, and Destin Daniel Cretton as director and executive producer. Most recently, he served as executive producer of the workplace comedy pilot XYZ at ABC.

Personal life

Kasdan is married to singer-songwriter Inara George of The Bird and the Bee. They have three children including twins Beau and Lorelei Kasdan and older son Otis Kasdan.

Filmography

Film

Director

Acting credits

Soundtrack credits

Music video

• Believe by Shawn Mendes (2015)

Other credits

Television

TV movies

Acting credits

Awards

References

1. Jewish Daily Forward: "What's a Nice Jewish Boy Like Jake Kasdan Doing Making a 'Sex Tape?'" by Curt Schleier July 18, 2014
2. Lawrence Kasdan Biography (1949–)
3. Marechal, A. J. (2012-07-12). "Kasdan signs deal with 20th TV". Variety. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
4. Wagmeister, Elizabeth (12 February 2015). "Fox Orders Rob Lowe Comedy 'The Grinder' To Pilot". Variety.
5. Thorne, Will (2019-03-26). "Jake Kasdan and Melvin Mar Sign New Overall Deal at 20th Century Fox". Variety. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
6. Andreeva, Nellie (October 4, 2021). "Disney+ Greenlights 'American Born Chinese' Series From Melvin Mar, Kelvin Yu & Jake Kasdan; 'Shang-Chi's Destin Daniel Cretton To Direct". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
7. White, Peter (2021-12-15). "'Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.' Duo Alison Bennett & Melvin Mar Set Workplace Comedy 'XYZ' At ABC". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
8. Audio commentary to Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
9. Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 7, 2022). "'Shang-Chi's Michelle Yeoh & Destin Daniel Cretton Reunite For Disney+ Series 'American Born Chinese;' Chin Han, Yeo Yann Yann & Daniel Wu Also Star". Retrieved February 7, 2022.

External links

• Jake Kasdan at IMDb
• The Director Interviews: Jake Kasdan, The TV Set Archived 2009-12-12 at the Wayback Machine at Filmmaker Magazine
• The Director Interviews: Jake Kasdan, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story at Filmmaker Magazine

• 1974 births
• American male child actors
• American male film actors
• American comedy film directors
• Fantasy film directors
• American action film directors
• Jewish American male actors
• Jewish film people
• American film producers
• Jewish American screenwriters
• American television directors
• Living people
• Male actors from Detroit
• Film directors from Michigan
• 21st-century American Jews
• Kasdan family