Rising Stars: Meet JASON STUART of Hollywood, Ca

Today we’d like to introduce you to JASON STUART.

Hi JASON, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m the product of a Holocaust survivor and a Brooklyn hairdresser. Growing up as a gay Jewish kid, I quickly learned that humor was the best defense mechanism money couldn’t buy. As Barbra Streisand so perfectly put it in Funny Girl, I’d make the joke about myself first—strategic self-deprecation before it had a Wikipedia page.

My love affair with TV, film, and theatre boarded on obsession when I was a kid. I actually performed in a play before I ever sat through one as an audience member, which is either commitment or craziness—but that was me. Community theater, school productions, Temple shows—if there was a stage and someone needed a neurotic kid with timing, I was there.

Eventually, I convinced a professional acting coach who famously didn’t work with children to take me on. For two years, I showed up twice a week without missing a single class. Well, almost. There was that one time Barbra had a TV special. In my defense, this was the dark ages before DVRs or VCRs, and some things are simply bigger than integrity. I lied for Barbra. Regrets? None. years later I asked him why he took me in the class. He simply stated it was because I wanted it so bad.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Look, I’m not going to pretend the road to Hollywood was paved with red carpets and Awards. It was messy. Complicated. Full of setbacks that would’ve sent a saner person running back to literally any other career path. But here’s the thing about being the bullied kid who grew up as a young Jewish gay man in an industry that wasn’t exactly rolling out the welcome wagon: you either learn to laugh at the absurdity or you let it crush you. (Therapy helped too, let’s be honest.)

I heard “stay in your lane” so many times I started wondering if I should just paint my own lane. Preferably in glitter. Family meant well. Colleagues in showbiz definitely meant well—well, some of them did. But when you’re constantly told to keep your head down and stay behind the scenes, you start to realize it’s not just career advice. In some places, it was—and still is—a matter of survival. So I made a decision: I’d become undeniable.

Now, sure, times have changed. Studios love to talk about their inclusive cultures, slap a rainbow on their logo every June, call it a day. But I always come back to this question: when you’re the one breaking the ground, do you actually get to walk on it? My answer? Yes. Absolutely yes. Though I’ll admit, the path from “breaking ground” to “getting a seat at the big table” still feels like some mystical process designed to keep certain people—people like me—feeling like outsiders. And that the inequity is over.

But here’s where I got lucky, or stubborn, or maybe just delusional enough to think I could change things: I stopped waiting for someone to hand me a seat. I built my own table. Created my own projects. And somehow, miraculously, won some awards doing it. (Still not totally sure how that happened, but I’m not giving them back.)

So if there’s a moral to this very expensive lesson in perseverance, it’s this: sometimes the only way through is to make your own way. And if you can do it with grace, humor, and just enough audacity to make people wonder if you’re serious, even better.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Almost 14 years ago, I lost my dad — a Jewish immigrant with a thick Polish accent — who always said to me before an audition, “When you go to the interview, wear a tie and show them you mean business.” I think what he really meant was: Be your best self. That’s what I bring now — to every role, every room, every opportunity.

I’ve worked with everyone form George Clooney to Faye Dunaway to Damon Wayons to Arnold Schwartznegger. Had the honor of playing a major supporting role in The Birth of a Nation, appearing in the indie landmark indie film shot on a iPhone, Tangerine, from Oscar winner Sean Baker, guesting on Judd Aptow’s Love and Goliath starring Billy Bob Thornton and opposite JK Simmons, Had a recurring role on the hit ABC sitcom My Wife & Kids as “Dr,. Thomas” and co-created the Amazon / Tubi comedy series Smothered — which earned me a Best Actor in a Comedy Series at the Indie Series Awards. These experiences have changed me — not just as an actor, but as a human being.

Any big plans?
So what’s next? I’m glad you asked, because apparently I don’t believe in downtime. I dont know why? lol

Then there’s REDLINING, which is my passion project baby. I’m acting, directing, and co-wrote this one with the veteran actress Lee Garlington, who also stars alongside me and Alexandra Paul (yes, from Baywatch, and yes, she’s still stunning). It’s a drama about a Black and White family living on the same property, and when the parents pass away, the big question becomes: who gets the house and why? It’s really a story about generational wealth, inherited inequality, and all those uncomfortable conversations we should be having at Thanksgiving but usually avoid.

There’s 2 films I very excited to be in by new young filmmakers Chris Baxter for I GO NEXT, a basketball drama where I play the coach of a team dealing with a special needs student. It’s heartfelt, it’s challenging, and I’m genuinely proud of it. And then there’s Truman Kewley for BLACKWOOD, a horror film where I play Lyle, who’s either the helpful town local weirdo or a serial killer. Possibly both? You’ll have to watch to find out. I contain multitudes.

Meanwhile, I’m in waiting-for-release purgatory on two other films. I call these my “straight boy comedies” hitting screens soon. In GARLIC PARMESAN—yes, that’s really the title, and yes, it’s as delicious as it sounds—I’m starring alongside comedy legend Paul Rodriguez and Oscar nominee Eric Roberts. I play a dad who runs possibly the worst improvisation club in recorded history. Think community theater meets existential crisis. It’s set to drop at the end of the year, and I cannot wait for people to see just how gloriously bad this improv club is. I also filmed DESERT DICKS with Mike Starr and play his noises neighbor. The title writes its own jokes!

Oh, and last year I appeared in LAUGH PROUD, Quentin Lee’s stand-up comedy special that’s basically every flavor of LGBTQ comedian you can imagine all in one place. I was the old guy in a sport coat telling jokes about my mom and my spectacularly terrible relationships. Living the dream, folks. Living the dream.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.JasonStuart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejasonstuart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jason.Stuart.24
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-stuart-2a876b7/
• Twitter: https://x.com/Jason_Stuart
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jasonstuart2684

Image Credits
Steve Campbell