Life & Work with Jake Thompson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jake Thompson.

Hi Jake, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was a junior at the University of Minnesota in 2008 studying film theory, but knew early on that I’d never get the experience I craved unless I found my way onto a movie set. Growing up, closeted in the Midwest, I had a clear goal at a young age: to be a storyteller. And through the medium of film, I could make this dream my reality.

Cut to the summer before my senior year of college wherein I began contacting a TV writer from “Ugly Betty” and basically emailed them until they essentially gave me a walking week on the show. After a week working with the iconic cast and crew, I was hooked. They offered me a position and I flew to the Big Apple with literally a dream in my two suitcases full of clashing patterns. I spent four seasons learning the “tricks of the trade,” moving around departments and finding out the ecosystem of set life and office culture, all before the age of 21. It was during this crucial life experience that made me want to pursue my dream of writing for TV more. When the show was canceled in 2010, I moved to greener pastures aka the city of Angels and the continued pursuit to hustle my way into a writer’s room was reignited, as well as, I’ve never stopped working. From writing digital content for “RuPaul’s Drag Race” at World of Wonder Productions to making original comedy shorts for HBO’s “Big Little Lies” Season 2, I’ve learned that nobody just hands you open doors. You have to be fearless, one-of-a-kind, and carve and create opportunities for yourself so that the right creative folks will find you and want to join the party of your life! I’ve been lucky in that every assistant role, every social media management pursuit, and every personal creative project I made was a building block to my destiny. And it helped get my name and reputation to where I was offered my first official writer’s room with the highly anticipated animated series “The Harper House” coming out soon.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely not smooth. Whether you’re a triple Scorpio like me or not, I think everybody that works in this industry will tell you: the highs are high and the lows are low. I was 21 when “Ugly Betty” was canceled and I was emotionally not ready for it to be over and to figure out my direction afterwards. I would’ve never been able to fully articulate this feeling before because I spent all of my twenties hustling to get where I am today, but in a moment of reflection, looking back, I think the biggest struggle was allowing myself to see myself this way as a TV writer. So much of those early building blocks in my adult career were categorized by job titles and whatever department I was in, which is stagnant and limiting for creative types. I use to see the writers on set laughing over their fancy salads and iced coffees and thought it was a world SO far from my own and that it would take FOREVER for me to be at their level. But once I started creating my own content and spent four hours a day writing for the past ten years, I was like, “OH, I’m a writer too.”

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Besides writing animated series, I write, produce, act, and edit a multitude of digital comedy shorts (aka parodies, mainly). Most recently, a digital web series I co-created and star in, titled “Apricot” was selected and screened at Slamdance Film Festival, Inside Out Film Festival, Outfest 2020 and Nashville Film Festival this past year. I specialize in telling authentic stories. I also throw my skill sets into writing dialogue, comedy and relatable content with a dab of self-awareness and a dash of the avante-garde. I also LOVE set decorating, styling, making mood boards, pulling references, costume-designing and art directing. It’s all a process and I love it all so much. I’m probably most proud of a series of parodies I had made for my personal web series “Jake’s Fashion Week.” They got me noticed and scooped up by HBO’s “Big Little Lies” Season 2 wherein I became their social media ambassador and created over 38 viral parodies as all of the Monterrey Five women. Reese Witherspoon-approved, thank you very much. I think my perspective on the world, growing up as a gay Filipino boy, I never saw and still rarely see people that look like me or that act like me on TV and in the movies. It’s part of my personal mission to showcase Asian American stories void of stereotypes.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
This is going to make me cry but two are coming up: 1) making homemade parodies with my sister during Christmas breaks of “Lord of The Rings” and “Bring it On” will live rent-free in my head forever. Just such a fun time capsule before ego and social media began to drive a lot of our society’s culture, we were just being funny and stupid and creative for ourselves. Another memory is looking at the moon with my dad and sister at our childhood cabin in Minnesota. All you could hear was the junebugs and my dad’s wisdom explaining the waxing and waning of the moon’s cycle.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: jakegthompson.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakegthompson/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakegthompson1986
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JakeGThompson
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/JakeGThompson
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@jakegthompson?lang=en