'Parenthood' Star Offers Insight to Acting
Sam Jaeger, currently starring in NBC’s “Parenthood,” discusses his life as an actor, director and writer during a conversation moderated by Westmont theater arts professor Mitchell Thomas on Friday, Jan. 13, at 3:30 p.m. in Porter Theatre. The talk is free and open to the public.
In “Parenthood,” Jaeger plays Joel Graham, a stay-at-home father and loyal husband. Jaeger, a graduate of Otterbein University, a small, private, liberal arts college in Westerville, Ohio, also starred in ABC’s “Eli Stone.”
“I’m looking forward to hearing how his liberal arts education influenced his professional journey as an actor and film director,” Thomas says. “We have a growing number of Westmont students interested in pursuing careers in film and television, and they’re highly interested in hearing from professionals who’ve been successful in a challenging industry.”
On the big screen, Jaeger was in the romantic comedy “Catch and Release,” which included Jennifer Garner and Kevin Smith. Jaeger’s other movie credits include “The Riverman” and “Lucky Number Slevin” with Bruce Willis and Josh Hartnett.
His feature directorial debut, “Take Me Home,” has been winning praise at more than a dozen international film festivals. Jaeger also wrote and stars in the romantic comedy alongside his wife, Amber, who won the Best Acting in a Narrative Film award at the Napa Valley Film Festival in November. “Take Me Home” was the Audience Award winner at the Rhode Island International Film Festival and the Boston Film Festival. In December, Monterey Media, based in Thousand Oaks, acquired the U.S. rights and plans to release the film to theaters this spring.
Thomas, artist in residence for the Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara, recently starred in the Westmont College Festival Theatre/Lit Moon Theatre Company co-production of “Peer Gynt.” In November he produced Tim Crouch’s “ENGLAND” at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. He has won many awards, including the 2008 Arlin G. Meyer Prize, awarded biennially to a full-time faculty member from a college or university in the Lilly Fellows Program National Network.