Meet Jack Hunter | Actor, Writer & Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jack Hunter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jack, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My career in the arts started while I was teaching chemistry at Seneca College… A teacher with little motivation winds up with a lot of free time on their hands. I use to sit in my office and apply for auditions. Teaching college wasn’t what I expected. Most of the students in my class were there because it was the only program they could get into. Few had a passion for science. I wasn’t rehired, perhaps because I put so little effort into teaching or perhaps because after one of my students yanked a spectrophotometer out of the cupboard he was covered head to toe in hydrochloric acid. Who knows? Story telling was always one of the most important things for me growing up. I would get into trouble just to have a story to tell. Acting was something I had always enjoyed but was weary of acting as a career. I took a year off, taking just enough work to survive, and decided what I wanted to do. I still think finding out what you want to do is the hardest part, and it’s only when you can imagine who you want to be that you can start to take steps towards becoming that person. I took a couple of acting roles and got hooked. I enjoyed spending my entire day in the library learning about acting, attending classes and talking to people about acting. An emersion I had only hoped for in my previous career as a scientist. As I explored and experienced the acting side of things it fed a hunger to start exploring story telling. Now I wake up excited to work and to discover new possibilities for telling stories.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I started acting later in life and wanted to get off to a fast start. In my first year, I worked for both a touring theatre company and on weekends I took a job at an interactive escape room. That year I had acted in over 500 productions. Not only that, but I was writing every day and creating scripts. By now, I’ve probably been in about 3000 productions and everytime I do a show, I try to one up myself. It’s not enough to show up, you have to keep finding new things. That’s what keeps it interesting and gets you further in the game. I recently stared in a short film Becoming One of Them that I was very impressed with. It should be making it way through short film festivals now. Check it out! This summer I focused a lot on my writing. I’m very story focused and believe it takes a lot of patience and dedication to develop a story telling style. I have 5 or 6 short stories ready to publish that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and a screenplay in the works that could be a big hit. Follow me on instagram @the.real.jack.hunter for all the updates.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in the heart of Toronto. I would start our week off with front row seats at Medieval Times. It’s a ton of fun and they would get to see me perform. We would then go for drinks in Liberty Village, a great spot to hang. Our daily exercise would be a ride on the Don Valley trail, vising the Evergreen Brick Works for some nature and breakfast. Of course, we could visit the ROM, AGO, CN tower and Ripley’s Aquarium for some city culture and art. Then we’d have the whole gang back at my place for a boardgame night.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My fiancée, Mary Cole, inspires me every day. If you’re lucky enough to find the one, you’re compelled to be a better person. She also terrifies me with her blunt analysis of my work. Also, I think The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy is the only self help book you’ll ever need. The rest is working hard and putting yourself out there.

Instagram: @the.real.jack.hunter