As a child, Jackson Rathbone was lucky enough to be able to live in various places around the world, because of his father’s job. He was born in Singapore, and then lived in Maydan and Jakarta (Indonesia), London, Connecticut, California, Norway, and finally settled in Midland, Texas. Jackson immediately began involvement in the local community theatre and was accepted into the youth actors program, The Pickwick Players. He was highly active in many extra-curricular activities, including basketball, track, soccer, baseball, and, the pastime of Texas, football. He even started a band and a mobile DJ business. Juggling so many activities began to become a chore so Jackson decided to stick with what made him the happiest, acting and music. In high school, he moved to Northwest Michigan to attend the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy as a theatre major. He grew to appreciate classical theatre and flourished in Shakespearean plays. The summer between Junior and Senior years of high school, he performed in the Southwest Shakespeare Festival as Ferdinand in The Tempest. Upon graduation from Interlochen, with plans to attend the Royal Scottish Academy as a theatre major in the fall, he decided to give LA and the film industry a try for the summer. His best friend from Interlochen, singer/actor Alex Boyd, had already moved to LA and introduced Jackson to his manager, Pat Cutler, who signed Jackson right away. She sent him to study film acting with Jeremiah Comey and on auditions where he landed a recurring role on Disney 411 interviewing Disney Channel stars, such as Hillary Duff and Raven, etc. He was soon signed by a wonderful agent at Paradigm, Andrew Ruff. When the fall came, Jackson, Pat, and Andrew realized that it would be best for Jackson to stay in LA and pursue a film career. He settled in for the long haul and roomed with his friend Alex, with plans to start a music studio. Jackson booked several commercials and a minor role in the film from William Katt, Molding Clay which shot near his hometown in TX. In his off-time from acting, Jackson continued to write music with Alex, performing at small open-mic nights and booking a gig at The Gardenia. They joined forces with other music producers in LA and San Diego to form Prolifik Productions and soon had a professional music studio built in their own living room. He next landed a lead in Pray for Morning , an independent thriller from writer/director Cartney Wearn. From there he went immediately into a series regular role in “Beautiful People”, a new series for ABC Family Jackson jumped at the opportunity to join such a wonderful project with an incredible production team. He was relocated to Toronto where he currently resides just outside of Yorkville, but manages to keep up his music over the internet with his music-partner Alex Boyd, while he films the first eight episodes for “Beautiful People” which will air on August 8th on ABC Family.

In September he will be shooting the lead opposite Lindsey Shaw (female star of Nickelodeon’s hit series Ned’s Declassified) in a feature entitled, The Black Dogs.

In what little free time he has, Jackson loves to watch and study movies, as well as listening to and studying music, which he has been doing most of his life. His favorite movies include Kurasowa’s Seven Samurai, Jarmusch’s Dead Man, and Lars Von Trier’s documentary on directing, The Five Obstructions. He’s a music lover and is engaged to many different styles of music. A folk and blues artist himself, he enjoys such musical talents as Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker, and Steppin’ In It. His many other musical favorites range from Wilco and Modest Mouse, to Sigur Ros and Mogwai, to Nina Simone and Chet Baker. As an actor, Jackson looks to Johnny Depp as a sort of hero. His ability to transcend genres and be known as an actor first and celebrity second is what inspires Jackson to continue on with his dreams.

Biography Credit: PrayForMorningMovie.Com