Jacob Latimore Biography

JACOB LATIMORE

Date of Birth: August 10, 1996

Jacob Latimore is an American actor and singer best known for his roles in Black Nativity (2013), Ride Along (2014), and Collateral Beauty (2016).

Jacob was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Latitia (née Taylor) and Jacob Latimore, Sr. Jacob first discovered his love of music at just five years old after watching the miniseries The Temptations (1998). He then produced his first song, "Best Friend," at just nine years, and continued performing in various music events and festivals around Wisconsin. This prolonged exposure led to his debut song being added to the Radio Disney's Incubator program, which features up-and-coming young artists. In 2006, he released his sophomore single, "Superstar," which landed on the Billboard R&B and Hip Hop charts.

In an interview with tunecore.com in 2016, Jacob admitted that he fell into acting as a way to further his music career. "My first love was always music. My mom told me that if I wanted to be in the business that I should be well-rounded while in it," he said. "I started doing voiceovers at the age of 10 or 11 years old and in 2009 I booked my first TV show One Tree Hill, and right after my first co-lead in a film Vanishing on 7th Street (2010) with Hayden Christensen, Thandie Newton and John Leguizamo."

During the year in which he earned his breakout role in Vanishing on 7th Street, he was also signed with Jive Records, where he collaborated with Issa and Justin Martin on his first label-released single, "Camera Phone."

While eagerly pursuing his various musical interests, Jacob continued earning acting parts. In 2011, he was given a guest-starring role on the television series Reed Between the Lines, followed by another on The Finder in 2012. The next year, he landed a supporting role as Langston in the A-list holiday musical Black Nativity, starring Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, Jennifer Hudson, and Tyrese Gibson.

He followed up Black Nativity with an even more high-profile project — the buddy comedy Ride Along (2014) starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart. Continuing on with his hot streak, Jacob landed a part as Jeff in the blockbuster sci-fi adventure The Maze Runner (2014), starring Dylan O'Brien.

Jacob again showcased his comedic side in a guest role as Johnny Miller on the Starz comedy series Survivor's Remorse in 2014, followed by his first voice acting role in the animated adventure Bilal: A New Breed of Hero (2015).

In 2016, Jacob earned widespread critical acclaim for his work in the sci-fi drama Sleight, which screened at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

The talented actor's most challenging role came later that year. Jacob was cast as Raffi a.k.a. "Time," alongside Hollywood elites Will Smith, Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren, Kate Winslet, Edward Norton and Michael Peña, in the drama Collateral Beauty. Of his role as the hoodie- and Timberland-wearing personification of time, Jacob told fuse, "I tried to represent the importance of time, what we do in this moment is important, and that time waits on no one; that we have to use our time wisely, and we're not going to be here forever and everyone around us isn't going be here for everywhere." That same year, Jacob also released his debut album Connection.

2017 is a busy year for Jacob as he stars in some big name films such as Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit, William H. Macy's film Krystal, and Candy Jar where Jacob stars alongside the likes of Christina Hendricks.

When asked by Pure DOPE Magazine what his ideal role would be, the young performer said a little bit of everything. "I think I can do everything from drama to comedy to romance. To answer your question, I guess a leading role that could propel me into a household name would be doing a movie like Spider-man or playing Trayvon Martin."

Filmography:

Candy Jar (2017)
Krystal (2017)
Detroit (2017)
Collateral Beauty (2016)
Sleight (2016)
Bilal: A New Breed of Hero (2015)
The Maze Runner (2014)
Ride Along (2014)
Black Nativity (2013)
Vanishing on 7th Street (2010)