Jake also became active with the arts at a young age. He developed an acting bug by becoming involved with plays and local drama productions. Jake then moved from the stage to in front of the camera. His first large acting gig preceding a couple small film roles was on a TV show called The Zack Files. After finishing a couple seasons of The Zack Files came the call for a Degrassi audition. When Jake heard the news that they were casting a role for a brooding teen bad boy with an interesting background, he decided that he really wanted to audition for it. After some callbacks and auditions with the current cast members, Jake was able to dance with joy at the news of being cast.

Jake joined Degrassi: TNG during the second season of the show and fans immediately welcomed him into the Degrassi family. It didn't hurt that he had the looks and charm of an absolute heartthrob. There was so much more behind him though, than just his heartthrob status. The very first episode that Jake was a part of, he was given the lead storyline, which focused on the subject matter of parental abuse. The challenging storylines that Jake was given didn't end there. Throughout the years, Craig has had to deal with the death of his father, the fallout from his cheating ways, discovering his bipolarity, and most recently an addiction to cocaine. With each of these issues, Jake has handled the serious topics believably and with heart. He performed these storylines so well that it even won him a Gemini award in 2003. Not only does Jake have a knack for the dramatics, but his talent for making his character loveable is pretty remarkable. Jake's acting is so heartfelt that he makes fans want to root for Craig, no matter how much of a jerk he is being. Among these artistic gifts, Jake is a fantastic musician. He plays many different instruments, though his instrument of choice is the guitar, and is overall very involved with music. The producers decided to use these talents in the show and slowly developed an interest of music in Craig. Throughout the years Jake has been able to sing, play guitar and perform in plenty of episodes. His talent is obvious and it lies in many areas. The writers have been smart enough showcase his talents and because of this, Craig's popularity only continues to grow. There is no doubt that Craig would not be the leading man that he is today without Jake's talent, charm and charisma.

IMDB listing of Awards

Articles/Interviews:
-Media Relations For Young Actors & Performers Interview
-Canadian Jewish News Article
-Carpanatomy: Jake of All Trades
-The Do-Gooders of Degrassi
-Toronto Sun: Inside Out
-Popgurls.com Interview
-Alloy.com: Your Next Crush
-Kidsworld Magazine Survey
-Degrassi.TV Interview
-EnterteenmentNews.com Interview
-ThaBiz.com Interview
-The-N.com IM Interview
-Degrassi.TV Interview
-Jake's CosmoGirl Blogs
-TV Guide: Degrassi Cutie Jake Epstein (Craig) Returns for an Encore
-EW.Com: Splendor In Degrassi
-PostCityMagainze: How this Bayviewboy next door graduated from Degrassi and became Canada’s hottest new heartthrob
-Epstein Set For Real Life Graduation
-Degrassi Kids Do Panto
-Degrassi Stars to Headline Toronto Cinderella
-Dangerous Liaisons @ The Segal Center
-Dangerous Liaisons on Facebook
-Montreal Mirror - Theater (Sept. 04 - 10 2008)
- Toronto Star: Cinderella: Smart, Silly and Sweet Sums It Up
- Toronto Sun: Happily Ever After
- Toronto Star: Peanuts by Way of Degrassi
- 'DOG SEES GOD' Has Canadian Premiere Starting 3/13/09
- Eyeweekly.com - Cinderella: The Sillylicious Family Musical
- Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead | Facebook
- Dog Sees God: Jake Epstein Biography
- Former Degrassi star Jake Epstein moves into more exploratory realm
- TheStar.com: Quirky show is as lovable as Snoopy
- Charlie Brown's Back In Town
- Metronews.ca: Quirky play is among year’s best
- Metronews.ca: Heartthrob hits the stage
- Playbill.com: Degrassi" Star Epstein to Succeed Riabko in Spring Awakening National Tour
- BroadwayWorld.com: Degrassi Star Jake Epstein Joins The Cast Of Spring Awakening National Tour 7/7
- Broadway.com: Degrassi's Jake Epstein to Star in Spring Awakening Tour
- TheaterMania.com: Degrassi Star Jake Epstein to Play Melchior in Spring Awakening Tour
- Totally Trucked at Blogspot: Jake Epstein from Degrassi Joins Spring Awakening
- ThirdCoastDigest.com: Spring Awakening’s Jake Epstein talks about the musical
- Masslive.com: 'Spring Awakening' star saw role coming
- SunSentinel.com: Actor is Unlike the Charactors He Portrays
- ShalomLife.com: Jake Epstein's Awakening
- CorriereTandem.com: Non-traditional to say the least of Beauty and the Beast - Jake Epstein roars in new Ross Petty play at Elgin Theatre
- RevealingTalent.com: National Theatre School of Clown Noses

To see scans of other interviews, please visit the gallery.

Other Media:

-Jake's podcast on The-N.com

-Jake's podcast on Degrassi.tv

-Thabiz.com interviews Jake

Jake performs on Radio Free Roscoe: Musical Influences

Other links of interest:
-Mind The Gap Online
-Funkasaurus Rex
-Mind The Gap on Myspace
-Funkasaurus Rex on Myspace
-Some dude bought Jake Epstein's shirt for $50