Jake Epstein People Quotations

I did 'Degrassi' for five years in Toronto, and I made the decision to quit the show to go to theatre school, which a lot of people thought I was really crazy to do, but it was one of those major decisions in my life that I haven't regretted - hopefully I won't! I really wanted to go to school.

When I was 12, I played the Artful Dodger in Cameron McKintosh's production of 'Oliver!' when it came to Toronto. Just getting the role shocked my whole family, and I don't think I realized until then just how much I loved getting up in front of people and performing.

The very first concert I ever went to was a Green Day concert when I was 12 years old, at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ont., and I remember right after seeing them perform I started a band, and I wanted to get up in front of people and start performing. Ten years later, to be on the Green Day 'American Idiot' tour is really awesome.

There's just nothing funnier or crazier than that - doing your Broadway debut as Spider-Man in 'Spider-Man' the musical. It was, like, the last thing I could have ever possibly imagined happening. I mean, I would tell people I was playing Spider-Man, and people would just break out laughing because it was so ridiculous!

I really think 'Spring Awakening' is unlike any other show. At the end of the day, I hope people are moved by it... whether they love it or they find it uncomfortable. I hope this show can awaken something in them, or reminds them of their childhood, or offers a bit of assurance to what teenagers are going through. It's a great piece of theater.

I'm always surprised at how many people remember me from 'Degrassi.'

If I'm ever at a mall or some kind of place where there's a lot of younger girls, some people will recognize me from 'Degrassi.' But then it won't happen for a long time. It's funny - it happens more here in the States than it does in Canada.