Article

Jacob Tremblay

Published Online February 2, 2024

Last Edited February 2, 2024

Jacob Tremblay, actor (born 5 October 2006 in Vancouver, BC). Child actor Jacob Tremblay shot to fame at the age of eight following his acclaimed performance in the award-winning film Room (2015), based on the book by Emma Donoghue. He won at least 20 awards for the role, including a Canadian Screen Award for best lead actor and a National Board of Review award for Breakthrough Performance. He has also appeared in such films as The Book of Henry (2017), Wonder (2017), Luca (2021) and The Little Mermaid (2023).

Early Life and Career

Jacob Tremblay was born in Vancouver and raised mainly in Langley, British Columbia. His father, Jason, is a police detective, while his mother, Christina, is a homemaker. Jacob is the middle child of three siblings, all of whom are actors. His sisters, Erica and Emma, have also worked extensively in film and television productions in Vancouver.

Tremblay has said that he started acting “just for fun,” but that he later developed “a passion for filmmaking.” He appeared in commercials and landed his first notable role, as Blue in The Smurfs 2 (2013), when he was five.

Career Highlights

Jacob Tremblay was one of more than 2,000 child actors who auditioned for the role of Jack in the film adaption of Emma Donoghue’s renowned 2010 novel, Room. It follows a boy who is freed after being born in captivity to a mother who was abducted and held prisoner in a one-room shed.

Hollywood Premiere of A24's Room
(L-R) Director Lenny Abrahamson, Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen, William H. Macy and writer Emma Donoghue arrive at the premiere of Room at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California, 13 October 2015.
(photo by Kevin Winter, courtesy Getty Images)

Shot in Toronto in the fall of 2014, when Tremblay was barely eight years old, the Irish Canadian production went on to receive worldwide acclaim, particularly for Tremblay’s performance. As one of the film’s producer David Gross told the Hollywood Reporter, “If his performance didn't work, we were a Lifetime movie.” In December 2015, the New York Times declared Tremblay “Hollywood’s ‘It’ Kid.” Room was nominated for four Oscars and swept the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards, winning 9 awards, including Best Motion Picture and Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for Tremblay.

Tremblay then co-starred in The Book of Henry (2017) opposite Naomi Watts, Wonder (2017) with Julia Roberts, and Queen of Bones (2023) with Martin Freeman. He also began voicing children’s book character Pete the Cat in a movie and TV series, as well as the lead character in the Pixar film Luca (2021) and Flounder in Disney’s The Little Mermaid (2023).

Personal Life

Jacob Tremblay has continued to live with his family in Langley, BC. As he told the Canadian Press in May 2023, “I still go to public school and what’s cool is that I’ve kind of lived in the same neighbourhood the majority of my life, so everyone there knows me and sees me as a regular dude.”


Awards

  • Most Promising Performer (Room), Chicago Film Critics Association Awards (2015)
  • Breakthrough Performance (Room), National Board of Review (2015)
  • Breakthrough Artist (Room), San Diego Film Critics Society Awards (2015)
  • Best Actor in a Canadian Film (Room), Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards (2016)
  • Best Performance by a Youth (Room), Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards (2015)
  • Breakthrough Artist Award (Room), Austin Film Critics Association (2015)
  • Best Youth Performance (Room), Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards (2015)
  • Best Actor (Room), Indiana Film Journalists Association (2015)
  • Best Youth Performance (Room), Nevada Film Critics Society (2015)
  • Breakthrough Star, Odyssey Awards (2015)
  • Virtuosos Award (Room), Santa Barbara International Film Festival (2016)
  • Someone to Watch – Honorary Award, CinEuphoria Awards (2016)
  • Best Emerging Performer, UBCP/ACTRA Awards Vancouver (2016)
  • Best Youth Performance (Room), Online Film & Television Association (2015)
  • Best Breakthrough Performance, Male (Room), Online Film & Television Association (2015)
  • Best Actor (Room), International Online Cinema Awards (2016)
  • Best Leading Young Actor – Feature Film (Room), Young Entertainer Awards (2016)
  • Best Young Actor/Actress (Room), Critics Choice Awards (2016)
  • Breakthrough Performance Award (Room), Satellite Awards (2016)
  • Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Room), Canadian Screen Awards (2016)
  • Outstanding Motion Picture Animation – Cast, Best Voiceover (Luca), Voice Arts Awards (2021)