Jacob Zachar is an American actor born on May 16, 1986 in Chicago, Illinois. He has attended St. Patrick High School in Chicago, where he developed an interest in acting. His career began in 2006, when he landed his first acting role in the film Little Big Top. This allowed him to act alongside Sid Haig, Richard Riehle, and Mel England. Since then, he earned a number of roles. He has appeared in several commercials for the Dunkin’ Donuts and Carl’s Jr. companies, and has also been active on stage. Some productions he has appeared in are Les Miserables, Big: The Musical, On Golden Pond, and Prairie Lights. In an interview, he says that he moved to Los Angeles “because of all the opportunities.”
On the big screen, Jaco Zachar was cast alongside John Malkovich and John Goodman in Drunkboat. He later received his starring role in the ABC Family Channel’s series Greek, portraying the character Rusty Cartwright. His role is that of a social underdog who wants to make his college life wild and memorable. The actor has expressed how much he relates to his character on the show. He said, “I'm not really a mean person in real life, and neither is Rusty, so it works. But I have two younger brothers, so when I was a senior I had a brother who was a sophomore. I looked out for him as best as I could, but you can't help but mess around with them too. So it's also kind of weird, but fun, to take on the younger sibling role now.”
Some of Zachar’s other roles have been in Bodega, and voicing characters on the hit animated movie Surf’s Up. The actor has also ventured into the realm of music. As the frontman for the Chicago-based group, Megaband, he has been involved in genres like funk, blues, punk, metal and ska. “Music has always been as big a part as acting,” he said. Some of his influences include Muddy Waters, Led Zeppelin and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
(Photo courtesy of ABC Family)