Jacob Tremblay
Quick Facts
Biography
Jacob Tremblay (/ˈtrɒmbleɪ/ TROM-blay; born October 5, 2006) is a Canadian actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Canadian Screen Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and nominations for a SAG Award and three Saturn Awards.
Tremblay starred as Jack Newsome in Room (2015), for which he won the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer, the Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor, and became the youngest nominee for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role. He subsequently went on to roles as August Pullman, a child with Treacher Collins syndrome, in the drama Wonder (2017); Max in the film Good Boys (2019); a minor role in Doctor Sleep (2019), which was the sequel to The Shining; and voice roles as Damian Wayne / Robin in Harley Quinn (2019), the title character of the Pixar film Luca (2021), Flounder in the 2023 live-action remake of Disney's The Little Mermaid and Orion Mendelson in the DreamWorks film Orion and the Dark (2024).
Early life
Tremblay, the middle of three children, was born on October 5, 2006, in Vancouver, British Columbia. His father is a police detective. Tremblay's sisters are actresses Erica and Emma Tremblay.
Career
Tremblay began acting in television roles. He made his film debut in The Smurfs 2, released in 2013.
Tremblay portrayed Jack Newsome in the critically acclaimed drama film Room, co-starring with Brie Larson. The film, directed by Lenny Abrahamson, premiered on September 4, 2015, at the Telluride Film Festival, and was released in cinemas on October 16, 2015. For his performance, he was nominated for the 2015 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, becoming the youngest actor nominated for that award and the second-youngest in all categories.
In 2016, Tremblay played a supporting role in the comedy film Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie; and guest-starred as the younger version of the main character, Phil Miller, on Fox's post-apocalyptic comedy series The Last Man on Earth. That same year, he starred in the horror film Before I Wake, with Kate Bosworth and Thomas Jane, and played a supporting role in the psychological thriller Shut In, alongside Naomi Watts, and co-starring Oliver Platt, and directed by Farren Blackburn. He also portrayed Wes Firth in the adventure comedy-drama Burn Your Maps, starring with Vera Farmiga and Marton Csokas.
In 2017, Tremblay played Peter Carpenter in director Colin Trevorrow's drama film The Book of Henry, co-starring with Naomi Watts and Maddie Ziegler. He also starred as August Pullman, a child with Treacher Collins syndrome, in Wonder, based on R.J. Palacio's novel of the same name. The latter film proved to be his most successful, earning over $285 million against a $20 million budget. In 2019, Tremblay made his comedy debut by headlining the R-rated comedy Good Boys co-starring with Brady Noon and Keith L. Williams. Good Boys earned $21 million during its opening weekend, becoming the first R-rated comedy since The Boss, which was released in April 2016, to finish first at the box office.
Tremblay brought his fellow actors to tears with his cameo performance in Doctor Sleep, the 2019 sequel to The Shining, as a kidnapped boy who is tortured to death in a scene which director Mike Flanagan initially feared would be too traumatic to include in the final cut. Commenting on the performance, Flanagan said, "he's one of the best actors I’ve ever worked with in my entire life."
In July 2019, it was announced that he would be voicing Flounder in the live-action adaptation of Disney's The Little Mermaid, directed by Rob Marshall. Tremblay voices Robin in the DC Universe adult animation series Harley Quinn. On October 16, 2020, he was featured in the video for Justin Bieber's track "Lonely" with record producer Benny Blanco.
Tremblay provided the voice of the titular character in the Pixar film Luca.
Personal life
Tremblay resides in Langley, British Columbia with his family. A fan of the Star Wars franchise, he named his dog after Daisy Ridley's character, Rey. His excitement at the characters C-3PO, R2-D2, and BB-8's appearance at the 88th Academy Awards ceremony was considered a highlight of the evening.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | The Smurfs 2 | Blue Winslow | |
The Magic Ferret | Sam | Short film | |
2014 | Extraterrestrial | Matty | Uncredited |
2015 | Gord's Brother | Young Gord | Short film |
Room | Jack Newsome | ||
2016 | Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie | Kid 4 | |
Before I Wake | Cody Morgan | ||
Burn Your Maps | Wes Firth | ||
Shut In | Tom Patterson | ||
2017 | The Book of Henry | Peter Carpenter | |
Wonder | August "Auggie" Pullman | ||
2018 | The Predator | Rory McKenna | |
The Death & Life of John F. Donovan | Young Rupert Turner | ||
2019 | Good Boys | Max Newman | |
Doctor Sleep | Bradley Trevor | ||
2020 | Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth | Finn (voice) | Short film |
2021 | Luca | Luca Paguro (voice) | |
Ciao Alberto | Short film | ||
2022 | My Father's Dragon | Elmer Elevator (voice) | |
2023 | The Little Mermaid | Flounder (voice) | |
Cold Copy | Igor Nowak | ||
The Toxic Avenger | Wade | ||
2024 | Orion and the Dark | Orion Mendelson (voice) | |
Queen of Bones | Sam | ||
The Life of Chuck † | Post-production | ||
2025 | Wildwood † | Curtis Mehlberg (voice) | Post-production |
The Skeleton Tree † | Frank | Post-Production | |
Sovereign † | Filming |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | Motive | Riley Stanwyck | Episode: "Undertow" | |
Mr. Young | Young Tater | Episode: "Mr. Finale Part 1" | ||
2014 | My Mother's Future Husband | Connor | Television film | |
Santa's Little Ferrets | Todd Collins | Television short | ||
2016 | The Last Man on Earth | Young Phil Miller | Episode: "Pitch Black" | |
Billy on the Street | Himself | Episode: "Billy's Holiday Wonderland With Jacob Tremblay" | ||
2017 | American Dad! | Young Charles Lindbergh (voice) | Episode: "Fight and Flight" | |
2017–2022 | Pete the Cat | Pete the Cat (voice) | Main Role | |
2018 | Animals | Nuke (voice) | Episode: "Roachella" | |
2019 | The Twilight Zone | Oliver Foley | Episode: "The Wunderkind" | |
2019–present | Harley Quinn | Damian Wayne / Robin (voice) | Recurring role | |
2023 | Invincible | Prince Lizard, Phase Two (voice) | Episode: "Atom Eve" |
Music video
Year | Title | Artist |
---|---|---|
2020 | "Lonely" | Justin Bieber and Benny Blanco |
Awards and nominations
Award | Year | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Austin Film Critics Association | 2015 | Best Actor | Room | Nominated | |
Breakthrough Artist Award | Won | ||||
Awards Circuit Community | 2015 | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated | ||
Central Ohio Film Critics Association | 2016 | Best Actor | Nominated | ||
Best Breakthrough Film Artist | Nominated | ||||
Chicago Film Critics Association | 2015 | Most Promising Performer | Won | ||
Critics' Choice Movie Awards | 2016 | Best Young Actor/Actress | Won | ||
2018 | Wonder | Nominated | |||
Detroit Film Critics Society | 2015 | Best Supporting Actor | Room | Nominated | |
Best Breakthrough Performance | Nominated | ||||
Dorian Awards | 2016 | Rising Star of the Year | Nominated | ||
Empire Awards | 2016 | Best Male Newcomer | Nominated | ||
Florida Film Critics Circle | 2015 | Pauline Kael Breakout Award | Nominated | ||
Georgia Film Critics Association | 2016 | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | ||
Breakthrough Award | Nominated | ||||
Gold Derby Film Awards | Best Lead Actor | Nominated | |||
Best Breakthrough Performer | Nominated | ||||
Indiana Film Journalists Association | 2015 | Best Actor | Won | ||
International Cinephile Society | 2016 | Best Actor | Nominated | ||
Irish Film and Television Awards | 2016 | Best International Actor | Nominated | ||
Las Vegas Film Critics Society | 2015 | Youth in Film | Won | ||
2017 | Wonder | Runner-up | |||
Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society | 2017 | Best Actor or Actress 23 and Under | Nominated | ||
Music City Film Critics Association | 2020 | Best Young Actor | Good Boys | Nominated | |
National Board of Review | 2015 | Best Breakthrough Performance | Room | Won | |
Nevada Film Critics Society | 2015 | Best Youth Performance | Won | ||
Online Film and Television Association | 2016 | Best Youth Performance | Won | ||
Best Breakthrough Performance: Male | Won | ||||
2018 | Best Youth Performance | Wonder | Nominated | ||
Phoenix Critics Circle | 2015 | Best Supporting Actor | Room | Nominated | |
Phoenix Film Critics Society | 2015 | Best Performance by a Youth | Won | ||
Best Breakthrough Performance | Nominated | ||||
2017 | Best Performance by a Youth | Wonder | Nominated | ||
San Diego Film Critics Society | 2015 | Best Actor | Room | Nominated | |
Best Breakthrough Artist | Won | ||||
Satellite Awards | 2016 | Breakthrough Performance Award | Won | ||
Screen Actors Guild Awards | 2016 | Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role | Nominated | ||
Seattle Film Critics Society | 2017 | Best Youth Performance | Wonder | Nominated | |
Vancouver Film Critics Circle | 2015 | Best Actor in Canadian Film | Room | Won | |
Village Voice Film Poll | 2015 | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | ||
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association | 2015 | Best Youth Performance | Won | ||
2017 | Wonder | Nominated |