Former Times News paperboy plays a bad guy in upcoming movie
You’d better get out of his way. He’ll push you around. Slap you. Make you feel like your life is not worth living.
Jason Zacek plays the part of a bully in a movie of the same name that will be released on Dec. 31 by Gravitas Ventures.
“I applied to play the part in 2015,” said Zacek, a 23-year-old former resident of Lehighton. “I actually had forgotten about it and then I got a call two years later and was asked if I wanted to play a bully. I never even had to audition.”
Wielding the hammer
The film is a coming-of-age dark comedy about a quiet, heavyset high school kid who is tormented by the resident school bully and his cronies.
After an altercation on his way home from school lands him a chance meeting with a former professional boxer, he decides to learn how to fight back. The movie stars Danny Trejo of “Machete” and “From Dusk to Dawn.”
Zacek plays one of the cronies, a quiet wing man for the bigmouth bully.
“I play the character named Neil and I take orders from the lead bully.”
A shy boy pays his way
Zacek grew up in Lehighton where his family still lives.
Years ago, his grandmother had been taking children to New York City to perform in pageants. She tired of the routine saying it was “too hectic” and “no good for kids,” according to Zacek, who was 10 years old at the time.
“I asked her to take me to New York and she tried to discourage me by saying I would have to pay my way. So then I became a Times News paperboy and I saved the money to pay her. She took me to Philadelphia and New York and there sparked my acting career.”
Zacek worked construction jobs and anything else to pay for opportunities to become an actor.
He played baseball at Lehighton Area High School and in his own words, “I wanted to play in the major leagues,” but he realized that wouldn’t happen. He then left high school to be a home schooled, cyber student so he could concentrate on his acting career.
Zacek did not always have the makeup of someone who could perform with confidence in front of a camera.
“I was a shy kid and I had a fear of public speaking,” he explained.
He told of the time in school when he was selected to read aloud in a Shakespeare play.
“I asked for the tiniest part,” he said.
Living the dream
He now has an impressive list of acting credits.
Since 2014, Zacek has appeared in 14 movies and TV films among his 20 platforms, including “Nerve” and “Orange is the New Black.” He’s also worked with Hollywood stars, Jennifer Lopez and Ray Liotta to name a few.
“What’s also cool is I’m going to be a wax figure in a historical museum opening next year in Washington, D.C., and I recently got scanned to be in a video game.”
He moved to Los Angeles where he bought a house with 12 bedrooms and is also planning on owning a food truck and selling his secret recipe homemade sliders in between acting calls.
On the screen, Zacek, who’s been told he looks like a young Michael Douglas, often plays the bad guy. He acted in a “driving high” commercial as part of a national campaign to deter such behavior.
Big reach from a small town
Zacek still carries the small town part of him. He visits his family in Lehighton and is sentimental about growing up there.
“I had a great childhood in Lehighton, playing football in the park across from the pool and hanging out with my friends. I had so much fun, I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
His grandfather loves to watch every film he’s in.
“He gets so excited when I send him my next project. I want to make him happy and proud of me.”
When speaking of his acting aspirations, Zacek is just fine with his roles for now.
“I don’t really care about playing leading roles. I have no ego and I think that comes from growing up in a small town.”
“Bully” will be available on cable TV’s “On Demand” and interested viewers should check the trailer and IMDb site for further options.
As for Jason Zacek, this “bad guy bully” who “drives high,” is essentially a young man who loves his family and misses the small town life in Lehighton, and yet he has made his way down motion picture highway.
“Shoot for the stars,” he says.
He is living proof that anyone from anywhere can do just that and make it in the world of show business.