Jake was born in Clovis, California on Sept 8, 1986. He moved when he was 2 weeks old to be near his mother's family in Portland, Oregon. He attended school there until the middle of 5th grade. He also worked in the local markets of Portland and Seattle. He was then asked to come down and audition in Los Angeles. Upon doing so he booked the role of Josh in The Story of Us (1999), starring Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer.He then went on to work on several commercials and a pilot with Scott Bakula called "Father Can't Cope", which was not picked up for a full series. However, Jake continued to book roles, such as his guest star appearances on "Once and Again", and "The Amanda Show".