Jejune recently spoke with actor and ambassador Jacob Hopkins about his role as Chad Kremp on the hilariously funny ABC sitcom, The Goldbergs. Jacob has been acting his entire life, appearing in shows like How I Met Your Mother and True Blood. In addition to traditional acting, Jacob has been the voice actor in many fun animated shows. The Dragons: Rescue Riders and The Amazing World of Gumball star talked about his new feature film, Carolina’s Calling, his ongoing involvement in the Jonathan Foundation, and his passion to help kids, with learning disabilities and special needs. Please continue reading to learn more about this extremely talented young actor!

Where are you based?
I live in LA, where all the movie magic happens!

What inspired you to get into acting?
I sort of fell into it. My dad was an actor before me, and one day when I was four we were running errands together. We stopped by his agent’s office and they asked if I was interested in acting. I immediately shot up and exclaimed, “Sure! What’s acting?” And from there, the rest is history.

You play Chad Kremp, the lovable geeky best friend of Adam Goldberg, on The Goldbergs. Can you tell us a little bit about being on this super fun show?
Chad Kremp is the cool preppy 80’s kid with a slick sense of style. I'm a huge fan of the 80’s pop culture (Tron, Star Wars, Arcades, Classic Rock). So, playing him is almost like playing myself. I love everything that Chad loves, and I enjoy working on set. I imagine stepping back in time as I'm surrounded by an epic 80’s environment. It is a unique experience with fun people and an awesome crew.

You also have a feature film coming out, Carolina’s Calling. Can you tell us a little bit about your new film?
The film Carolina’s Calling is directed by Michael Saquella. It is a film about an engineer who discovers an alien lifeform. I play Zack, the love interest of the engineer’s daughter, and I also aid in the extraterrestrial discovery. Keep your eyes open for it later this year!

2020 has been a bit of a crazy year, do you think aliens will be next to happen? Is Carolina’s Calling a prediction of things to come?

How did you know? Scientists are theorizing about alien microbes manifesting on Venus, so I guess that counts as alien lifeform! Definitely not what the movie depicts, but hey, it’s a start.

Voice acting and traditional acting are two vastly different art forms, yet have similarities within the basic principle that actors must take on a role. How do the two acting methods compare?

All the emotions and thoughts behind a character are still present in the two forms, but they’re expressed differently. On camera, it’s all shown through your eyes, face, body language, and how you relate, respond, and react to them face-to-face. Behind the mic, it’s all through the tone, vocal expression, emotion, range of your voice, timing, and making this character as real as possible through animation.

Your first voice acting role was on a “Welcome to Elmore,” a short musical precursor to The Amazing World Of Gumball. Can you tell us a little bit about this experience?
You’ve definitely done your research! This was after I had booked the role of Gumball Watterson. I voiced him for seasons 3, 4, and almost half of 5. But at the beginning of my Gumball journey, I did a short musical that aired on Cartoon Network, advertising the coming of season 3. If you think about it, the short is incredibly important to the show. It foreshadowed the transformation of Gumball throughout the seasons I voiced him. He became more expressive and musical (I sang a ton of songs in tons of episodes). I was over the moon doing the short. It was one of the first steps I took into voicing Gumball, let alone voice over!

More recently you have been a voice for Dragons: Rescue Riders, a spin-off of How to Train Your Dragon. This is a super fun series. Can you talk about this experience a little?
As a huge fan of the How to Train Your Dragon books, show, and movies, you could say I was a bit stoked to join the universe as Axel Finke, who is basically the Deadpool/Starlord of Huttsgalor. Axel is incredibly fun to voice because he’s a mixture of good and bad, so he’s totally unpredictable. He’s a conman and is constantly switching sides. One day, he’ll be assisting his evil genius uncle in taking down the Rescue Riders, and the next, he’ll join them and assist them on missions!

Ultimately, he’s never really “on” either side. He’s got his own agenda and uses people to get what he wants, no matter who they are. I get to work with amazing people, like Mary E. McGlynn and Jack C. Thomas (my voice directors), and I get to be a part of one of my favorite universes!

With everything going on with COVID, do you think you will be seeing more voice acting work in the future versus in-person acting?
I already have! I’ve definitely been auditioning for more voice over during quarantine, but now I’m seeing a steady return to on-camera work. I recently worked on The Goldbergs set, and it was very professionally handled and safe. All the precautions were taken, like testing, masks, isolating essential cast and crew, and social distancing. If done right, we can all get back to on-camera work in no time.

Jejune loves that you are a Celebrity Ambassador for The Jonathan Foundation. Can you tell us a little bit about The Jonathan Foundation and what your role does?
I’ve been a Celebrity Ambassador for The Jonathan Foundation for seven years now! I’ve always cherished working with them because their mission is incredibly important to the future of education systems. The Jonathan Foundation works with families and individuals affected by learning disabilities and special needs (including behavioral/emotional/physical/cognitive needs) to obtain the proper assessments, IEP’s, and educational placement that will help them reach their true potential.

Unfortunately, children and youth with learning disabilities and special needs are often neglected in schools, which is exactly why The Jonathan Foundation exists. Raja Mahabra, the Founder, strives endlessly to not only get the best education for these children but make a difference in school districts so they’ll never get left behind. As a Celebrity Ambassador, I promote the Foundation using my social media platforms, attend annual events, donate funds, and participate in other events as well (such as documentaries).

Have you been able to work with The Jonathan Foundation during these times?
Thankfully, I have! I’ve been able to donate and promote their virtual events, which would usually occur in person. I speak out on their behalf in interviews like this as well and I’m just grateful that the Foundation is still able to perform their everyday miracles.

With education now being predominantly remote, this has to be especially difficult for children with learning disabilities. Do you know if the school systems are looking for ways to better work with these kids?
This is straight from Raja Marhaba herself, the founder of The Jonathan Foundation:
“For the most part Districts are doing the best they can under these circumstances, but not all Districts are collaborative with the parents' concerns regarding their child’s needs. The issue is parents are working (if they have work), and children need direct supervision at home while they distant learn, children are not always focused on the distant learning lessons, parents have become the “educators” for their children with limited support of the teachers.

My understanding is that distant learning is approximately two hours a day, the child takes a break and may distant learn for another two hours. Parents are left helping the children do the schoolwork and/or homework. This is not sustainable nor is it feasible for children’s education to continue in this format. I am referring to typical general education students. Now if you want to discuss special education students, well that will be much more challenging for them to distant learn depending on what their disabilities are and if the school is providing the services required by their Individual Education Plan (IEP).

There is another part to this - I am not sure if districts are providing teachers with child support at home so they can teach children without their own children interrupting distant learning. They also have to do distant learning with their children. It is not a cut and dry situation and many factors need to be considered in order to allow children to access grade-level curriculum.”

How are you staying positive during shelter in place?
I’m continuing to do things that nourish me, like drawing, drumming, Taekwondo, and virtually contacting my friends and family. You just have to find things to do that you love and those things will give you happiness.

What is your motto in life?
In the darkest of times, hope is something that you find within yourself and your faith.

To learn more about Jacob Hopkins, please follow him via the below platforms:
Instagram: hopkinsjake
Twitter: HopkinsJacob5

Photography by Tim Schaeffer.

Actor Jacob Hopkins on His Career and Involvement with the Jonathan Foundation