Jacob Bertrand | BELLO Young Hollywood

Jacob Bertrand may be a familiar face to fans of Kirby Buckets and Cobra Kai, but his journey to the screen is anything but typical. Starting with aspirations that had little to do with acting—like becoming a bank robber—Jacob’s path took an unexpected turn when his mother’s creative Christmas cards landed him and his sister spots at an agency. What began as a fun escape from school quickly grew into a deep passion, fostered by mentorship from seasoned actors and a love for diverse roles.

Now, with nearly two decades in the industry, Jacob has evolved into a versatile performer, balancing TV, film, voice work, and even a podcast, all while staying grounded with the support of his tight-knit family and lifelong friends. In this interview, Jacob opens up about his unexpected start, the funny moments that have stuck with him, his love for martial arts, and his dreams of tackling even more challenging roles in the future—including the possibility of playing a villain or starring in a rom-com, all for the love of storytelling.

You’ve been in the acting world since you were a child. Did 9-year-old Jacob dream of becoming when he grew up? Did he always want to be an actor, or were there other dreams in his heart?

Um, no, my dream was to be a bank robber. That was the thing I really, really wanted to do growing up. I got into acting because my sister wanted to try it, but we didn’t know anyone in the industry. So my mom just sent Christmas cards with mine and my sister’s faces on them to some agencies, and one of them responded and said “Hey! We’ll take all your kids!”, and we kind of just started doing it. So I was five when I started and didn’t understand what it was at first. It felt like just skipping school, which is awesome to me. Then as I got older and just met cool older actors who mentored me about it, I realized “I genuinely like acting… A lot!”. That’s sort of how my love for acting started.

What’s one of the most unexpected or funny things that happened on set when you were younger? Do any stories that still make you laugh today?

I remember, there was one time when we were trying to teach one of our cast members how to throw a football, or just throw a baseball, throw… A ball. And he was having a really hard time with it. Then his dad walked by, and we went like “Hey, we’re trying to teach him how to throw…” His answer was something along the lines of “Oh yeah, I love throwing!”. And our friend is throwing it weirdly every time. Then we give his dad the ball, and his dad grabs the ball and performs the exact same horrible throw, and we just thought it was really funny that it just came directly from his athletic father.

From Kirby Buckets to Cobra Kai, you’ve taken on some diverse roles. How do you think you’ve evolved as an actor since your early Disney days?

Oh, man, I think I’ve just been fortunate enough to be given opportunities to grow and show what I can do. Hopefully, there will be more opportunities to grow and to find cool characters. But, yeah, I’ve grown as an actor just trying new things a lot. I think I’m just constantly trying new things.

You’ve trained in taekwondo both as a kid and for Cobra Kai. What’s the most memorable moment you’ve had in martial arts training? Any hilarious mishaps or proud victories?

Oh, man, I would say I learned this isn’t really martial arts, but with all the stunt guys, I got told in a couple of days my character had to do a cheat gainer, which is like a forward-moving back movement. And I learned how to do a backflip a year ago, and I’d never done a gainer before, like, “Oh, shoot! Let’s try to learn it.” So just going and drilling it over and over with all the stunt guys who helped me out, and it was just fun being with a group of guys who were experts in their field, trying to teach me. Luckily enough, I was able to learn it. I don’t know if it’s in the final cut or not, but I got to do the flip on the day.

There is a moment in season four where, when Tori wins the all-Valley, they lift her hand. I asked the directors if I could do a blooper where I would run out on the stage, tackle her then lift her up. So we got to film that and it was a really fun, sort of Victorious moment. That blooper is somewhere. I don’t know where it is, but they were rolling on that day. So, hopefully, at some point, we’ll be able to find it. The internet doesn’t miss anything!

Voice acting for shows like Bubble Guppies and Batwheels must be a blast. How does it feel to bring animated characters to life?

I love animation as a medium, and I get to have so much fun, even if it’s just playing different background voices and all the different shows. Yeah, it’s fun! I’ve always loved animations ever since I was a kid. I enjoy getting to do anything and everything I can.

You’ve juggled TV, films, voice work, and a podcast. How do you balance all these different aspects of your career?

Oh, man, I’m lucky that I had really good parents in my life! They’ve always been supportive of me. My family’s really tight, and I think that balance comes from them. And, you know, I was lucky enough that I could go to public school, so, having to make time for friends and downtime was always a big thing for my parents as I grew up. They would always take care that I wasn’t just all work, and then I got to be a kid. It’s hard though, I mean, this week alone is a lot of work, but the work that I have to do isn’t really, really work. And that’s because I love it. As an example: Today! Did a photoshoot, got to hang out with nice people, and now we’re sitting in a cool room doing an interview, like on some simple art, and… That’s my job! That’s a pretty sick job. So although it is work, I think it’s not as draining as probably other fields are, I’d say, just keeping a good level head and finding the work-life balance is the biggest thing for me.

Do you have any tricks for staying grounded amidst the whirlwind of activities?

I’ve had the same friend group since I was in kindergarten so I’m very blessed in that aspect. Diving into it, I think social media can be a huge trap. I have an Instagram, download it to post stuff, but I never really keep it on my phone. I don’t have Twitter. I’m not on Facebook. I think social media is super bad for your brain, and I don’t really take part in it

Also, maybe my sort of laid-off, laid-back personality comes from the routine I had growing up. I would go to school once every month a week, just because I’d be filming something and never really had a hiatus. So I wasn’t in public school that much, but when I was in public school, I was usually ahead of the curriculum that they were doing. That’s because I was on independent study and had extra time to, you know, go ahead. And whenever I was at school, it felt like rest for me. School was not very stressful because I had already gotten all my work done. So my school experience was just hanging out, having fun, getting to relax with my friends, and not worrying about being on set. I’ve been blessed enough that I don’t struggle with memorizing stuff, so that was never really an impediment, and I just had so much fun. I get to do so many things that are so fun, and I enjoy it so it doesn’t feel super stressful to me. Even when there’s a bunch of interviews and then a photoshoot and then an audition. And, sometimes, you’re even flying somewhere to film a new job. Stuff has never felt too stressful to me, because I’m just so grateful to be in the position that I’m at. And I’ve been doing this for 19 years now so I understand this industry is so harsh, and it can be so brutal, but when it’s good, it’s great. And I just want to enjoy it.

Looking ahead, is there a dream role or project you’re itching to tackle next?

Ever since I was a kid, I have loved the Coronado trilogy and Anchor Wright. I think he’s an amazing director and I would love to work with him. I also love Antoine Fuqua. He’s so awesome. He does something that I would love to work with in terms of a specific type of role.

Adding to this, I would love to play an evil person! It’s been so much fun when Hawk was evil in Cobra Kai that I just had a blast getting to do that. Even if it’s like a murder or psychopath, that would be interesting. One of our gaffers on Cobra Kai, Ed, came up to me one day super randomly and was like, “You know what, Jacob, you should think about doing a rom-com.”, I’d never thought about that before, but after Ed told it to me, I’m like, “You know what? Ed, for you, I will do a rom-com!”. So eventually, one day, I would like to do a rom-com for Ed. I think it’d be a fun thing.