Blake Stadnik, is a 27-years-old New York-based musical theater actor who made his first onscreen appearance in This is Us.
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Quick Facts and Information on Blake Stadnik
| Full Name | Blake Stadnik |
| Birthday / Date of Birth | 1992 |
| Age | 27 |
| Birth Sign | N/A |
| Country | U.S |
| Hometown | Pittsburgh |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Profession | Actor |
| Movies & TV Shows | This Is Us |
| High School / College / University | Penn State University |
| Marital Status | Not Married |
| Current Relationship Status | Single |
| Girlfriend | N/A |
| Children | None |
| Social Media | Instagram, Facebook |
| Net Worth | $100 k |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.72 meters) |
Blake Stadnik (Jack Damon) in ‘This is Us’
Jack Damon, the son of Kate and Toby is played by Blake Stadnik in the series. Jack is a struggling musician who is blind, however, he is able to see some light and shapes.
Jack’s character meets a waitress named Lucy, played by Auden Thornton, earlier in the series. Damon opens up to Lucy about his creative struggle and eventually the two end up falling in love and later get engaged.
Talking about Blake Stadnik, he resonates to the character of Jack Damon to certain extent; as the actor himself is blind and can sing.
During an interview, Dan Fogelman, the creator of This is Us, talked about Blake Stadnik’s casting in the series and described how the actor blew them with his talent,
“A blind actor who could sing and was right for the role was quite the task: We wanted to find an actor who could be a leading man and very handsome and very funny and look great with his bare ass on national television, but also be able to go stand in The Greek [Theatre in Los Angeles] in front of a live audience and actually perform a song. So there were a lot of boxes to check.
Stadnik had never acted on camera before, and his first day of shooting “was literally lying completely naked in bed, then having a six-hour make-out scene with a young woman who was lovely opposite him, and then going on stage at The Greek in front of thousands of people during an intermission of a concert to perform a song, It was quite a trial by fire for him, and he blew us away in every possible way.”
Here you can check out Blake Stadnik’s performing a song demonstrating his magical voice.
Blake Stadnik Blindness
This is Us actor, Blake who is 27 years of age has been legally blind for 20 years now. Blake talked about the disease in an interview and elaborated,
“I was diagnosed when I was 6 with Stargardt Disease. It’s very similar to macular degeneration. About nine months later, my eyes has degenerated enough that I was legally blind.”
But, being blind so early in his life didn’t stop Stadnik from achieving a successful career. Meanwhile the credit for his success also goes to his parents who supported him and led him to where he is now!
After being diagnosed with the disease, Blake’s parents were determined to keep him from becoming sedentary. Luckily enough his mother was able to recognize Blake’s love for dancing, as he used to start moving upon hearing music. Thus, his mother signed him for tap dancing as well as lessons.
Eventually, at the age of 9, Blake found his passion and fell in love with the theater. He describes the time when he realized that doing theaters could actually be a career,
“We went to see the touring company of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ in Pittsburgh, and at intermission I turned to my mother and was like, ‘You can do this for a career?!’”
Blake Stadnik Theater Career
Upon recognizing his love for theater, Blake went on and graduated from Penn State University and participated in many productions including a senior showcase. Slowly, he started getting roles at various regional theaters across the country, and now he has made it to the Television as well.
Blake is very thankful for the opportunities that he has been given. Meanwhile, he also believes that his blindness helped him in a certain way to discover his love for acting. In an interview he divulged,
“Because my eyes went bad, it’s really sort of what showed me this amazing world of the theater. I don’t know if I would have found this had it not happened. So, in a way, it was sort of a blessing in disguise.”
