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‘Unless I’m told otherwise, I will be Jewish’: Peter Jacobson on his TV career

During his 25-year career in Hollywood, actor Peter Jacobson has played doctors (“House M.D.”), lawyers (“Ray Donovan,” “Law & Order”) and studio chiefs (“Entourage,” “The Starter Wife”).
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January 6, 2016

During his 25-year career in Hollywood, actor Peter Jacobson has played doctors (“House M.D.”), lawyers (“Ray Donovan,” “Law & Order”) and studio chiefs (“Entourage,” “The Starter Wife”). But his role in the USA series “Colony” is less conventional — and a lot more complicated. 

The series is set in Los Angeles in the aftermath of an alien invasion, and the unseen occupiers have appointed collaborators to keep order, including Proxy Alan Snyder as governor. Snyder sides with the enemy, but he is not a cookie-cutter villain.

“His life has been turned upside down, just like everybody else. He’s clearly sold himself out and is willing to collaborate. But I also felt a current of very strong conflict and it was clear that he wouldn’t be a straight-down-the-middle bad guy,” Jacobson said. “I could see clearly what he was thinking and why he was doing what he was doing.”

As the series, which premieres Jan. 14, progresses, Snyder “gets even deeper and more torn. At the end of the season, you see him do some things that are surprising,” Jacobson added. “If we go ahead with other seasons and continue to deepen this character, I look forward to exploring that.”

If he were in Snyder’s shoes, would he collaborate or resist? 

“It’s hard for me to think about doing anything other than protecting my family. That’s probably where most people come from. It’s just a question of how far you’re willing to go,” Jacobson, a married father of one son, Emmanuel, replied. “I think I’d go pretty far.”

While many of his characters have been Jewish, including Dr. Chris Taub on “House M.D.,” Randy Dworkin on “Law & Order” and Lee Drexler on “Ray Donovan,” Alan Snyder’s religion “was never made explicit, and there were never any moments where it was referred to,” Jacobson said. “But for me, Snyder is Jewish. It’s just a part of me that I bring to any role. Unless I’m told otherwise, I will be Jewish.”  

Born and raised in Chicago, a fourth-generation American but descended from Russian, Ukrainian and Lithuanian immigrants, “I was certainly aware of being Jewish. There was a strong connection to a Jewish community, though it didn’t have a religious angle for me, because my folks were not religious Jews,” Jacobson said. He didn’t have a bar mitzvah or attend synagogue, “but we did have seders. Nothing too regular, but enough to keep me intrigued.”

Jacobson got a taste of show business when, as a boy, he’d accompany his father, Walter, a local newscaster, to work. “There was something about the lights and the cameras that appealed to me,” he said. He’d started acting in plays in the fourth grade and made his musical debut in “Fiddler on the Roof” as one of the townsfolk.

Later, at Brown University, Jacobson majored in political science and intended to go to law school, but the lure of the theater proved stronger, and he moved to New York to attend Juilliard. 

His parents gave him their blessing “with a wary eye and nervous caution. They realized that there was no stopping me. They saw how serious I was. They were nothing but supportive. But I understand their concern, because this business is so unstable,” Jacobson said. “I’ve been able to pay my way working as an actor. I feel very lucky, but I’m nothing if not tenacious. I get a lot of that from my dad.”

Although Jacobson has called New York home since his Juilliard days, he often works in Los Angeles, most recently on “Colony.” 

“My stepbrother lives there, so I stayed with him for a while and we rented a place when I was on ‘House.’ We always stay by the water if we can. I love L.A.,” Jacobson said. “If the right show comes along at the right time, we might make the move.”

He’s currently developing an idea for a TV show with a partner “to become more involved in the creative process. I’d like to have more control over what I do,” Jacobson said. “There’s a part or two that I could play very well but the priority is to get the show going and on the air.”

A passionate sports fan, he grew up going to Chicago Cubs and Bears games, played soccer and now coaches his son’s soccer team. “Maybe it’s the actor in me that loves the inherent drama of it. It’s more intense than any play you could ever do. I’ll go to any game, anywhere, anytime, any place,” Jacobson said. 

His son recently turned 13. “We’re figuring out whether we want him to be bar mitzvah,” Jacobson said. He and his wife, writer Whitney Scott, “are not raising our son in a religious household, but we feel the same sort of tug of community and tradition and we think it would be important for our son to have that experience. We’re juggling all the different possibilities,” including going to Israel, which Jacobson hasn’t yet visited. 

The desire to find more time to “relax, take it slow and enjoy the moment, and read a book” notwithstanding, Jacobson is satisfied with his life and career. “It’s been a slow, steady, upward trajectory,” he said. “Given my personality and potential for stress and anxiety, I’d like that big break so I’d never have to worry. But I’ve had breaks along the way that have helped nudge me faster or further, like ‘House.’ I feel very blessed and lucky.”

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