Jackson Rathbone (born December 21, 1984) is an American
actor and
singer. He is perhaps best known for his role as
Jasper Hale in the film adaptations of
Stephenie Meyer's novels
Twilight and
New Moon.
Early life
Rathbone was born as
Monroe Jackson Rathbone V[www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zF1UMPMi8A] in
Singapore, the son of American parents Randee Lynn (née Brauner) and Monroe Jackson Rathbone IV.
His great-grandfather, Monroe Jackson Rathbone II, was the chairman of Standard Oil of New Jersey, which later became
Exxon.
Because of his father's job at
Mobil Oil, Rathbone has lived in places ranging from
Indonesia to
Midland, Texas.
He started out in local theatre in Midland with the youth actors program "The Pickwick Players", initially doing musical theatre.
For his junior and senior years of high school, Rathbone attended the
Interlochen Arts Academy, a private school for the arts in
Michigan, where he majored in acting.
[ After graduation, he had planned to go to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, but went instead to Los Angeles to experiment with the big screen.]
Career
After being in Los Angeles for a short time, Rathbone was cast in Disney 411, where he interviewed up-and-coming personalities like Hilary Duff and the sister duo Aly & AJ. He has also had guest roles on The O.C. and Close to Home. His movie roles include work in Molding Clay, Pray for Morning, and Travis and Henry. In 2008, he played Jasper Hale in the movie Twilight, based on the best-selling novel by Stephenie Meyer.[StephenieMeyer.com website] He reprised his role in the sequels to Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse.
