Jacob Banser-Todd is an American actor based in London.
He began to perform and study acting at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY, in 2002. While at Bellarmine, he performed in over twenty stage productions.
In 2006, he moved to New York City to attend The William Esper Studio’s two year Meisner training program. After graduating from the studio, he performed in many off-off Broadway productions ranging from new works to Shakespeare. He also took parts in several short films as well as a cult horror film entitled The Chair, which was shot in Los Angeles in 2014.
While at the Esper studio, Jacob met character actor and film acting teacher Clark Middleton. For some four years afterwards, he studied film acting under Clark’s tutelage at APT 929 Studio.
Clark had this to say of Jacob: “Having taught for over 20 years I can honestly say Jacob is the best character actor who has studied with me. He has an extraordinary appetite for finding extreme nuance and humanity in every part he plays; the walking, talking and especially the insight he brings to emotional behavior. His ability to completely transform himself and externalise detail in behavior that lives presently in the room is uncanny. Somehow, to me, he reminds me of those great off beat and risky actors we saw in the 1970’s. The actors that carried within them a kind of salt of the earth, dirt under their fingernails.”
In 2016, Jacob was accepted into East 15 Acting School and moved to London. While training there, he landed a small role in The Arcola Theatre’s 2017 production of Gorky’s The Lower Depths.
In 2018, Jacob received an MFA in Acting from East 15. Since then, he has performed in several stage productions, including Scripts For Supper’s production of Jekyll & Hyde in February.
He will next be seen in Rough Stock Productions’ new devised play, Bullarena, at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.