Jack Harries

Jackson Frayn "Jack" Harries (born 13 May 1993) is a British vlogger and former child actor. Beginning his professional acting career at the age of thirteen, Harries was as one of the featured cast members on the Channel 4 sketch comedy programme, School of Comedy. He is now best known for appearing alongside his twin brother Finn on the YouTube channel, JacksGap, which now has over 3 million subscribers.

Early life

Harries was born in London, England,^{[citation needed]} the son of television and film producer Andy Harries, and author and director Rebecca Frayn.^[1] His maternal grandfather is playwright and novelist, Michael Frayn.^[2] Harries has a twin brother, Finn Harries, who is two minutes older,^[3] and a younger sister, Emmy Lou.^[1] He grew up in Chiswick, London^[2] and attended The Harrodian School from the ages of eight to eighteen, where he studied the A-Levels, media, photography and history of art. In which he achieved AAB grades and took up a place at the University of Bristol.^{[citation needed] [4]}

Career

Actor

In 2006, Harries made his professional acting debut at the age of thirteen, playing the son of Brendan Coyle in the dramatic ITV television movie, Perfect Parents. The following year, he appeared as "Barry" in an episode of the BBC comedy programme, Comedy Shuffle alongside his School of Comedy co-star Will Poulter.

In 2008, Harries joined the cast of the Channel 4 teen sketch comedy programme School of Comedy. The programme, inspired by a performance given by Harries and his classmates at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, first aired as a pilot on the long-running Channel 4 showcase, Comedy Lab, before being picked-up as a stand-alone programme that lasted three seasons.^[2][5] On the programme, Harries portrayed a variety of characters in various comedy sketches, including appearing alongside his twin brother, Finn Harries who portrayed his "clone" in two segments.^[6]

In 2011, Harries appeared as the love interest of Abigail Hardingham in a KFC commercial.^[2][7]

In 2013, Harries, and his twin brother Finn, portrayed a fictionalized version of themselves in an animated YouTube talk show titled "Chat Sandwich". Hosted by South African comedians Derick Watts & The Sunday Blues, the twins displayed their "twin super-powers".^[8]

Vlogger

In July 2011, Harries started his own YouTube channel, JacksGap as a way of documenting his gap year for his family and friends after finishing sixth form. When recounting how he began his YouTube channel, Harries explained, "The idea of connecting with an audience out of my bedroom just blew my mind – and I wanted to give it a go. I thought nobody would watch a random kid making movies, and for four months, nobody did. Then I put Finn in a video and the views suddenly shot up.” Jack appears in every video except for one, while Finn appears intermittently and is responsible for the logo and branding for the channel.^[2]

In April 2012, JacksGap hit 10,000 subscribers and Harries was invited to become a YouTube Partner. The revenue generated from his channel was reportedly double what he had previously earned at his retail job at Apple and enabled him to travel during his gap year. The video content on JacksGap ranges from vlogs and comedy sketches, to bungee jumping, unicycling and making balloon animals, as well as documenting the twins' travels to Rome, Ibiza, South Africa, New York City, and Thailand.^[2] In addition to appearing alongside his brother, Finn, Harries' videos have also featured other notable YouTube personalities, including Sam Pepper (OfficialSamPepper), Caspar Lee (Caspar (formerly DiCasp)), Dan Howell (danisnotonfire), Marcus Butler (MarcusButlerTV) and Tyler Oakley (TylerOakley), among others. Jack's well known phrase is "cheeky".^[9][10]

In February 2013, JacksGap reached one million subscribers. On 12 June 2013, exactly two years after its creation, JacksGap hit two million subscribers,^[11] which Jack and Finn celebrated by posting a video consisting of a compilation of all the videos that were posted on Jacksgap. The channel hit 3 million in November 2013. Since, they have been working on numerous projects, such as the 'Rickshaw Run' which they took part in with several fellow film makers and friends, and plan on making this is a series over the end of 2013. They have also ventured out to speak publicly about their professions, for example at the Vinspired event in London.

The channel's subscriber demographics are estimated to be 88% female, ranging in age from fourteen to seventeen.^[2] When describing the opportunities JacksGap has created, Jack stated, "Anything can come out of it, from signing with an agent here in the U.K. that I wasn't previously signed with, to meeting a load of amazing people that are now my best friends, to getting offers to do certain TV or film things. [...] I like to think of myself as an entrepreneur."^[12] In September 2012, the Harries twins were reportedly finalizing plans for a new smart phone app and social network, both based on JacksGap.^[2][12]

Personal life

Harries has expressed an interest in becoming a television presenter and in September 2012, he began studying drama, television and film at the University of Bristol, while his twin brother, Finn, was studying graphic design at the University of Leeds.^[2] After their first term at university, both twins decided to leave to focus on their interests in making YouTube videos and travelling. The Harries twins have stated that they've made an agreement with their parents to return to university after a year if their plans do not go as expected.^[13]

Filmography

References

External links

• Jack Harries at the Internet Movie Database
• Jack Harries on Twitter
• Jack Harries's channel on YouTube
• Jack Harries's show page on Blip