Jared Acosta

The son of Lydia and Robert Acosta, Jared Robert Acosta was born August 20th, 1979 in Queens, New York. When he was less than a year old his family moved to Stroudsburg, PA where he was raised with his two sisters Olivia and Leslie. From a young age, Jared would write plays that he and his cousins would perform during family functions on sets he and his grandfather George Vega (who also built the collapsible furniture for Saturday Night Live's Samurai skits in the 1970s) had built. At 12 years old he spent a short time as a runway model before entering his awkward teen years. Just before his 18th birthday he and two friends opened a head shop called "The Odyssey," but numerous break-ins caused the store to close six months later. Shortly after that Jared joined the US Army Reserves where he was eventually discharged due to a severe injury to his right hand. Upon returning to civilian life he began selling cars while attending East Stroudsburg University. He was certain by this point he wanted to get into entertainment but was unsure just how to do it. He and another friend began planning a concert, but unable to obtain outside financing, were forced to think outside the box. They formed a small technology firm Down Under Consulting to raise to the money, despite their best effort, internal squabble forced the company's dissolve a short time later. It wasn't until 2006 that alongside music producer Michael Calderone, Jared organized and produced his first full scale concert. The following year the pair had thrown numerous music festivals until Michael had received a recording contract with Armada Music. Although offered a management position with his partner, Jared knew there was little room for advancement and held out for another opportunity. In 2009, Director Nick Stagliano offered Jared a chance to help produce his feature film "Good Day For It." Since then he has helped produce several films including Jay Alaimo's "Chlorine" and has appeared in such shows as NBC's "30 Rock" and Fox's "Running Wilde," where he is featured as Steve Wilde's personal gardener.