Epstein was born in Toronto, Ontario. His mother, Kathy Kacer, is a Norma Fleck Award-winning writer of children's stories about the Holocaust, and his father is a lawyer.[2][3] He also has an older sister, Gabi, who is an actress and jazz singer.[2]
Epstein is Jewish, and was raised in Conservative Judaism.[4][5] Epstein stated in 2019, "I would consider myself spiritually Jewish rather than religiously Jewish."[6]
In July 2011, Epstein joined the original Canadian production of Billy Elliot the Musical. He played the role of Tony Elliot, Billy's older brother, in the production which played at the Canon Theatre in Toronto. After that show closed, Epstein played Will in the first national tour of American Idiot, which began in December 2011. In a 2013 interview, Epstein said that Will was the most challenging role had had ever played. He said, "I sat on a couch and never left the stage for the majority of the show. That experience was a whole lesson in pacing, in creating a whole world for yourself on stage..."[1]
Epstein was cast as Gerry Goffin in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, opposite Jessie Mueller.[11] The musical had a pre-Broadway engagement at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, where it played September 24 and October 20, 2013. He then originated the role when it transferred to Broadway, where it began performances at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on November 12, 2013. Epstein later shared that playing Carole's ex-husband was uniquely challenging because Carole encouraged him to not portray Gerry as the villain, even though the script changes increasingly presented him that way.[10][12] He left the show in 2014 after a year of performances, citing vocal problems and fatigue of playing a real person being portrayed as brooding and villainous.[2] However, Epstein temporarily returned to the show in 2016, where he reprised his role opposite fellow Canadian actor Chilina Kennedy, who starred as Carole.[2]
In 2016, Epstein starred as a closeted gay man in the off-Broadway show Straight.[13][14] He said of the script:
"What resonated with me is how a straight person is just a person, but a gay person is a gay person—it's part of the title you give somebody...I thought the whole angle that the play takes about not a fear of coming out but a fear of definition, a fear of being labeled as a gay man, was an argument that's not really made in our sort of post-acceptance society. It's not about a guy who's afraid of coming out..."[13]
At the 2019 Toronto Fringe Festival, Epstein premiered his solo cabaret show Boy Falls From the Sky. The show is a retelling of his experiences in show business, including his time on Degrassi: The Next Generation, the challenges of auditioning for musicals, and his experiences on the ill-fated musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.[15] Epstein was encouraged to write the show at the encouragement of his wife, who he credits with helping him realizing the power and authenticity of "...somebody with a microphone, telling a true story, something that's funny or horrific or whatever..."[12]Mirvish Productions expressed interest in the show, and presented it at the Royal Alexandra Theatre between April 19 and May 29, 2022 and received widespread positive reviews.[2] Epstein has since performed the show across Canada, including in Hamilton, Barrie, and in Quebec at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts.[16][17][18]
Television
After appearing on the TV show The Zack Files, he played Craig Manning on Degrassi: The Next Generation for five seasons and won the Gemini Award.[19] The character of Craig became a musician on the show and had to cope with parental abuse and bipolar disorder. Epstein said, "At the time, mental illness was not really something anyone was talking about. There was a huge stigma attached — I had never seen [bipolar disorder] on TV, and certainly not in a teenager. I loved the opportunity to portray someone who was conflicted and not perfect..." Craig impregnated a girl named Manny who gets an abortion, and Epstein noted that those episodes were "initially banned" in the United States.[20] Epstein indicated that he "got the chance to really flesh out this guy that felt like a darker extension of me."[21]
He left Degrassi during the fifth season to attend the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal and made theater his new focus. Epstein said, "One of the things I love about theatre is how raw it is. There's no faking it… I really wanted to have a base in theatre, and that kind of opened up all these doors for me." Epstein returned to Degrassi for minor guest appearances in season 6–8.[22]
Epstein played "geeky FBI computer nerd" Chuck Russink in the American TV show Designated Survivor (2016–2018). It was cancelled by ABC after two seasons, and he was no longer in the show when it was picked up and aired by Netflix for a third season.[23]
Personal life
Epstein married actress Vanessa Smythe in 2018. They welcomed their first child, son Miles August Epstein, on May 25, 2023.[24]
