Jake Harders

Jake Harders (born 1976) is an English actor and educator.

Harders was born in Heswall, Merseyside. He trained as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London from 2000 to 2003.

After graduating from Central, he worked widely in theatre, television, film, radio and commercials, performing in the UK in the West End, the Chichester Festival and Shakespeare's Globe, in the USA, Iceland, Europe and Russia with Cheek by Jowl, in Australia with Headlong, and in Poland with Song of the Goat Theatre.

He received a Commendation at the UK Ian Charleson Awards 2004 for his performance in Candida, and was nominated for the international Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative Award 2008 after working with Cheek by Jowl.

He has frequently acknowledged that his main influence is the work of Polish theatre researcher Jerzy Grotowski. He studied with actors from Grotowski's Teatr Laboratorium, from the companies of Peter Brook, Complicite, Gardzienice, The Workcentre of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards, Odin Teatret, Teatr Pieśń Kozła, and at the Grotowski Institute.

Following the birth of his children, Jake pivoted to actor training, and has taught and directed at Central School of Speech and Drama, Rose Bruford, Identity School of Acting, Fourth Monkey Actor Training Company and Met Film School, where he specialises in Stanislavski's system and screen acting.[10]

He is joint artistic director of the Makings of the Actor global conference project and has led many international workshops.[11] [12]

In 2024, he was appointed Head of Acting of the BA Acting course at ArtsEd drama school.[13]