F L A U N T
Known for his role as the fan-favorite Hawk in Netflix’s hit series Cobra Kai, 20-year- old Jacob Bertrand is igniting his path through the entertainment world. The actor’s first big role was portraying Henry in the Nickelodeon show Marvin Marvin, going on to land the title role in DisneyXD’s show Kirby Buckets for multiple seasons. He also previously starred in the Disney hit film The Swap! and starred in the television movie Jinxed.
Bertrand currently resides in the surrounding Los Angeles area. In his spare time, he enjoys directing short films, playing the guitar, hiking, rock climbing, surfing, cyclocross, skateboarding, and working in his wood shop. Flaunt recently caught up with Jacob Bertrand, about his hopes and ambitions for Season 4 of the global phenomenon Cobra Kai, and what else he has going on.
Favorite scene of shooting Cobra Kai and why?
For Season 2, my favorite scene is from episode 10: the school fight. We trained and drilled that fight for two days and on the day when we filmed it, having it all come together so well felt amazing. All of us had poured so much into that fight and it was pure joy getting to see how great it came out. All props go to our stunt coordinators Hiro Koda and Jahnel Curfman.
Tell us about your short you worked on, would you do it again?
I had the idea for this short film when I was a senior in high school but I never had the means to make it the way I saw it in my head. I wrote it out and pitched it to Hiro Koda, one of our stunt coordinators, to see if he’d be down to help me with it. He said he’d love to and we started prepping it. We shot it in one day over in Alabama, pretty fast shoot but I’m so happy with how it came out. I’d love to make more shorts and keep writing.
If you could work with any director or actor, who would it be?
I’d love to work with Edgar Wright. I absolutely love all his films and think he is frickin’ awesome. I’d love to play Edward Norton’s son in something, he’s awesome and talented.
Let’s talk fashion, who are some of your favorite designers?
For me, it's not really about the designer. It's about the experience I get when I wear a certain piece. Vans for example, they feel classic to me. I love the old school vibe to them. They've been around since the 70’s, so that's cool too. I love Quiksilver too, I wear their stuff a lot too. I tend to go simple with clothing and footwear, but I do like companies with a story behind them.
What are you hoping for in season 4 of Cobra Kai for Hawk?
I hope he beats everyone up. I hope he gets the chance to fix a lot of the relationships he hurt throughout the show, mainly his relationship with Demetri and Miguel.
Do you want fans to learn more about Hawk’s backstory in the upcoming season?
I keep asking the writers to give me a dad. [laughs] It’d be fun to explore more of Hawk’s home life and see what type of family he has. Also a cold open of his hair routine in the morning would be pretty funny.
Why do you think Hawk has so much anger? Is it solely CK-influenced or something hidden?
He has had a lot of pent-up aggression from being bullied and ridiculed for so long. After he becomes The Hawk, the absolute unit that he is, all of this anger comes pouring out and with his newfound confidence. It’s hard for him to control I think.
What’s your favorite movie of all-time & why?
My favorite movie has to be Good Will Hunting. I love Robin Williams in this film, and I grew up watching it over and over again. I relate to Will in the sense that I as well am a certified genius. Just kidding, but his talent was unbelievable.
One thing people don’t know about you and may be surprised to find out?
I’m a decently avid rock climber, more so when Covid wasn’t a thing. I love going out and climbing with friends.
Photographer: Storm Santos
Groomer: Erin B. Guth
Stylist: Evan Simonitsch
