Gabriel LaBelle

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Gabriel LaBelle
LaBelle at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival
Born (2002-09-20) September 20, 2002 (age 21)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Citizenship
  • Canada
  • United States
EducationConcordia University
OccupationActor
Years active2013–present

Gabriel LaBelle (born September 20, 2002) is a Canadian-American actor. He is best known for his leading role as young aspiring filmmaker Sammy Fabelman in Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical film The Fabelmans (2022), for which he received acclaim and won the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer.[1][2][3]

LaBelle has also appeared in the action film The Predator (2018), in an episode of the Netflix horror series Brand New Cherry Flavor (2021), and in the Showtime drama series American Gigolo (2022).[1]

Early life and education

LaBelle is from Vancouver, and is the son of producer and character actor Rob LaBelle.[4] He was raised Jewish.[5][6]

LaBelle began interest in acting at the age of 8 at a summer camp, playing roles in its musical productions of Footloose, Shrek the Musical and Aladdin. LaBelle made his on-screen acting debut in 2013 on an episode of the Canadian TV series Motive in a guest role, thanks to his father landing his son an agent and being a producer on the show. In 2017, he starred in the indie horror film Dead Shack, which premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival and Fantasia Film Festival.[7] It was in 2020 that LaBelle became fully committed to acting as a career and flew to Montreal to apply for theater programs, until the COVID-19 pandemic locked down the city. He ultimately got in to Concordia University’s drama program, but had to attend classes virtually. He also wanted to pursue a career in acting in New York City, but put the plans on hold to take care of his family at home.[8][9] He also deleted his social media in early 2020 for these reasons, saying that doing so made him "a better actor because you want to be focused, creative and confident, but if you have this thing that destroys your attention span and takes up time away from original thought and further indulges your need for validation, that’s my whole job. I can’t have that in my front pocket. I try to dissociate from that desire. I’ve never seen any of that as good, even before auditioning for stuff."[10]

Career

The Fabelmans

In March 2021, LaBelle received from casting director Cindy Tolan the offer to audition, among 2,000 other contenders, for the lead role of Sammy Fabelman in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans, which at the time had kept its title, plot and character names under wraps.[2] Following his audition, he was initially not cast in the role until he received a virtual callback three months later, with Spielberg, Tolan and 38 other representatives in attendance, where he then won the part. On finally reading the script and learning the details about his character being a fictionalized version of Spielberg himself as a teenager for mostly the entire film, he recalled "When I was auditioning, the character’s name was Teenage Sammy - I thought as opposed to Adult Sammy ... I get the script and you’re reading it for 30 pages and he’s 6 and 8 years old. Page 35 or so Teenage Sammy comes along. OK, good! Now this is my part. It’s going to be a three-act movie, it’s going to be a Moonlight or something. I kept waiting for my exit but it never came." LaBelle described the experience of getting the role as "intimate" and that he "...felt in my bones it was the best performance I’d done in my life."[8] To prepare for the role, LaBelle watched and re-watched some of Spielberg's films, such as Empire of the Sun (1987) and gained access to photographs, home movies and other material from Spielberg's family's archives.[8] He was also taught how to use the 8mm and 16mm camera props that were used on set, which had real film inside of them, as well as how to cut and splice film stock using the editing machines and film projectors of the time period. He also got to keep the 8mm camera Sammy used to film the family camping trip and Escape to Nowhere short film as a souvenir after the completion of principal photography.[11][12]

The Fabelmans premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, where LaBelle's performance received critical acclaim and he was recognized as a 2022 TIFF Rising Star, and won the award for Best Young Performer at the 28th Critics' Choice Awards and the award for Breakthrough Performance from the National Board of Review (the latter for which he shared with Danielle Deadwyler for Till). The ensemble cast of the film was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.[13][14][15][16]

Later projects

After completion of filming on The Fabelmans, LaBelle moved to Los Angeles in order to pursue more film, television and theater projects as an actor, with intentions to also direct at some point.[11] In 2022, LaBelle joined the cast of the Showtime series adaptation of American Gigolo, in the role of the young version of Julian Kaye, played by Jon Bernthal.[17][18] That same year, he was cast in one of the lead roles in Adam Carter Rehmeier's coming-of-age comedy The Snack Shack, which began filming that summer.[19]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2017 Max 2: White House Hero Alfred credited as Gabe LaBelle
2017 Dead Shack Colin
2018 The Predator EJ
2022 The Fabelmans Samuel "Sammy" Fabelman
TBD The Snack Shack Moose In production [19]

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Motive Chad Chase Episode: "Detour"
2015 iZombie Charlie Episode: "Love & Basketball"; credited as Gabe LaBelle
2021 Brand New Cherry Flavor Tim Nathans Episode: "Jennifer"
2022 American Gigolo Young Julian Kaye Main cast

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result Ref
2018
 UBCP/ACTRA Awards Best Emerging Performer Dead Shack Nominated
2022
 Atlanta Film Critics Circle Best Breakthrough Performer The Fabelmans Nominated [20]
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Best Actor Nominated [21]
Best Male Youth Performance (Under 21) Won
National Board of Review Breakthrough Performance Won [22]
New Mexico Film Critics Best Young Actor/Actress Runner-up
North Texas Film Critics Association Best Newcomer Won
Phoenix Critics Circle Awards Best Actor Nominated [23]
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Youth Performance Won [24]
2023
 Columbus Film Critics Association Breakthrough Film Artist Nominated [25]
Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Young Performer Won [26]
DiscussingFilm Critics Awards Best Breakthrough Performance Runner-up [27]
Music City Film Critics' Association Best Young Actor Won [28]
North Carolina Film Critics Association Best Breakthrough Performance Nominated
Palm Springs International Film Festival Chairman's Vanguard Award Won [29]
San Diego Film Critics Society Best Actor Nominated [30]
Satellite Awards Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Pending [31]
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Pending [32]

References

  1. ^ a b Grobar, Matt (April 4, 2022). "'The Fabelmans' Star Gabriel LaBelle Signs With CAA". Deadline. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Sneider, Jeff (May 26, 2021). "Steven Spielberg Casts Gabriel LaBelle as Lead in Coming-of-Age Movie About His Own Childhood". Collider. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  3. ^ https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/01/gabriel-labelle-wins-best-young-performer-at-critics-choice-awards-2023-awards-insider
  4. ^ @MotiveTV (March 15, 2013). "The talented child actor in this episode is played by Gabe Labelle son of #MOTIVE'S executive producer @TheRobLaBelle" (Tweet). Retrieved September 8, 2022 – via Twitter.
  5. ^ https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/gabriel-labelle-steven-spielberg-the-fabelmans.html
  6. ^ https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-11-21/gabriel-labelle-on-playing-young-spielberg-in-the-fabelmans
  7. ^ Hunter, Rob (July 30, 2017). "'Dead Shack' Review: Bloody Fun Until It Gets Ugly". Film School Rejects. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c McHenry, Jackson (October 26, 2022). "Gabriel LaBelle on Playing Steven Spielberg in The Fabelmans". Vulture. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  9. ^ Lenker, Maureen Lee (November 21, 2022). "Mr. Spielberg, Gabriel LaBelle is ready for his close-up in The Fabelmans". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  10. ^ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/the-fabelmans-gabriel-labelle-interview-spielberg-1235283740/
  11. ^ a b Pond, Steve (November 9, 2022). "'The Fabelmans' Star Gabriel LaBelle on Playing Steven Spielberg and Being 'Spoiled'". The Wrap. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  12. ^ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/the-fabelmans-gabriel-labelle-interview-spielberg-1235283740/
  13. ^ Coyle, Jake (September 12, 2022). "A big break comes with a big task: Playing Steven Spielberg". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  14. ^ Weaver, Jackson (September 9, 2022). "TIFF 2022 is supported by young talent. Here are some of the stars leading the charge". CBC. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  15. ^ "TIFF announces 2022 Rising Stars, Filmmaker Lab, and other Talent Development programme participants". Toronto International Film Festival. August 23, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  16. ^ Hammond, Pete (December 14, 2022). "'Everything Everywhere', 'Fabelmans', 'Babylon' Lead Critics Choice Award Nominees For Film". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  17. ^ Petski, Denise (January 19, 2021). "'American Gigolo': Lizzie Brocheré & Gabriel LaBelle Join Showtime Pilot Reboot". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  18. ^ White, Peter (January 26, 2021). "Wayne Brady To Guest Star In Showtime Drama Pilot 'American Gigolo'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  19. ^ a b Grobar, Matt (January 19, 2021). "Gabriel LaBelle, Conor Sherry & Mika Abdalla To Star In Adam Carter Rehmeier's Coming-Of-Age Comedy 'The Snack Shack' For MRC Film And T-Street; Yeardley Smith's Paperclip Ltd Producing". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  20. ^ https://nextbestpicture.com/the-2022-atlanta-film-critics-circle-afcc-winners/
  21. ^ Neglia, Matt (December 19, 2022). "The 2022 Las Vegas Film Critics Society (LVFCS) Winners". NextBestPicture. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  22. ^ Jones, Marcus (December 8, 2022). "2022 National Board of Review Winners: 'Top Gun: Maverick' Takes Top Honor". IndieWire. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  23. ^ Neglia, Matt (December 16, 2022). "The 2022 Phoenix Critics Circle (PCC) Winners". NextBestPicture. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  24. ^ "The 2022 WAFCA Awards". Time. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  25. ^ "Awards 2022 Nominees". Columbus Film Critics Association. January 1, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  26. ^ Hammond, Pete (December 14, 2022). "'Everything Everywhere', 'Fabelmans', 'Babylon' Lead Critics Choice Award Nominees For Film". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  27. ^ "DiscussingFilm Critic Awards 2023: The Nominations". DiscussingFilm. December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  28. ^ "2022 Music City Film Critics Association nominations". AwardsWatch. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  29. ^ "'The Fabelmans' cast and director Steven Spielberg to be honored at Palm Springs International Film Awards". KESQ. December 1, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  30. ^ "2022 San Diego Film Critics Society Nominations". San Diego Film Critics Society. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  31. ^ Anderson, Erik (December 8, 2022). "'Top Gun: Maverick' leads International Press Academy's 27th Satellite Awards nominations". Awards Watch. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  32. ^ "SAG Awards Noms Analysis: On 'Babylon' and Adam Sandler Surprises and Michelle Williams and Blockbuster Snubs". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 11, 2023.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gabriel_LaBelle&oldid=1134827162"