Jake T. Austin Bio
Jake Toranzo Austin Szymanski (born December 3, 1994) is an American actor and voice performer whose career began in childhood and has spanned television, feature film, and animation. He is best known for his lead role as Max Russo on the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place, for originating the voice of Diego on the Nickelodeon series Go, Diego, Go!, and for co-starring roles in films including Hotel for Dogs and Rio.
Early Life and Background
Jake Toranzo Austin Szymanski was born on December 3, 1994, in New York City to Giny Rodriquez Toranzo and Joe Szymanski. His middle initial, T, reflects his mother’s maiden name. His family background mixes Puerto Rican, Argentine, and Spanish ancestry on his mother’s side with Polish, Irish, and English ancestry on his father’s side; he has a younger sister named Ava.
Austin divides his time between Los Angeles and New York. His family has maintained ties to West Nyack, New York, where they own a long-standing local restaurant, and he has described embracing his Puerto Rican heritage while noting that he is not fully fluent in Spanish.
Path to Celebrity
Austin began working professionally at a young age, appearing in commercials before moving into credited television work. His first credited role appeared on Late Show with David Letterman, and by 2005 he had secured voice work on Dora the Explorer and its spin-off, Go, Diego, Go!, which established him in children’s television and animation.
That early voice work opened doors to on-screen roles with major family-oriented studios. By 2007 he had joined the Walt Disney Company in live-action projects and quickly moved into a lead role on a major Disney Channel sitcom, positioning him as a recognizable young performer across television and film.
Jake T. Austin Career
Early Career (2002–2006)
Austin’s screen career began in 2002 with commercial work and small television appearances. In 2003 he gained a credited sketch role on Late Show with David Letterman, and in 2005 he landed his first major recurring voice role as Diego, cousin to Dora the Explorer, a role he continued to voice on the spin-off series Go, Diego, Go! for multiple seasons.
During this formative period Austin added additional voice credits in feature animation and specials, and he took his first lead role in the live-action film The Perfect Game, filmed in the mid-2000s. Those early credits combined voice work with on-camera roles and helped him develop range across family entertainment genres.
Wizards of Waverly Place Breakthrough (2007–2011)
In 2007 Austin joined the cast of Wizards of Waverly Place as Max Russo, the youngest sibling in a family of wizards. The series ran through 2011, during which Austin appeared across multiple Disney Channel projects and starred in the television film Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie. The show raised his profile among young viewers and became a defining credit of his early career.
Concurrently with his television work, Austin made his live-action feature debut in 2009 as Bruce in DreamWorks’ Hotel for Dogs. He also appeared in other family and ensemble films around this period, and in 2010 he was recognized in media lists highlighting young Latino talent under 25.
The Fosters Era (2013–2015)
In 2013 Austin expanded into more dramatic material with a recurring role as Jesus Foster on the ABC Family (later Freeform) drama series The Fosters. He played the role for two seasons and departed the series at the second-season finale in 2015; the part was later recast. His time on the show marked a transition toward teen and young-adult drama beyond his earlier family-comedy work.
During this period Austin continued voice work and film appearances, including lending his voice to the animated feature Rio in 2011 and its sequel Rio 2. These roles maintained his presence in both live-action and animated features and showcased his ability to move between genres.
2016–Present
From 2016 onward Austin’s career included voice work in comic-book animation and participation in mainstream entertainment events. In 2016 he voiced Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle in the direct-to-video film Justice League vs. Teen Titans and appeared as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars, where he and his partner were the first eliminated that season.
He continued to pursue feature film work, joining the cast of the neo-noir thriller Adverse, which premiered in 2020, and contributing voice performances in animation such as The Emoji Movie. Austin has also been credited with writing and selling a screenplay titled Kings of Suburbia, indicating involvement behind the camera as well as on it.
Driving Style and Strengths
Austin’s strengths lie in versatility across voice and live-action performance. He established a reliable presence in family and animated projects as a child and successfully broadened into teen drama and feature roles, demonstrating clear comedic timing, vocal range, and the ability to anchor both ensemble casts and lead scenes.
Notable Events and Milestones
Key milestones include originating the voice of Diego on Go, Diego, Go!, leading a hit Disney Channel sitcom as Max Russo, and co-starring in DreamWorks’ Hotel for Dogs and the animated Rio films. He has also sold an original screenplay and taken roles that marked a move into darker, more adult material, including participation in the indie thriller Adverse.
Jake T. Austin Career Wins
Across television, film, and animation, Austin’s most enduring achievements are the set of roles that established him in family entertainment and the subsequent credits that demonstrated range: a signature Disney sitcom lead, early voice-work that became a franchise role, and recurring dramatic television roles. These credits define his career trajectory from child actor to working adult performer.
Wizards of Waverly Place Highlights
Wizards of Waverly Place stands as Austin’s most widely recognized series role, in which he portrayed Max Russo from the program’s 2007 debut through its conclusion. The show produced a television movie that became one of Disney Channel’s most-watched scripted telecasts of its time, and the series helped establish the principal cast as prominent young performers.
Other Wins & Perfromances
Austin’s voice role as Diego launched a popular Nickelodeon character into a standalone series, and his film credits in Hotel for Dogs and Rio extended his profile in family features. His appearance on Dancing with the Stars and voice work in comic-book animation and other features demonstrate continued visibility in a variety of formats.
Jake T. Austin Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Austin’s mother, Giny Rodriquez Toranzo, and his father, Joe Szymanski, provided a multicultural household blending Latin and European heritage. He has a younger sister, Ava, and his family has business ties in West Nyack, New York, where they own a historic restaurant that dates back to the nineteenth century.
Personal Life
Austin divides his time between Los Angeles and New York and has publicly supported several charitable causes, including Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Starlight Children’s Foundation, and Variety’s Power of Youth. He has two dogs named Bogey and Beju and continues to maintain a public profile through acting work, voice roles, and occasional public appearances.