Jake McDorman is a man of style, and certainly the best kind. This 27-year-old Texas native is going to be seen in one of our favorite shows "Shameless," which premieres its newest season on January 12, 2014. Luckily, he allowed for us to come to his Los Angeles home and document our visit. So today, we present you another day with Jake McDorman.
Really nice pad! What stood out to you the most about the place when you first visited it? Thank you! The floor plan, probably. I like a lot of space in every direction including upwards. So the way the place is laid out definitely appealed to me. That and it had a lot of potential for remodeling. I put a ton of work into the place over the course of four or five months to make it the way it is now, so. I saw promise. It was a project.
Do you have a favorite area in the house?
I have a few. We tore down the kitchen entirely. Everything in there is a choice I made at one point or another. Cabinets, countertops, paint colors, backsplash, you name it. Plus it’s where the food is. I’ve always liked being in the kitchen. At the same time, I like the living area in front of the fire place too. It’s the floor plan! Everything’s very open and connected. This is also the first place I’ve lived where I spend a lot of time in my bedroom. Don’t take that out of context...
How’s your cooking? What’s your favorite thing to make? I love to cook. I have a cast iron skillet that I use to cook pretty much anything. I grew up in TX so I’m from a meat and potatoes household. Not too much has changed. Except quinoa. That’s LA’s contribution. Quinoa.
I can sense the Texan, southern feel to it. How would you describe the style? Really? That’s interesting. One of my best friends who lives in Austin, TX came up with the idea for putting the reclaimed wood on the wall above the fire place. I guess it feels southern in some ways. There’s a lot of reclaimed wood. Not just over the fire place. When I started I was thinking industrial. It kind of evolved into a rustic hybrid of industrial and farmhouse maybe. I like things that look old and broken in. And I like using living materials. Wood, iron, limestone.
Do you have a favorite place to shop for furniture? Where did you get some of these pieces (like the crescent moon fixture)? There’s a lot of great places to shop in LA. HD Buttercup, Cleveland Art, West Elm, Restoration. There’s reclaimers in Simi Valley and other places if you want to get creative. Flea Markets are great. The Rosebowl flea market is where I got the crescent moon and a few other things. My coffee table was made by a guy I met at the Rosebowl. Etsy...there’s a lot.
What’s your morning routine like? Any rituals we normally wouldn't think of? Morning routine? The only thing routine about my morning is waking up at some ungodly hour of my cat’s choosing and giving him food. Weird rituals...I read almost every script I get on the couch listening to Ella Fitzgerald & Louie Armstrong Pandora and a pack of American Spirits. That’s not that weird, but hours before the audition I’ll go over my lines in the bathroom with the shower water running. That’s weird. I’ve always done that too. Something about the running water keeps me focused. I should probably get a little fountain. I’d get a lot more done...
Now say you have come home with a fresh script, like one for "Shameless." Do you go straight into studying or do you read for your own entertainment first? Well for "Shameless" definitely for my own entertainment first, are you kidding? I’m current now! When I booked the show I hadn’t seen an episode. Over the hiatus I had the pleasure of binge watching all 3 seasons in a row. I read the script immediately to find out what the hell happens next. But that goes for any script. You can’t start studying until you read it anyway. You read the story and then decide if it’s a story you’re excited to help tell.
And the question everyone always wants to know – Any pets? Dog person or cat person or iguana person? I have a cat named Mr. Boo. He’s a snowshoe, he’s about 18lbs, and he acts like a dog. He talks constantly and is very social. He’s pretty well known amongst my friends and now that I have Vine and Instagram I’m sure he’ll gain a following soon enough. I grew up with dogs and cats though. I love both. If I had enough space I’d have a dog too.
Let’s talk wardrobe for a second. Is your clothing style similar to your home style? A friend of mine just the other day saw my place for the first time and told me it dresses the same way I do. I can see the similarities for sure. It goes back to liking things that look lived in. Broken in already. Vintage. All that jazz. I’ve shopped for clothes at the same places I shop for furniture many times.
Take us back to when you were younger. Did you ever picture yourself living the life you have now? I’ve known I wanted to act for a long time. Since I was very little. When I was younger…I think I always hoped I’d be able to live a life fairly similar to the one I’m living now. But your ideas evolve as you do, right? So if you ask me this again in 10 years, I’ve got much to do for the answer to be still be yes.
Interview by Amanda Evans Edited by Lucia Tran
Photographed by Vince Trupsin Groomed by Cat White