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Gabriel LaBelle

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Gabriel LaBelle
LaBelle at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival
BornSeptember 2002 (age 22)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
EducationConcordia University
OccupationActor
Years active2013–present

Gabriel LaBelle (born September 2002)[1] is a Canadian 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.[2][3][4]

LaBelle has also appeared in the action film The Predator (2018) and in the Showtime drama series American Gigolo (2022). In 2024, he starred in the biographical comedy-drama film Saturday Night, playing the role of producer Lorne Michaels.

Early life and education

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LaBelle is from Vancouver, and is the son of producer and character actor Rob LaBelle.[5] He was raised Jewish.[6][7]

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.[citation needed] In 2017, he starred in the indie horror film Dead Shack, which premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival and Fantasia Film Festival.[8] 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.[9][10] 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."[11]

Career

[edit]

2021–2022: Breakthrough with The Fabelmans

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LaBelle at the premiere of The Fabelmans in 2022

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.[3] 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."[9] 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.[9] 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.[12][11]

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]

2022–present

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After completion of filming on The Fabelmans, LaBelle moved to Los Angeles to pursue more film, television and theater projects as an actor, with intentions to also direct at some point.[12] 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]

In 2024, LaBelle played one of the lead roles in Adam Carter Rehmeier's coming-of-age comedy Snack Shack, which was delayed by the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes.[19][20] LaBelle was cast as Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels in Jason Reitman’s movie Saturday Night, which accounts the behind-the-scenes story of the NBC late-night show's opening night. It premiered at the 51st Telluride Film Festival in August 2024.[21][22][23]

Filmography

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Film

[edit]
List of Gabriel LaBelle film credits
Year Title Role Notes
2017 Max 2: White House Hero Alfred Credited as Gabe LaBelle
Dead Shack Colin
2018 The Predator EJ
2022 The Fabelmans Sammy Fabelman
2024 Snack Shack Moose
Saturday Night Lorne Michaels
TBD Dutch and Razzlekhan Ilya Dutch Lichtenstein

Television

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List of Gabriel LaBelle television credits
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

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List of Gabriel LaBelle awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work Result Ref
2022
 Atlanta Film Critics Circle Best Breakthrough Performer The Fabelmans Nominated [24]
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Best Actor Nominated [25]
Best Male Youth Performance Won
National Board of Review Breakthrough Performance Won [26]
North Texas Film Critics Association Best Newcomer Won [27]
Phoenix Critics Circle Best Actor Nominated [28]
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Youth Performance Won [29]
2023
 Columbus Film Critics Association Breakthrough Film Artist Nominated [30]
Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Young Actor/Actress Won [31]
DiscussingFilm Critics Awards Best Breakthrough Performance Runner-up [32]
Dorian Awards Rising Star Award Nominated [33]
Georgia Film Critics Association Breakthrough Award Runner-up [34]
Hollywood Critics Association Star on the Rise Award Won [35]
International Cinephile Society Best Breakthrough Performance Nominated [36]
Minnesota Film Critics Alliance Best Actor Nominated [37]
Music City Film Critics' Association Best Young Actor Won [38]
North Carolina Film Critics Association Best Breakthrough Performance Nominated [39]
Online Film and Television Association Best Breakthrough Performance: Male Nominated [40]
Palm Springs International Film Festival Vanguard Award Won
Paris Film Critics Association Awards Best Male Revelation Nominated [41][42]
San Diego Film Critics Society Best Actor Nominated [43]
Satellite Awards Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Nominated [44]
[45]
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated

References

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  1. ^ Diamond, Jason (November 21, 2022). "What It's Like to Have Steven Spielberg Teach You How to Play Steven Spielberg". GQ. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  2. ^ Grobar, Matt (April 4, 2022). "'The Fabelmans' Star Gabriel LaBelle Signs With CAA". Deadline. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Gabriel LaBelle Wins Best Young Performer at Critics Choice Awards 2023". Vanity Fair. January 16, 2023.
  5. ^ @MotiveTV (March 14, 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.
  6. ^ "Gabriel LaBelle is Suddenly Sorta Spielberg". October 26, 2022.
  7. ^ Rottenberg, Josh (November 21, 2022). "Play Spielberg in a film directed by Spielberg? No pressure". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  8. ^ Hunter, Rob (July 30, 2017). "'Dead Shack' Review: Bloody Fun Until It Gets Ugly". Film School Rejects. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c McHenry, Jackson (October 26, 2022). "Gabriel LaBelle on Playing Steven Spielberg in The Fabelmans". Vulture. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ a b Jacobs, Matthew (December 22, 2022). "How 'The Fabelmans' Star Gabriel LaBelle Perfected Spielberg's Smile". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  12. ^ 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.
  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. ^ 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. ^ "Snack Shack's Wild Red Band Trailer Teases Just How Much Fun Summer Can be". February 15, 2024.
  21. ^ "'The Fabelmans' Star Gabriel LaBelle to Play Lorne Michaels in Sony's 'SNL 1975'; Cooper Hoffman & Rachel Sennott Also Join Ensemble". January 19, 2024.
  22. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 30, 2024). "Jason Reitman's 'SNL' Movie Gets Title & Fall Release Date". Deadline. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  23. ^ https://variety.com/2024/film/awards/telluride-festival-lineup-2024-saoirse-ronan-1236118451/
  24. ^ Anderson, Erik (December 5, 2022). "Atlanta Film Critics Circle Awards: 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' wins Best Picture". AwardsWatch. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
  25. ^ Neglia, Matt (December 19, 2022). "The 2022 Las Vegas Film Critics Society (LVFCS) Winners". NextBestPicture. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  26. ^ Tauer, Kristen (December 8, 2022). "National Board of Review Unveils 2022 Honorees". Women's Wear Daily. Archived from the original on October 24, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  27. ^ Neglia, Matt (December 18, 2022). "The 2022 North Texas Film Critics Association (NTFCA) Nominations". Next Best Picture. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  28. ^ Neglia, Matt (December 16, 2022). "The 2022 Phoenix Critics Circle (PCC) Winners". NextBestPicture. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  29. ^ "The 2022 WAFCA Awards". Time. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  30. ^ "Awards 2022 Nominees". Columbus Film Critics Association. January 1, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  31. ^ VanHoose, Benjamin (January 15, 2023). "Critics Choice Awards 2023: See the Full List of Winners". People. Archived from the original on October 22, 2023. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  32. ^ "DiscussingFilm Critic Awards 2023: The Nominations". DiscussingFilm. December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  33. ^ "Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA) Dorian Film Awards nominations: 'Everything Everywhere All At Once,' 'TÁR,' 'Aftersun' lead". AwardsWatch. January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  34. ^ "2022 Awards". Georgia Film Critics Association. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  35. ^ "The Fabelmans' Production Designer Rick Carter and Star Gabriel LaBelle to be honored at the 6th Annual HCA Film Awards" (Press release). Hollywood Critics Association. February 16, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  36. ^ "Aftersun and Pacifiction Lead ICS Nominations". International Cinephile Society. January 22, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  37. ^ Anderson, Erik (February 25, 2023). "Minnesota Film Critics Alliance Awards (MNFCA) winners". AwardsWatch. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  38. ^ "2022 Music City Film Critics Association nominations". AwardsWatch. January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  39. ^ Neglia, Matt (December 22, 2022). "The 2022 North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA) Nominations". Next Best Picture. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  40. ^ "27th Annual Film Awards (2022)". Online Film & Television Association. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  41. ^ Mézière, Sandra (February 5, 2024). "Palmarès des Paris Film Critics Awards 2024". In the Mood for Cinema (in French).
  42. ^ "Paris Film Critics Awards 2024 Winners". Paris Film Critics Association. February 5, 2024.
  43. ^ "2022 San Diego Film Critics Society Nominations". San Diego Film Critics Society. January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  44. ^ Anderson, Erik (December 8, 2022). "'Top Gun: Maverick' leads International Press Academy's 27th Satellite Awards nominations". Awards Watch. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  45. ^ "The International Press Academy Announces Winners for the 27th Annual Satellite Awards". International Press Academy. March 3, 2023. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
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