Jake Shane is taking a page out of Taylor Swift’s book of advice.
Shane, 25 — who recently attended Northeastern University’s graduation, where pal Elliot Grainge was the commencement speaker — weighed in on what words of wisdom he would want to dispense to his alma mater.
“I think it’s similar,” Shane exclusively told Us Weekly on the Webby Awards red carpet. “I think Taylor Swift said this once, but it was like, ‘If people are talking about something you’re doing or, like, making fun of you, you’re doing something right.’ … I took that to heart.”
Shane, known as @octopusslover8 on TikTok, rose to stardom on the social media app in 2024 with his Gen Z twist on historical events. Now, Shane is still creating content — while balancing his “Therapuss” podcast, Live With Jake Shane Tour and a guest role on Hacks.
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“I didn’t get the first role I auditioned for, but then they presented me a second role and I just kept trying,” Shane explained to Us at the awards show. “I did everything I could and shout-out [creators] Paul [W. Downs], Lucia [Aniello] and Jen [Statsky]. They are out of this world. Incredible, the whole Hacks team is just amazing. It couldn’t have been a better experience.”
News broke in April that Shane would play “Social Media Girlie” in season 4 of Hacks, which centers around a mentorship between legendary comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and comedy writer (Hannah Einbinder).
Before his role was announced, Shane teased the part in an interview with Us. “I really want to get into acting. I just did my first acting thing. It’s not announced yet. It’s small, but it’s really, really, really cool, and I’m really excited about that,” Shane said in March. “So hopefully that opens more doors. I’m really, really hoping to get into that.”
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Shane, whose A-lister pals include Sofia Richie Grainge and Joe Jonas, told Us he has received tips from Glen Powell along the way.
“I do actually always ask Glen for advice, and he always gives me really, really great advice,” Shane said of Powell, whom he called “one of the busiest people” he had ever met. “It’s a business where you hear ‘no’ a lot. So if you have something going for you that’s working, keep pushing forward with that while working on it. Don’t just forgo everything just for this, you know?”
With reporting by Jeremiah Battle
