Plenty of actors can point to one audition that changed everything. Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie's started with his mother scrolling Facebook. When he was about 14, she spotted a casting call and told him to try out. That nudge led to his first film role and then a Canadian Screen Award nomination at 15. Eight years later he's playing the quiet floatplane pilot at the centre of Prime Video's Sterling Point, and viewers far from Quebec are learning his name for the first time.
He isn't a newcomer, though. He's a working actor with a long French-language résumé who has just made the move into English, and so far the move is paying off.
Who He Is, in Brief
| Full name | Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie |
|---|---|
| Born | March 24, 2003 |
| Age | 23 |
| Birthplace | Maniwaki, Quebec, Canada |
| Raised | Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, Quebec |
| Lives in | Montreal |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Heritage | Algonquin (Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg) and French-Canadian |
| Best known for | Ellis in Sterling Point, Jimmy in A Colony |
| @jacobwhiteducklavoie | |
| Zodiac sign | Aries |
| Net worth | $200,000 to $500,000 (Icon Polls estimate) |
Twenty-Three, Not Thirty-Something
A few websites list him as a man in his thirties. That's wrong. He was born on March 24, 2003, which makes him 23. The mix-up probably comes from how long he's been working: an actor with credits going back to 2018 can look older on paper than he really is. He's firmly Gen Z, and he started young.
A Mother, a Casting Call and Breaking Bad
Jacob has said little in public about his parents, and that seems fair for someone raised in a close-knit community. One person does keep turning up in his origin story, though: his mother. She found the casting call that started his career. She also introduced him to Breaking Bad, which helped spark his interest in how stories are told and performed. Beyond that, his family life stays out of view, and we'll leave it there.
Growing Up on the Water in Kitigan Zibi
Jacob is of Algonquin and French-Canadian descent and a member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, an Anishinaabe community in Quebec's Outaouais region near Maniwaki. He grew up on the reserve, surrounded by lakes and forest, and he has spoken about how proud he is of where he comes from.
He has also been candid about the less comfortable side of that identity in the industry. Early on, he said, most of the roles he was offered were written specifically as Indigenous characters, and for a while he wondered whether that was the only work he'd ever get. Over time he came to treat his heritage as a strength rather than a box to be put in. His choices since then suggest he means it.
Eight Years in Quebec Before Anyone Else Noticed
The Facebook audition got him the part of Jimmy in A Colony (Une colonie), Geneviève Dulude-De Celles's 2018 drama about adolescence, identity and cultural difference in rural Quebec. For a first role it drew serious recognition: a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a Prix Iris nomination for Revelation of the Year at the Quebec Cinema Awards.
The years that followed weren't glamorous, and that's to his credit. He kept working:
- Television: District 31, more than 40 episodes of Premier Trio (also known as First Line) as Xavier Laveau-Roy, and the miniseries Eaux Turbulentes.
- Film: Bootlegger (2021) and Billie Blue (2023).
- Shorts: Bleach, Screw the Boys and The Music Video.
All of it was in French, which is his first language. That's the context people miss when they call him an overnight success.
Ellis, and Why the Role Fits
Sterling Point arrived on Prime Video on August 5, 2026, with all eight episodes released at once. Created by Megan Park, who directed My Old Ass, and executive produced by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage of The O.C. and Gossip Girl, it follows 17-year-old Annie Jacobson (Ella Rubin), who inherits her grandfather's island in Ontario's Muskoka region and finds friendship, romance and family secrets there. It was shot in Toronto and Muskoka in summer 2025.
Jacob plays Ellis, a reserved, hardworking floatplane pilot and mechanic at his father's marina, who becomes Annie's love interest. The cast also includes Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jay Duplass, Keen Ruffalo and Amelie Hoeferle. It's his English-language debut, and it doesn't feel like one. Ellis is a quiet part, which is harder to play than it looks, and Jacob makes the stillness read as confidence rather than blankness. He told Toronto Life he connected with the character straight away because Ellis grew up on Muskoka lakes the way he grew up on lakes in rural Quebec. That familiarity shows.
If he's become your favourite part of the show, add him to the conversation in our fan vote for the best actors on TV.
What Is He Actually Worth?
No official figure exists, and anyone quoting an exact number is guessing. Icon Polls estimates his net worth at $200,000 to $500,000 in 2026. That range rests on steady Quebec film and TV work since 2018, an industry that pays well below Hollywood or major streaming rates, plus a lead role on Sterling Point that is almost certainly his best-paid job so far. The wide range is deliberate. A renewal or a second English-language project could move it upward quickly.
Off Screen, Mostly Private
His on-screen chemistry with Ella Rubin has, predictably, set off guessing online. Jacob hasn't publicly confirmed any relationship, and he keeps his personal life private. Ellis and Annie are fiction, and we'd rather not treat TikTok speculation as news.
What he does share lives on Instagram at @jacobwhiteducklavoie: behind-the-scenes moments from his projects, glimpses of life in Montreal and news about what's next. His following has grown noticeably since the premiere, and he has also appeared on the official Sterling Point and Prime Video channels.
Does Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie speak French?
Yes. French is his first language, and all of his work before Sterling Point was in French.
Has he won any major awards?
Not yet. He has been nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Prix Iris for Revelation of the Year, both for A Colony.
Is there a Sterling Point Season 2?
No second season had been announced when this piece was first published. Treat any renewal talk as speculation until Prime Video confirms it.
