MATT SHAKMAN

Matt Shakman

DIRECTING

Matt Shakman is an American film, television, and theatre director and former child actor. Shakman was born and raised in Ventura, California. His Jewish father and Catholic mother maintained a "relatively secular household," their interfaith marriage being a source of conflict with Shakman's Jewish paternal grandmother. After acting as a child, starting with commercials and landing a series regular role on Just the Ten of Us, he stepped away to attend The Thacher School in Ojai. Shakman went on to attend Yale University, where he graduated with an art history and theatre double major.
It was at Yale that Shakman became interested in theatre, going on to direct a number of stage productions. As a child actor, Shakman played Graham "J.R." Lubbock, Jr., in the Growing Pains spin-off series Just the Ten of Us (1988–1990).