Kalama Epstein rose to fame with his role on The Fosters and became an icon among the show’s LGBTQ+ fans. The talented young actor is now starring alongside Melissa Joan Hart, Sean Astin, Siena Agudong, and Lauren Donzis in the new Netflix comedy-drama, No Good Nick. Given his amazing acting skills, Epstein is going places. So we’ve got Kalama Epstein’s wiki before he’s too famous for you to keep up.
| About Kalama Epstein | |
|---|---|
| Age | 23 Years |
| Birth | May 5, 2000 Oahu, Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Gender | Male |
| Siblings | Kulani Jenkins, Lauren Whittemore |
| Parents | Dan Epstein, Kendra Epstein |
| Nationality | American |
| Job | Actor |
| Shows | The Fosters, No Good Nick |
| Girlfriend | Daniela Loen |
Kalama Epstein Is from Hawaii
Hawaiian native Kalama Epstein was born on May 5, 2000 in Oahu, Honolulu. He’s the youngest of three children born to Kendra Porter Epstein and Dan Epstein.
Kalama, who now resides in Los Angeles, is proud of his island origins. In an interview, he dished about the difference in cultures on the island versus the mainland he had experienced since moving to L.A.
“Being born and raised on an island is definitely different than most childhoods,” he said. “You grow a different respect for the ocean and the land you’re surrounded by.”
His elder sister, Lauren Whittemore, resides in Hawaii with her husband and three kids. His other sister, Kulani Jenkins, currently lives in New York where she works as a producer for F5 Fest.
Kalama’s parents still reside in Honolulu. Judging from their social media activity, they do visit their kids on the mainland.
Kalama visits home often, too. When he’s there, he enjoys body-boarding and body-surfing. He also counts parkour and free-running among his hobbies.
Fun Fact: Kalama’s No Good Nick costar Siena Agudong, who plays the titular Nick, is also from Hawaii.
Epstein Made His On-Screen Debut When He Was One
Kalama Epstein had a very early start in showbiz. How early, you ask? At the age of one. A baby Epstein appeared on Baywatch in 2001 as Jessie’s (Brooke Burns) baby.
After his Baywatch appearance, Epstein grew up exposed to film and theater. His parents took him to watch theater performances or movies every week. He took up acting classes and soon jumped into professional acting.
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He would have his first acting role in 2011, on an episode of Hawaii Five-0. He would have minor appearances on TV over the years in shows like Ray Donovan, Bella and the Bulldog, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
Epstein has also worked in commercials for Hawaii Energy, Samsung, and Walmart among others.
Kalama Played a Gay Teen on The Fosters
Epstein joined the hit Freeform series, The Fosters, season 4 in 2016 as Noah, which would go on to become his breakthrough role. He had not watched the show prior to his audition but was familiar with it through his best friend and relatives who were major fans of the show.
Epstein’s Noah is an openly gay teen from a religious household who becomes Jude’s (Hayden Byerly) boyfriend after they meet at a church youth group. Noah and Jude have a complicated relationship with Noah getting him hooked onto medical marijuana, and the Foster family’s initial reluctance to let them date before finally letting them be together.
As soon as Noah came on the show, he struck a chord with its viewers and particularly the LGBTQ fanbase. Despite Noah’s presence creating conflict, his character was well-received, surprising even Epstein and Byerly.
In many interviews, Epstein has confessed that numerous fans have reached out to him and thanked him for portraying Noah. “I’ve gotten a lot of messages from kids saying they’ve never seen this before, and this character is really helping them. Which is very heartwarming and incredible,” he said.
Epstein’s next major role was in the Go90 series, Liberty Crossing in 2018. He now plays Melissa Joan Hart and Sean Astin’s son, Jeremy, in the Netflix original series, No Good Nick. Jeremy is an over-achiever and paranoid about the new arrival in his home, Nick (Siena Agudong) and tries to get to the bottom of her facade.
He Wants to be a Filmmaker
The Game of Thrones fan wanted to be a filmmaker before he was an actor. “I fell in love with film at an early age and knew I wanted to be a director from around the age of 7,” he said.
He got a flip camera on one of his birthdays and used it to film short films with his friends. As he grew, so did his passion to be a director.
In fact, he studied acting to be a better director. ”I started taking acting classes to better direct my actors in my short films that I was making, whether it be my cousins or my friends,” Epstein shared. “I slowly fell in love with acting, too, and I figured, first of all, acting is a great way to get into the business because being a director is incredibly hard. And I fell in love with acting; I fell in love with the craft and becoming these characters.”
Epstein is already working towards that dream. From making amateur shorts with his friends, he’s now written, directed, and acted in his first short film, Silence, that released in 2018.
He wants to continue acting and hopes to attend film school in the near future. He hopes to eventually become a director like one of his inspirations, Christopher Nolan.
You can find some of Epstein’s homemade shorts, including one with his parents, on the Internet.
Kalama Has a Girlfriend Named Daniela Leon
When Epstein’s Noah first came on The Fosters, the attention on the actor grew and many were curious about his sexuality. At that time, Epstein opted to keep his sexuality a secret.
“As of right now, I’m keeping my sexuality private. Just because of the fact that there are so many reactions. No matter what I say, there’s going to be a big reaction online, so I’ve decided to keep it private as of right now,” he said back then.
But as the show progressed, Epstein apparently didn’t feel the need to keep his sexuality private anymore. Since The Fosters concluded in 2018 (and there’s no indication he’ll appear in the spinoff, Good Trouble), Epstein is more open about showing his love to his girlfriend.
Judging from his Instagram, he’s dating one Daniela Leon, a California born and bred actress. Since beginning her career at eight years old, Leon has worked in several short films and made appearances in TV shows like The Young and the Restless.
They’ve been featuring in each other’s Instagram since at least as early as 2015. In recent months, they have been a lot more romantic on social media, including their cute and funny posts on Valentines Day 2019.
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