Who is Jordan Firstman, aka Charlie in Rachel Sennott’s I Love LA? From his pandemic fame to his debut album, Secrets
The actor, writer and singer wrote for the sitcom Search Party – but it was his humorous pandemic Instagram series that unexpectedly made him famous
Here’s everything you need to know about Jordan Firstman, from his gradual success in the industry to his debut album that dropped this year.
He was a creative from a young age
Jordan Firstman was born in July 1991 on Long Island to reporter parents Richard Firstman and Jamie Talan. He was raised Jewish, and his interest in the arts and theatre started at a young age, as per Jewish online culture platform Hey Alma.
Firstman was an undergraduate student for a musical theatre programme in Cincinnati, but dropped out shortly after to move to Los Angeles at 21. He tried his hand at improv, which ultimately also did not pan out, the actor shared in an interview with The Cut in 2020.
His rise to fame during Covid
Firstman made his gradual climb in the film industry by writing and producing short films between 2013 and 2017. During that time, the actor took on jobs at a gym for children on the autism spectrum, as well as acting as a photo booth operator at bat mitzvahs, per Spin. He landed his first job as a writer for the 2016 TBS sitcom Search Party, in which he also had a recurring role.
He went on to star in and create several more shorts like Call Your Father, a short film about the first date of an intergenerational gay couple, which he later built into a pilot, but it was not made into a show.
It wasn’t until 2020 that Firstman’s career really took off – but it wasn’t because of a breakout role or a hit show.