Jared Gilman gives the young romance in Moonrise Kingdom its conviction by allowing Sam to be awkward without making him a joke. We rate that performance highly; his smaller subsequent parts offer less to judge.
Fi1m perspective
Jared Gilman's Sam Shakusky is earnest enough to make running away seem like a practical answer. In Moonrise Kingdom (2012), he and Kara Hayward's Suzy hesitate in their exchanges, and those pauses matter. They leave room for two children who want to be together without quite knowing how to go about it. We were moved by that uncertainty, because neither actor makes the couple's hope look foolish. Gilman's performance is one of the clearest reasons we recommend the film, even when Wes Anderson's elaborate staging threatens to crowd the children out.
That was his first professional role, secured at 12 after open auditions and callbacks. Supporting work followed in Elsa & Fred (2014), and he briefly reunited with Hayward in Jim Jarmusch's Paterson (2016). Later credits include the smaller feature Susie Searches (2022). A conspicuous debut has led into a quieter stretch of smaller roles, rather than a succession of comparable leads. We would not mistake that smaller profile for a verdict on his acting.
With Anderson, Gilman's useful quality is his willingness to let earnestness be awkward. Sam is a resourceful Khaki Scout, but he never comes across as a small adult who has already understood everyone around him. Hayward is essential to the effect: their shared hesitation keeps the attraction believable within the director's exact arrangements. Neither performer asks us to admire the children for being unusually wise. The comedy recognises their youth without treating what they feel as something they will sensibly outgrow.
The film does not always give the pair enough room. Its busy second half sometimes pushes them aside, and we miss the exchanges that made their escape worth caring about. It remains funny and tender, but Gilman and Hayward are the reason we stay interested when the staging becomes fussy. We can recommend his performance without pretending it tells us how he will fare in every kind of part. Start with Moonrise Kingdom, and be patient when its elaborate arrangements get in the children's way.
Biography
Jared T. Raynor Gilman (born 28 December 1998) is an American actor. He secured his first professional role at the age of twelve as Sam Shakusky in Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom (2012), a performance that earned him a nomination for the Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film.
Gilman has since appeared in Elsa & Fred (2014) as Michael and Paterson (2016) as a male student. He attended Newark Academy in New Jersey and studies at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. He has also scripted, acted in and edited his own short action videos.
