Evan BrooksFrom Thrift Store Chaos to Small-Screen Stardom: Jack Innanen's Journey
Jack Innanen, a 25-year-old Canadian comedian, actor, and fashion TikTok sensation, doesn't buckle under pressure, but he does yield to anxiety.
We're rummaging through a vintage store in Bushwick, and Innanen is crafting two ensembles using a word generator — his trusted resource when he's facing creative blockage. The words: "mathematics," "Paris," and "combination." One outfit is for a professional setting, the other for a night out, like a bar or, as Innanen prefers, a chess club gathering.
“What people often underestimate is that chess club is trendy,” he confides. “Chess night is electrifying. Chess night is a blast. You attend, and you crush it.” He discovered chess during the pandemic, claiming he was in the top 90th percentile of players globally (although the origin of that statistic remains unclear), though he admits he’s since “lost his edge.”
Back to the anxiety: He’s struggling to find pants that evoke the essence of Paris (he’s searching for corduroy, but we’re confronted with an onslaught of camouflage). So, he starts “completely unraveling.”
“Oh god, I’m not even thinking about ‘combination,'” he exclaims, running his hands through his hair and darting his eyes across the room. “OK, I’ve got to get focused.”
The only difference between this and how he approaches his TikTok videos when he’s feeling stuck — “I just use a random word generator and do word association until something clicks” — is that he’s racing against the clock. It makes him scan the clothes more rapidly but doesn’t necessarily enhance the quality of his choices. He spins around in circles. He moves his hands frantically, all pointing to a level of physical comedy you might not notice in the close-up way he records TikTok sketches. He’s like a goldfish that adapts to its environment, and this thrift store is vast. His linguistic mannerisms — “holy crap” or “what people often overlook” — echo across the selection of cowboy boots that don’t fit him.
Despite the pressure, Innanen assembles two surprisingly cohesive outfits. The first includes a Notre Dame sweatshirt (Paris), pleated slacks (Paris), a Mickey hat (combination, although his explanation eludes me), and a leather briefcase (mathematics). The second outfit features pleated pants that don’t button (mathematics), a shirt with an eagle (combination, somehow), a blazer (Paris), and the Mickey hat again (combination).
Innanen's innate sense of style is unmistakable, as evidenced by his high-profile collaborations with esteemed fashion brands like Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton, Acne Studios, and Coach – a creative outlet he finds thoroughly "delightful." However, he views this as a distinct side project, separate from his primary focus on crafting humorous sketch comedy content. Typically, he assumes two personas: one eccentric and the other relatable. Take, for instance, the vegan who's averse to eliminating bacteria from his body, the hapless romantic who accidentally slips engagement rings into unsuspecting girls' drinks, and the marketing executive who objectifies a slogan.
“I have a passion for spinning captivating narratives and humorous anecdotes,” he remarks at SEY Coffee, where the overactive air conditioner drips water onto our shoulders. “Whether it’s the creative writing process, the performance aspect, or the editing phase – I thoroughly relish every facet.”
For Innanen, having complete creative control over his work and shaping it himself is particularly exhilarating.
“Online platforms offer the ultimate freedom to create whatever you desire, whenever you want, which is incredibly empowering,” he notes. “I’m the writer, performer, editor, and distributor – I have total autonomy.”
Innanen boasts two TikTok profiles: his primary account, @yungjackinnanen, with 3.3 million followers, and his secondary page, Spammy Boy or @oldjackoutoutout, with over 988,300 followers. His main account exudes refinement, while his more chaotic spam account, born during the pandemic, operates under a single rule: no drafts.
He frequently posts on his spam account, sometimes multiple times daily, yet it’s rare to encounter unsupportive or negative comments under Innanen’s videos. Most popular influencers have snark pages and subreddits dedicated to disparaging them. Innanen does not. While there’s a level of privilege to his online experience – straight, white, cis, men rarely face the vitriol directed at marginalized communities – the absence of hate is still noteworthy. That is until you meet him; Innanen is remarkably difficult to dislike.
Conversing with him, you’re never certain which persona will respond – Schmidt from New Girl? His comedic inspirations Jake and Amir? Or Innanen himself? Regardless, he exudes undeniable charm and is always game for anything. It’s challenging to anticipate what he might say next.
He reminisces about his grandmother introducing him to Kurt Vonnegut's works when he was 16, although at the time, he was too engrossed in Minecraft to fully appreciate the author's genius. It wasn't until after she passed away that he rediscovered Vonnegut in college, developing a deep admiration for the author's unique fusion of dark humor, absurdity, and satire.
“He’s remarkably clever and witty,” he observes, citing The Sirens of Titan as his favorite Vonnegut novel and recommending the lesser-known A Man Without a Country, which he recently finished reading. “He doesn’t rely on setup and punchlines. The humor lies in the cleverness, and it’s incredibly subtle. I find that quality truly captivating in people.”
Replicating this type of humor online is a daunting task, as short-form content has only a brief window to capture the audience's attention. While TikTok is ideal for sketches, it lacks the nuance and space to explore more depth, something Innanen hopes to achieve in his future projects.
When crafting my sketches, I often consider what will resonate with a broad audience, thinking, ‘What’s the perfect hook here? What will most people find amusing? Can I deliver this line with a touch of playfulness?’ In contrast, if I were to venture into a different medium, like screenwriting, I’d strive to emulate the subtle wit of Vonnegut, whose humor I deeply admire. I’d love to craft characters or dialogue that exude a similar understated charm, rather than the overt humor often found in sketches.
For the time being, however, Innanen's focus lies in acting. He has recently been cast as a lead in FX's ensemble comedy pilot Snowflakes, created by The Tonight Show writers Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw. The show follows a group of twenty-somethings as they attempt to become better individuals, despite not yet being entirely “good” or fully formed “people,” according to Deadline. This marks Innanen's “first serious acting gig” and only his second audition.
“The script for Snowflakes blew me away,” Innanen recounts. “I thought, ‘This is the most side-splitting thing I’ve ever read.'” He continues, “We shot the pilot, and it was an incredible experience. The entire cast is hilarious and incredibly talented – the creators, the producers, everyone. And I just got to be myself.” He notes that acting allows him to “zero in on performing” without the added responsibilities of writing and filming.
“I don’t write my own lines, and I’m not behind the camera,” he says, highlighting the differences between short-form content on TikTok and film. “But I just love being silly on camera. It’s the best feeling in the world.”
Innanen stumbled into acting much like he stumbled into TikTok: by following his passion. As a teenager, he created YouTube videos that are now hidden from view, videos he seems deeply embarrassed by and doesn’t want to share, such as “What Guys Look For In Girls.” He was a Minecraft YouTuber, created lyric videos for his favorite songs, and eventually pursued astrophysics in university. He even dabbled in music, albeit unsuccessfully. (His Spotify On Repeat playlist features a mix of Drake, Frank Ocean, and Otis Redding.)
On the precipice of unprecedented triumph, he teeters, poised to transcend the confines of TikTok stardom. Whether he fully grasps the magnitude of his situation or prefers to sidestep the whispers of destiny remains uncertain.
Consistently, Innanen crafts moments that linger in the memory, no matter how turbulent the circumstances may appear. Be it an ensemble, a dialogue, or a video on his auxiliary account, where he implores Google to "search for 'the impossible try not to squirt challenge,'" he flourishes in the midst of chaos – a quality his audience finds irresistible.
