‘Y2K’ star Jaeden Martell grew up in Philadelphia

Growing up in South Philadelphia obsessed with movies, dressing up, and writing stories, it seemed inevitable Jaeden Martell would pursue a career as an actor.

These creative passions were birthed in Philadelphia, where Martell studied at Independence Charter School, and have remained strong ever since. Martell’s father, Wes Lieberher was the executive chef of Midtown Village’s Vintage Wine Bar & Bistro but decided to take a leap of faith and move his family to Los Angeles when his son was 8.

“I like to think that I would have found this purpose within art and moviemaking somehow, some way regardless. But I eventually realized this love of performing was always in me, even in Philly, but all the opportunities came when I moved,” Martell said.

At 10, he debuted in St. Vincent, the 2014 the critically-acclaimed comedy-drama starring Melissa McCarthy and Bill Murray. He went on to star in the Andy Muschietti 2017 film It, based on the Stephen King novel; 2019′s Knives Out; and this year’s Arcadian alongside Nicolas Cage.

“I spent a lot of my teenage years very worried about the next thing and realizing that I don’t have full control over this profession. I was walking through the world with a lot of fear because acting is this amazing thing but what if tomorrow I’m not able to? What if I don’t book anything? What if nobody wants me anymore because I’m growing up?,” said Martell. “At this point [in my life], I have realized my worth isn’t attached to the next job or whether I’m working.”

Martel stars in the new Kyle Mooney horror-comedy, Y2K, which follows two high school juniors who crash a New Year’s Eve party in 1999, only to find themselves fighting for their lives when Y2K becomes a reality.

The film gave Martell the opportunity to collaborate with one of his comedy heroes, Saturday Night Live alumni Mooney. It was also a chance to test himself in the comedy genre.

“Stepping into comedy was scary. It was the perfect introduction as [Kyle] made me feel comfortable in this new realm,” said Martell. “For me, comedy is not so much a craft that I’ve worked on but more of a social thing. Feeling comfortable with Julian [Dennison] and Kyle, feeling like I can say whatever comes to my mind, and trying to make them laugh throughout was a privilege as it didn’t feel like there was too much pressure.”

The opening half of the movie is reminiscent of high school coming-of-age movies such as Superbad — one of Martell’s favorite films. The lead actor from the 2007 classic, Jonah Hill, served as executive producer for Y2K.

“There’s a pressure because those movies are so funny. It’s almost too much pressure to think about and I had to stay away from Superbad and other comedies that I enjoy because you can’t emulate them,” he said.

The movie is set in 1999 during Y2K but there are also moments that speak to modern concerns, like the rise of AI and the potentially damaging effect this may have on art.

Martell is optimistic that human artistry will always prevail over anything AI can create.

“People will always be able to tell the difference between something that is manufactured and something that has heart,” he said.

‘Y2K’ is in cinemas now.