Jacques Abrahamian

Born in Beirut, Jacques Abrahamian’s story isn’t your typical Hollywood climb. He’s Armenian, and his family bounced from Lebanon to the States thanks to the chaos of civil war—first landing in gritty South Boston, then Watertown, Mass. East Coast life was home for a while, until 1989 rolled around and California came calling. That’s where Jacques really found his groove in entertainment. He didn’t waltz in through any secret door—nope, he started at the bottom, hustling in the mailroom at Writers & Artists Agency in Beverly Hills. That spot was buzzing, too. We’re talking big names—Adrien Brody, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, James Gandolfini. Not a shabby introduction to Hollywood’s inner circle. WAA merged into what’s now Paradigm Talent Agency, which, if you know the biz, is a pretty big deal. Those early days set Jacques up for everything that came next. He played a hand in getting Darren Lemke’s directorial debut, “Lost,” off the ground—helped package it and green-light the whole thing. Then, between 2002 and 2007, Jacques launched Cedar Films, his own indie production company. He wrangled together movies like “DALI,” which Alejandro Chomski was set to direct, with talent like Dana Delany and Bai Ling attached. On top of all that, the guy’s got a Master’s in Medicine from Western University of Health Sciences and a Bachelor’s in Business from Woodbury. Not your average Hollywood résumé.