Biography
A veteran of Los Angeles TV news, Jay Jackson used his decades of real-life experience to play a whole host of media-based acting roles, most famously the overly-wordy anchorman Perd Hapley in "Parks and Recreation" (NBC 2009-15). After graduating from United Broadcast College with a degree in Communication and Media Studies, Jackson began his career as a reporter for KUSI Television in 1993 and went onto cover the likes of O.J Simpson's murder trial and the 9/11 attacks during his subsequent stints on UPN, CBS2 and KCAL. In 2004, Jackson founded the Los Angeles Reporter's Clinic in an effort to help people break into TV news and after an actress client introduced him to her manager, he decided to start auditioning for various fictional newscaster parts. Jackson landed his first role in 2007 when he played the reporter who interviews Lt. Esme Pascal about the victims of the Bay Harbor Butcher in the "An Inconvenient Lie" episode of "Dexter" (Showtime 2006-2013) and a year later portrayed the same profession when he appeared in "The Closer" (TNT 2005-2012). Continuing to work as a real-life freelance reporter, Jackson also built up a reputation for his vocal talents on his hometown's jazz circuit and added yet another string to his bow in 2009 when he was cast as Perd Hapley, Pawnee's awkward TV news journalist in "Parks and Recreation" (NBC 2009-). Initially intended to be a one-off role, the show's producers were so impressed with Jackson's comic skills that they made his part a recurring one and Hapley went onto become one of the show's best-loved supporting characters. Following a two-episode stint in "The Mentalist" (CBS 2008-15), Jackson consolidated his status as Hollywood's go-to newsman, showing up as a field reporter in "Fast Five" (2011), a newscaster in "Battleship" (2012) and "Body Of Proof" (ABC 2011-13) and an anchorman in "Fred: The Show" (Nickelodeon 2012). After appearing in the TV movie "This Magic Moment" (2013), Jackson embraced typecasting again when he became a semi-regular face as a local news anchor on a second hit show, political thriller "Scandal" (ABC 2012- ).
