Entertainment

Jake Austin's Done A Lot Since His Disney Days

by Hannah Shapiro

Jake T. Austin has been an actor since he was a little kid, he shot to fame playing Max Russo in the Disney Channel original series Wizards of Waverly Place. His portrayal of the youngest Russo sibling was endearing and funny. Austin starred alongside David Henrie and mega pop star Selena Gomez. Being a Disney star is a great way to begin a career, and Austin became quite well-known during his time on the Emmy-winning show. Now, Austin is set to be a celebrity dancer on Season 23 of Dancing with the Stars. But, what has Jake Austin been doing since Wizards of Waverly Place ? Between dating a fan of his, writing screenplays, and being on TV, the young actor has stayed busy.

It can be hard to make the transition from child star to evolved adult actor. Even the most successful kid and teen stars fall prey to not being able to make that move. But, since Disney has produced many singers and actors that were able to make that jump, when Wizards of Waverly Place wrapped, many were curious where the young stars would head next. The next major role for Austin, was as Jesus on the ABC Family (now Freeform) show The Fosters.

The Fosters premiered in 2013 and was a good return to television for Austin. He played Jesus, who was a part of a modern complicated family. The drama allowed Austin to explore more adult themes while challenging his acting. Freeform and Disney are also part of the same media family, so it's not a shocking next step for a Disney actor.

What was a shocking turn was Austin's departure from The Fosters. There are still lingering questions as to why the actor left the show after two seasons. The show quickly replaced him, writing in a few jokes about how much the character had "grown" in boarding school. Austin addressed fans of the show on Twitter before moving on to new projects.

In addition to keeping busy work wise, Austin made headlines for dating a fan, according to the New York Daily News. It is every fangirl's dream that a tweet or autograph meetup will lead to love. For Danielle Ceasar this dream came true. The NY Daily News reports that she tweeted at Austin for years about wanting to date him. Then, in an Instagram post, Jake confirmed that the two were very much an item.

Since the original post, Austin has continued to show off his fan lady love on social media, and he doesn't mind how they met. "We're young and having fun just getting to know each other. It doesn't matter how you meet someone- on set, in a coffee shop, at school, or in the business," he told the Daily News in a statement via his rep. "Sometimes you connect with people at the right moment & you just click."

Perhaps she will be in the audience rooting him on during Dancing with the Stars. Austin seems to be focusing all his energy on his upcoming dancing debut. He is dancing with partner Jenna Johnson, and the two form the team name J squared. It seems other projects will be put on the back-burner for now as most of his time this fall will be spent in the ballroom.

I look forward to watching this star tango his time on Dancing with the Stars. I'm sure, despite his wizard days being long behind him, his dancing will be magic.