Jim is a classically trained actor and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Fellow classmates include Cleavon Little, Catherine Burns, Tom Atkins and Danny DeVito. After finishing up at the Academy, he enlisted to avoid the draft, but wound up in combat during two tours in Vietnam with the 1st Marine Division. He is a two-time Purple Heart recipient. Returning to New York after military service, Jim acted in several off-Broadway productions including "Winning Hearts & Minds" at Joe Papp's Public Theatre in the lead role as the Veteran. In 1972 NBC cast him as host of "Write Your Own Ticket", a daytime network game show pilot. The show went nowhere, but his performance caught the eye of legendary agent Harry Abrams and so began a lucrative twenty-year career as an on-camera spokesman and voice-over artist. By 1992, Jim had performed in over 40 national commercials, appeared in guest and co-starring roles on television & film and worked as a writer with Dames-Fraser Productions at Paramount Studios. While at Paramount, Jim partnered with Bob Fraser forming a company to provide technical services to production companies. Eventually, this work eclipsed on-camera opportunities and he began consulting with Universal on high-tech theme park attractions. Shortly thereafter, he created a full-service Audio-Video company providing equipment and expertise to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. Jim participated in both successful Mars Lander Missions with JPL. Lockheed Martin acquired Jim's business in 2016. He and his wonderful wife Jill agreed it was time to get back to his first love, the acting business. Jim is based in Los Angeles but maintains a residence in New York City so working on either coast is easy to do. Jim Hackett is comfortable with complex dialog; memorizes scripts quickly, is teleprompter experienced, really enjoys comedic roles, and has a warm and likeable on-camera presence. Show less «