14 Facts About Gabriel LaBelle

Gabriel LaBelle was born on September 2002 and is a Canadian actor.

Gabriel LaBelle is best known for his leading role as young aspiring filmmaker Sammy Fabelman in Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical film The Fabelmans, for which he received acclaim and won the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer.

Gabriel LaBelle began interest in acting at the age of 8 at a summer camp, playing roles in its musical productions of Footloose, Shrek The Musical and Aladdin.

Gabriel LaBelle made his on-screen acting debut in 2013 on an episode of the Canadian TV series Motive in a guest role, thanks to his father landing his son an agent and being a producer on the show.

Gabriel LaBelle ultimately got in to Concordia University's drama program, but had to attend classes virtually.

Gabriel LaBelle wanted to pursue a career in acting in New York City, but put the plans on hold to take care of his family at home.

Gabriel LaBelle deleted his social media in early 2020, saying that it made him "a better actor because you want to be focused, creative and confident" without seeking online validation.

In March 2021, Gabriel LaBelle received from casting director Cindy Tolan the offer to audition, among 2,000 other contenders, for the lead role of Sammy Fabelman in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans, which at the time had kept its title, plot and character names under wraps.

Gabriel LaBelle was taught how to use the 8mm and 16mm camera props that were used on set, which had real film inside of them, as well as how to cut and splice film stock using the editing machines and film projectors of the time period.

Gabriel LaBelle got to keep the 8mm camera Sammy used to film the family camping trip and Escape to Nowhere short film as a souvenir after the completion of principal photography.

The Fabelmans premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, where Gabriel LaBelle's performance received critical acclaim and he was recognized as a 2022 TIFF Rising Star, and won the award for Best Young Performer at the 28th Critics' Choice Awards and the award for Breakthrough Performance from the National Board of Review.

In 2022, Gabriel LaBelle joined the cast of the Showtime series adaptation of American Gigolo, in the role of the young version of Julian Kaye, played by Jon Bernthal.

In 2024, Gabriel LaBelle played one of the lead roles in Adam Carter Rehmeier's coming-of-age comedy Snack Shack, which was delayed by the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes.

Gabriel LaBelle was cast as Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels in Jason Reitman's movie Saturday Night, which accounts the behind-the-scenes story of the NBC late-night show's opening night.