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I was born at St George's Hospital in Kew, Melbourne, during the early hours of the 12th of February, 1979. Waiting at home was my eldest brother, Tarney - a worldly "kinder boy" aged three and Luke, aged two. Judging from early photos they carried me around a bit like a puppy dog. We have pictures of me in all sorts of strange places being "looked after" by my brothers. I attended Canterbury Primary School and had one year there in Prep with my teacher, Mrs Richardson. My mother has kept some of my first paintings which were very carefully named by Mrs Richardon as the work of Jesse James - apparently the name Jesse was known by in those days, so unusual that my mum used to say when asked, "you know, Jesse, the same name as the American outlaw, Jesse James". I guess I thought that was who I really was! Our family was completed with the birth of my sister, Polly, in December 1982. We boys really thought it was great to have a sister and she was never left alone! We moved houses in 1984 and from Grade 1, I attended Malvern Central School. I was nearly 8 when I joined the Australian Boy's Choir which happened to be just around the corner from us - I think every activity had to be just around the corner at that stage in our lives! Anyway, I stayed with this choir until I graduated as a chorister just before my voice broke. This Choir provided great training and discipline and it was during this time that I met my "mentor" - Bill Shanks. He convinced my parents to audition me for an Agent and he has provided invaluable help and advice to me over the years. The first job I landed was as the understudy for the role of Louis in "The King and I". I really enjoyed this time and wanted to do more. It's tough in this industry - it doesn't matter whether one is auditioning for an advertisement or for a role in theatre or television - you just learn to take the hundreds of knockbacks! All these people are looking for a certain "look" for each job - the right age, height, hair type, size etc before they even consider any abilities - you learn not to get optimistic or disappointed! Later I landed the role of Christopher Robin in the musical production of Winnie the Pooh. This was my first "real" production. It was not long after this that I was cast as Tiny Tims' brother for the musical "Scrooge". Unfortunately I had to let this go as I was simultaneously offered a role in a Warner Brothers TV serial, "Time Trax". This was filmed over 10 days in Queensland and was great training about filming schedules, make up, costumes, and how many "takes" it takes to put together a movie. I continued through Malvern Central School to the end of year 8 then proceeded to year 9 at Scotch College in Hawthorn, Melbourne. It was during year 10 that I auditioned for the role of Billy Kennedy in "Neighbours". "Neighbours" has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A daily soapie like this has incredibly high standards which are necessary to produce a show a day. Weekly shows, which are at least a half hour in duration have an entire week to produce the show and to perfect everything - from lighting to the number of "takes", but "Neighbours" has to produce a half hour programme every day!! Learning to work under these pressures will, I am sure, be invaluable as time goes on. I have not only been given the opportunity to learn on the job, but also to build up a public profile. Its been a pretty hard slog getting through VCE with working commitments but it has been worth all the work. this year, my first year free of all that study and pressures, I've kept up with my music and singing, acting lessons and different sports. (jessespencer.com)