Born in Berkeley, California, Jude was drawn to theater at an early age and was part of a traveling theater company by the time he was 12. Acting, writing, and producing through high school and eventually attending American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, he felt he needed to see more of the world around him. Coming from a poor working class family he didn't have many options, so he became a trucker and traveled through all 48 states in the continental US over two years, eventually settling in Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.
