Tyler Silvers Is No Stranger To Creating Success From Scratch

When you finish watching the thoroughly enjoyable comedy series “Becoming Jiff” (on Amazon Prime Video) one of your first thoughts is, who is the lead actor who plays Jiff, and who created the series? When the credits roll you find out that answers to all of the above is: Tyler Silvers.

“Becoming Jiff” is about the journey of a young man named Jiff, who is trying to find himself through a series of wild and funny events. But what was the journey like for Silvers, the man who plays Jiff?
Beginnings

Silvers was born and raised in Manhattan, and in 2009, at the age of 16, Silvers founded “Athlete Magazine,” which became one of the top high school sports magazines in New York City.

“It started as a fun project that I worked on with some of my best friends, and grew into a really wonderful experience,” Silvers says.

The magazine quickly gained sponsors such as Chelsea Piers Sports & Entertainment Complex, and Velocity Sports, and before he knew it, Silvers was Editor-In-Chief, Publisher, and wrote his own popular column called “Tyler’s Take.”

He and his best friend David became accredited members of the press and found themselves at New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, and New York Giants practices interviewing professional athletes.

“It was definitely a little of an “Almost Famous” [referring to the 2000 film directed by Cameron Crowe] situation where we were these young journalists who found themselves in the real world. We didn’t sing “Tiny Dancer” like the actors in the movie did, but I did have the floppy hair!”

Silvers was awarded the Gold Key Award from Alliance for Young Artists & Writers for his work on “Athlete Magazine,” whose past winners include Stephen King, Robert Redford, and Andy Warhol.

Furthermore, the writer’s Tyler Silvers hired for the magazine went on to contribute to outlets like Vice Media and SportsNet New York (SNY).

“The magazine gave me a great understanding of writing and business, and taught me how to come up with creative solutions which help me to this day. But I found that my true passion was in acting and filmmaking.”

“Becoming Jiff is about a young man learning to follow his passions and find happiness,” Silvers says. “I think a lot of young people will relate to Jiff’s struggle as a young person who feels society’s pressure to become successful, but he learns that you need to define success for yourself, and live your life the way you want to live it.” “Becoming Jiff” was picked up by Samuel Goldwyn Films and released on Amazon Prime Video to a great response.

The series was included in the 2019 Primetime Emmy Award Shortlist for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series, and BuzzFeed named it one of the Top 5 Series to Watch on Amazon Prime Video.

“Becoming Jiff” is the rare comedy series that makes you laugh, but also makes you feel. It is heartfelt and emotional in a non-saccharine way and leaves you with a general feeling of jubilation. “I think my collaborators made this project truly special.

Forrest [Tyler’s brother, Co-Creator, Director, and Writer of “Becoming Jiff”] is a fantastic director, my fellow actors were always elevating the material, our composer Greg added a layer of depth, and the crew worked so hard to get us exactly what we needed.”

Silvers can be heard regularly on his podcast “Quadruple Overtime” (with guests from “Saturday Night Live,” “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “The Wall Street Journal,” “The Washington Post”) and he is currently working on a time travel feature film with his brother and collaborator Forrest Silvers.

After the success of “Becoming Jiff,” we can only wait and watch what Tyler Silvers has up next.