Jan Kutrzeba was born in Poland to Stefan Kutrzeba, an accomplished classical pianist and pedagogue, and Lidia Kutrzeba, an engineer and musician. His younger brother Franciszek Filip is a talented musician, painter, and an academic. His family emigrated to Finland when Jan was only five years old. He started performing at a very early age, playing the piano, the accordion, and as a drummer for high school bands. He later also toured with a band as their alto saxophonist, driver, and manager. After first studying international business, and working many odd jobs from cab driving to finance, from construction to advertising, he finally went into acting. Prior to working in the U.S., he lived in five different countries. He has been based in New York City since 2010 working mostly in television and film. In 2015 Jan wrote and directed the single-shot short film Wszysko Bedzie Fajnie (eng. Everything Will Be Nice), which toured many film festivals, most notably the Cannes 2016 Court Metrage. The film had its US premiere at the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival in California. It won the Best Audience Award at the Zero Film Festival in NYC. Jan also works as a real estate agent in New York.