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Judd Nelson

 
Actor: Judd Nelson
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: Nov 28, 1959 in Portland, Maine
  • Occupation: Actor, Writer
  • Active: '80s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Thriller, Drama
  • Career Highlights: The Breakfast Club, New Jack City, St. Elmo's Fire
  • First Major Screen Credit: Making the Grade (1984)

Biography

Even by the unexacting standard of Hollywood's 1980s "brat pack," actor Judd Nelson seemed wildly undisciplined and self-indulgent on screen. One tends to conclude that Nelson (a former philosophy student and the son of a Maine politician) has played his screen characters as written: he was, after all, very well trained by famed drama coach Stella Adler, and came up from the exacting ranks of summer stock. Among his earliest screen assignments -- all in his watershed year of 1985 -- including the dope-smoking detentionee in The Breakfast Club, Kevin Costner's parachute-jumping fraternity pal in Fandango, and Ally Sheedy's philandering live-in boyfriend in St. Elmo's Fire. Always seeming to be on the verge of punching someone out, Nelson was well cast as a mercurial killer in 1989's Relentless. Like many brat-packers, Judd Nelson has appeared in fewer and fewer films in the 1990s. In Tommy Chongs Far Out Man (1990), Nelson appears ingratiatingly as himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Judd Nelson

Judd Nelson with Jeanmarie Simpson on the set of A Single Woman, November 2006.
Born Judd Asher Nelson
November 28, 1959 (1959-11-28) (age 49)
Portland, Maine, U.S.
Occupation Actor
Years active 1984–present

Judd Asher Nelson (born November 28, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as John Bender in The Breakfast Club, Alec Newbary in St. Elmo's Fire and Jack Richmond in Suddenly Susan.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Nelson was born in Portland, Maine, the son of Merle (née Royte), a court mediator and former member of the Maine state legislature, and Leonard Nelson, a corporate lawyer who was the first Jewish president of the Portland Symphony Orchestra.[1][2][3] He has two sisters, Eve and Julie. He went to school at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and Waynflete School in Portland, Maine, and studied at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, leaving part way through his sophomore year. He subsequently moved to Manhattan where he studied acting with Stella Adler.

Career

Nelson was one of the 1980s "Brat Pack", starring in such films as Joel Schumacher's St. Elmo's Fire and John Hughes' The Breakfast Club (which was his most popular role as rebel "John Bender"), as well as providing the voice of Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime in Transformers: The Movie. He also starred in a film titled Making the Grade and co-starred alongside a young Kevin Costner in the road-trip movie Fandango.

Following his starring role in The Breakfast Club, Nelson's career failed to take off in a big way, as several of his films performed poorly at the box office, including Blue City (co-starring Breakfast Club alumna Ally Sheedy) and From the Hip, both of which garnered him Razzie nominations. His career lost momentum for a time, and in the 1990s he appeared in Flinch {1994} co-Starring Gina Gershon. He was also in urban-themed dramas such as New Jack City and Light It Up. However, in 1996 he received a starring role on the NBC television sitcom Suddenly Susan, which saw enormous success for a four-season run. Nelson made a cameo appearance in the 2001 film, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back; the film's writer and director, Kevin Smith, had been a long time fan of Nelson and the "Brat Pack" movies. Throughout the late 1990s and 2000s, Nelson mostly appeared in television roles such as NBC's Las Vegas (one of which was the popular TV series Moonlighting, in an episode entitled "Camille") and lower-budget films, although he also acted on stage.

Nelson also appeared in the television show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as a friend of a murder victim and Eleventh Hour[1] on November 20, 2008 as a psychologist researching soldiers returning from Iraq who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He plays the host in The Real Fear Factor, a spoof on Fear Factor, in National Lampoon's TV: The Movie. In December '08 Nelson was reported to be cast in the upcoming sequel The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day[4].

Most recently, Nelson is reprised his role of Rodimus Prime from the 1986 Transformers movie for the newest Transformers television series: Transformers Animated.

Judd Nelson will appear on an upcoming episode of Psych, TVGuide.com has confirmed. Nelson will play Dr. Reidman, who works at the Centers for Disease Control and specializes in Thornburg Disease, a made-for-TV ailment. Psych announced the casting on their Twitter feed.[5]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1984 Making the Grade Eddie Keaton
1985 The Breakfast Club John Bender MTV Silver Bucket of Excellence (2005)
St. Elmo's Fire Alec Newbary
Fandango Phil Hicks, Groover
1986 Transformers: The Movie Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime voice
Blue City Billy Turner
From the Hip Robin 'Stormy' Weathers
1987 Billionaire Boys Club Joe Hunt
1989 Relentless Arthur 'Buck' Taylor
1991 New Jack City Nick Peretti
The Dark Backward Marty Malt
1994 Airheads Jimmie Wing
Flinch Harry Mirapolsky
Blindfold: Acts of Obsession Dr. Jannings
Caroline at Midnight Phil Gallo
1996 Falcon Down Harold Peters
1997 Steel Nathaniel Burke
1999 Light It Up Ken Knowles
2000 Cabin by the Lake Stanley
2001 Lost Voyage Aaron Roberts
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Sheriff
Return to Cabin by the Lake Stanley
Dark Asylum Quitz
2002 Deceived Jack Jones
2003 White Rush Brian Nathanson
2006 Black Hole Eric
2007 Netherbeast Incorporated Steven P.D. Landry
Nevermore Jonathon Usher
2008 The Caretaker Ella's dad
The Day the Earth Stopped Charlie
2009 Dirty Politics Billy
Transformers: Animated Rodimus Prime voice
A Single Woman Jewish reporter completed
Little Hercules in 3-D Kevin completed
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day Concezio Yakavetta
Endure Emory Lane post-production

References

  1. ^ Peck, Abraham J.; Jean M. Peck (2007). Maine's Jewish Heritage. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 108. ISBN 0738549657. 
  2. ^ Film Reference.com.
  3. ^ Bartlett, Will (1996-01-09). "LILLIAN D. ROYTE STRONG BELIEVER IN PUBLIC SERVICE". Portland Press Herald. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=ME&p_theme=me&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAE9AA1EF4CF256&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2008-03-27. 
  4. ^ http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/12/05/judd-nelson-peter-fonda-join-the-cast-of-boondock-saints-2/
  5. ^ Natalie Abrams (8 September 2009). "Psych Casts Judd Nelson". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Psych-Casts-Judd-1009523.aspx. Retrieved 2009-09-09. 

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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