Nicholas James Muscarella (born December 1, 1982), known professionally as Nicholas James and additionally variously credited as Nick James or Nicholas J. Muscarella, is an American actor. He may be best known for his recurring role, from 2016 to its 2021 finale, in the prime time

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

'' The Haves and the Have Nots''. He also has appeared in '' Prom Night'' (2008) and '' NCIS: New Orleans'' (2014). His earliest credited film appearance was in '' Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds'' in 2006. James has appeared in

television commercials A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

for

Grupo Modelo Grupo Modelo is a large brewery in Mexico owned by Anheuser-Busch that exports beer to most countries of the world. Its export brands include '' Corona'', ''Modelo'', and '' Pacífico''. Grupo Modelo also brews brands that are intended solely ...

(in 2016) and

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

(in 2014). Outside of acting, James has also worked as a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

Early life and education

James was born in

Greenville, Pennsylvania Greenville is a borough with home rule status in northwestern Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located along the Shenango River, it lies roughly 80 miles from both Pittsburgh and Cleveland. It is 1.89 square miles in area, and had ...

, the son of Gregory and Vicki Muscarella. He has an older brother, Michael. He attended Reynolds Junior – Senior High School, and later Penn State Behrend College, where he studied

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

and

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

Career

After attending Penn State Behrend College, James relocated to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, where he arrived with just $200 and worked providing bottle service at a bar while pursuing acting. James was initially interested in comedic roles, especially

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

in the style of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

''. In

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, he studied acting under the tutelage of various renowned figures, including legendary acting coach Vincent Chase, for whom the eponymous fictional character on the TV series ''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

'' was named. Actor

Shia LaBeouf Shia Saide LaBeouf ( ; born June 11, 1986) is an American actor and filmmaker. He played Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series ''Even Stevens'', a role for which he received Young Artist Award nominations in 2001 and 2002 and won a Dayt ...

was among his classmates. Later, he attended classes at

Upright Citizen's Brigade The Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) is an improvisational comedy, improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago, Illinois, Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Amy Poehler, Matt ...

, thus returning to his earlier interest in

improvisational Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

and sketch comedy. James dropped his surname to form his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

because, in his own words, "I don't look too Italian and people trip over that name all the time." His original surname Muscarella has however appeared as part of one of three variations of his name in film and television credits.

Personal life

James currently resides in

. He is vocal on political issues via

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

, and maintains an

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account. His interests include the

extreme sports Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk of injury or death. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extre ...

skydiving Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

and

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

as well as

standup paddleboarding Standup paddleboarding (SUP) is a water sport born from surfing with modern roots in Hawaii. Standup paddleboarders stand on boards that are floating on the water and use a paddle to propel themselves through the water. The sport was documen ...

snorkelling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming face down on or through a body of water while breathing the ambient air through a shaped tube called a snorkel, usually with swimming goggles or a ...

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

, animals and exotic teas. Since at least 2016, James has been in a relationship with his ''Haves and the Have Nots'' co-star

Tika Sumpter Euphemia LatiQue "Tika" Sumpter (born June 20, 1980) is an American actress and producer. Sumpter began her career as the host of '' Best Friend's Date''. From 2005 to 2010, she appeared in the daytime soap opera ''One Life to Live''. In 2010, ...

. Their daughter, Ella-Loren, was born on October 8, 2016. Despite numerous press outlets stating that James was the father, Sumpter did not confirm his paternity, then she revealed only his first name when announcing that they became engaged on Christmas Day in 2016.

Filmography

''note: credited as Nicholas James, except where indicated''

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Nicholas Living people 21st-century American male actors American male soap opera actors American people of Italian descent People from Greenville, Pennsylvania Smeal College of Business alumni Male actors from Los Angeles 1982 births