Nick Nolte

Nicholas King Nolte (; born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. Known for his leading man roles in both dramas and romances, he has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. Nolte first came to prominence for his role in the ABC miniseries '' Rich Man, Poor Man'' (1976) for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie nomination. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for '' The Prince of Tides'' (1991). He has received three Academy Award nominations for ''The Prince of Tides'' (1991), ' (1998), and .

His other notable films include , '' Who'll Stop the Rain'' (1978), '' North Dallas Forty'' (1979), '' 48 Hrs.'' (1982), , , , '' Down and Out in Beverly Hills'' (1986), ''Another 48 Hrs.'' (1990), , ''Lorenzo's Oil'' (1992), '' Jefferson in Paris'' (1995), , , , ''Hotel Rwanda'' (2004), '' Over the Hedge'' (2006), , '' Tropic Thunder'' (2008), '' Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore'' (2010), , , '' A Walk in the Woods'' (2015), , and '' Angel Has Fallen'' (2019).

His television credits include the HBO series ''Luck'' (2011–2012), the Fox miniseries '' Gracepoint'' (2014), the Disney+ series '' The Mandalorian'' (2019) and ''Peacock'' crime drama '' Poker Face'' (2023). From 2016 to 2017, Nolte played President Richard Graves in the Epix series '' Graves'' for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy.

Early life

Nolte was born in Omaha, Nebraska on February 8, 1941. His father, Franklin Arthur Nolte (1904–1978), was a farmer's son who ran away from home, nearly dropped out of high school and was a three-time letter winner in football at Iowa State University (1929–31). His mother, Helen (; 1914–2000), was a department store buyer, then became an antique dealer, co-owning an antique shop. His father was of German ancestry. Nolte's maternal grandfather, Matthew Leander King, invented the hollow-tile silo and was involved in early aviation. His maternal grandmother ran the student union at Iowa State University. He has an older sister, Nancy, who was an executive for the Red Cross.

Nolte attended Kingsley Elementary School in Waterloo, Iowa. He studied at Westside High School in Omaha, where he was the kicker on the football team. He also attended Benson High School, but was expelled for hiding beer before practice and being caught drinking it during a practice session. Following his high school graduation in 1959, he attended Pasadena City College in Southern California, Arizona State University in Tempe (on a football scholarship), Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher and Phoenix College in Phoenix. At Eastern Arizona, he lettered in football as a tight end and defensive end, in basketball as a forward, and as a catcher on the baseball team. Poor grades eventually ended his studies, at which point his career in theatre began in earnest. While in college, he worked for the Falstaff Brewery in Omaha.

After stints at the Pasadena Playhouse and the Stella Adler Academy in Los Angeles, Nolte spent several years traveling the country and working in regional theater, including the Old Log Theater in Minnesota for three years.

Career

Modeling

Nolte was a model in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In a national magazine advertisement in 1972, he appeared in jeans and an open jean shirt for Clairol's "Summer Blonde" hair lightener sitting on a log next to a blonde Anne Powers; and they appeared on the packaging.

Acting

Nolte first starred in the television miniseries '' Rich Man, Poor Man'', based on Irwin Shaw's 1970 best-selling novel. Later, he appeared in over 40 films, playing a wide variety of characters. Diversity of character, trademark athleticism, and gravelly voice are signatures of his career. In 1973, he guest-starred in the ''Griff'' episode, "Who Framed Billy the Kid?", as Billy Randolph, a football player accused of murder. Nolte also made two guest appearances in the television series '' Barnaby Jones'' in 1974 and 1975. He co-starred with Andy Griffith in '' Winter Kill'', a television film made as the pilot of a possible television series, and another one, '' Adams of Eagle Lake'', but neither was picked up.

Nolte starred in , '' Who'll Stop the Rain'' (1978), and '' North Dallas Forty'' (1979) which is based on Peter Gent's novel. In 1982, he starred in '' 48 Hrs.'' with Eddie Murphy and '' Cannery Row'' with Debra Winger. During the 1980s, he also starred in , , '' Down and Out in Beverly Hills'' (1986), , '' Three Fugitives'' (1989) and '' New York Stories'' (1989). Nolte starred with Katharine Hepburn in her last leading film role in '' Grace Quigley'' (1985). Nolte and Murphy starred again in the sequel ''Another 48 Hrs.'' (1990). In 1991, Nolte starred in '' The Prince of Tides'' and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Later, he starred in Martin Scorsese's remake of ' with Robert De Niro and Jessica Lange. Nolte also starred in ''Lorenzo's Oil'' (1992), '' Jefferson in Paris'' (1995), '' Mulholland Falls'' (1996) and . Nolte co-starred in ' (1994) with Julia Roberts. Following its release, the ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that the two did not get along well and had multiple spats on-set.
He received his second Academy Award (Best Actor) nomination for the 1997 film '. Nolte starred with Sean Penn in three films, including '' U Turn'' (1997), Terrence Malick's war epic ' (1998), and ' (2013).

In 1992, Nolte was named the Sexiest Man Alive by ''People'' magazine. When asked about the selection he said "Are you sure you didn't make a mistake? My personal choice is Walter Cronkite."

Nolte continued to work in the 2000s, appearing in , , and taking smaller parts in 2004's ' and ''Hotel Rwanda'', both performances receiving positive reviews. He also played supporting roles in the drama '' Peaceful Warrior'' (2006), the fantasy adventure and the comedy '' Tropic Thunder'' (2008). He provided voice work in the animated films '' Over the Hedge'' (2006), '' Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore'' (2010), ' (2011) and ' (2014). In 2011, Nolte played recovering alcoholic Paddy Conlon in ''Warrior'', and was nominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Beginning in 2011, Nolte starred with Dustin Hoffman in the HBO series ''Luck''. At the start of production of the second season, however, HBO ended the series after the death of three horses during filming. He appeared in the political thrillers and '' Angel Has Fallen'' (2019). In 2013, he was in the movie ' which starred Jason Statham. In 2015, Nolte starred in the biopic comedy-drama ' and in the revenge thriller '.

From 2016 to 2017, Nolte starred in '' Graves'' on Epix about a volatile, hard-drinking former U.S. president who has been retired for 25 years and who has a political epiphany to right the wrongs of his past administration in very public and unpredictable ways.

For Nolte, acting is not a career but something he needs to do, he says, "a need in the sense that I can't find anything as complex and interesting to do, but I need it in a story," and "I don't want to do reality because reality never runs smooth". He likes to vanish into a role "if the story reaches up to where the great actor is, the great actor disappears, and the story becomes number one, that's as real as it gets". Nolte appeared as recurring character Kuiil in the Disney+ series '' The Mandalorian'' in 2019.

Personal life

Nolte married Clytie Lane in 2016. He was previously married to Sheila Page, Sharyn Haddad, and Rebecca Linger. Nolte and Linger have a son, Brawley (b. 1986), an actor who is married to Indian-American actress Navi Rawat. Nolte and Lane have a daughter, Sophia (b. 2007). Sophia played his granddaughter in '. Nolte and Linger also had a daughter in 1983 who was stillborn. Nolte lived with Karen Eklund, who later sued him for palimony. He has also dated Debra Winger and Vicki Lewis.

Legal troubles and substance abuse

Nolte is known for his "bad-boy reputation".

In 1961, he was arrested for selling counterfeit draft card documents and given a 45-year prison sentence and a $75,000 fine, but the sentence was suspended. However, the felony conviction left him ineligible for military service. He had felt obligated to serve in the Vietnam War, and says that he felt incomplete as a young man for not going to Vietnam.

On September 11, 2002, Nolte was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in Malibu, California. Tests later showed that he was under the influence of GHB. Nolte responded that he has "been taking it for four years and I've never been raped." Three days later, he checked himself into Silver Hill Hospital in Connecticut for counseling. On December 12, 2002, he pleaded no contest to charges of driving under the influence. He was given three years' probation, with orders to undergo alcohol and drug counseling with random testing required.

In 2005, ''The Independent'' reported that Nolte had struggled with substance abuse for "the majority of his adult life" and had begun abusing alcohol at an early age. After remaining sober for nearly 10 years, he resumed drinking in the late 1990s. Following his 2002 arrest, he again stopped drinking. In 2018, he told ''The Saturday Evening Post'' that he did not have a drug problem and that he had been "relatively clean outside of prescription stuff for years".

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Accolades

Other honors

* 1992 – ''People'': Sexiest Man Alive
* Nolte received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on November 20, 2017.

Notes

References

External links

* Interview Wit
Nick Nolte in 1979 about North Dallas Forty
from Texas Archive of the Moving Image
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nolte, Nick
1941 births
Living people
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American male film actors
American people of German descent
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American men's basketball players
Arizona State University alumni
Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (film) winners
Eastern Arizona College alumni
Eastern Arizona Gila Monsters men's basketball players
Film producers from Arizona
Forwards (basketball)

Male actors from Omaha, Nebraska
Male actors from Phoenix, Arizona
Mass media people from Phoenix, Arizona
Pasadena City College alumni
Phoenix College alumni
Stella Adler Studio of Acting alumni