Nicholas J Principe (born December 30, 1978) is an American actor and stuntman. He is best known for his role as ChromeSkull in '' Laid to Rest'' (2009) and its sequel, '' ChromeSkull: Laid to Rest 2'' (2011).

Early life

Principe was born in

Warwick, Rhode Island Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States, and is the third-largest city in the state, with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Warwick is located approximately south of downtown Pr ...

and raised in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

. He moved from Providence to

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, ...

, California in hopes of playing monsters in films. He has cited

Kane Hodder Kane Warren Hodder (born April 8, 1955)According to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905–1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com is an Americ ...

Nick Castle Nicholas Castle (born September 21, 1947 in Kingsport, Tennessee) is an American screenwriter, film director, and actor. He is known for playing Michael Myers (Halloween), Michael Myers in John Carpenter's horror film ''Halloween (1978 film), H ...

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...

as his inspiration for this desire. Principe discovered that most monsters are played by

stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

s. Already having a black belt in

kenpō is the name of several martial arts. This term is often informally transliterated as "kempo", as a result of applying Traditional Hepburn romanization, but failing to use a macron to indicate the long vowel In linguistics, vowel length is ...

, and experienced in

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

fights, he started studying how to become a stuntman. Three months after moving to Los Angeles, Principe was working in a

music store A music store or musical instrument store is a retail business that sells musical instruments and related equipment and accessories. Some music stores sell additional services, such as Music lesson, music lessons, music instrument or equipment ...

and noticed a film production crew across the street. He approached a crew member, and was asked if he was a "PA", or

production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...

. Ignorant of the term's meaning, Principe said that he was, and started working on the set. He ended up talking to the

stunt coordinator A stunt coordinator, usually an experienced stunt performer, is hired by a TV, film or theatre director or production company for casting stunt performers. Their job is to arrange the casting (stunt players and stunt doubles) and performance of s ...

and started doing stunt work in the film industry.

Career

After some small roles on television series and movies, including his first role in '' Dead and Deader'', ''

Sands of Oblivion ''Sands of Oblivion'' is a 2007 Sci-Fi Channel original movie starring Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Victor Webster, George Kennedy, Richard Kind and Dan Castellaneta. It was directed by David Flores and premiered July 28, 2007 on the Sci Fi C ...

'', Principe was cast in the role of ChromeSkull in '' Laid to Rest'', a role he reprised in the film's 2011

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

Robert Green Hall Robert Green Hall (November 27, 1973 – May 24, 2021) was an American special makeup effects artist, film director, musician, and owner of PostHuman FX, specializing in providing seamlessly integrated makeup and visual effects. Career Make-up ...

, the writer-director of both films, met Principe on the set of

Robert Englund Robert Barton Englund (born June 6, 1947) is an American actor and director. Englund is best known for playing the villain Freddy Krueger in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise. Englund has received multiple accolades and honors, incl ...

's ''Killer Pads''. After years of friendship, the pair met again at a screening of '' Wrong Turn 2'', where Hall offered Principe the role. He based his performances on Roy Batty from ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Di ...

'' (a performance Principe claims to base all of his characters on),

Patrick Bateman Patrick Bateman is a fictional character created by novelist Bret Easton Ellis. He is the villain protagonist and unreliable narrator of Ellis's 1991 novel ''American Psycho'' and is played by Christian Bale in the 2000 film adaptation of th ...

from ''

American Psycho ''American Psycho'' is a black comedy horror novel by American writer Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the First-person narrative, first-person by Patrick Bateman, a wealthy, narcissistic, and vain Manhattan investmen ...

'', and Michael Myers from ''

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

''. Principe expressed interest in reprising his role in a third film, which he confirmed will be made when Hall's schedule opens up. Also in 2011, Principe portrayed BLT in Brandon and

Jason Trost Jason Wayne Trost (born November 15, 1986) is an American filmmaker and actor. Along with his brother Brandon, he wrote and directed the 2011 comedy ''The FP'', which he also starred in. The same year, Trost wrote, directed, and starred in the su ...

's ''

The FP ''The FP'' is a 2011 American comedy film written and directed by Brandon Trost, Brandon and Jason Trost. The film focuses on two gangs, the 248 and the 245, fighting for control of Frazier Park, California, Frazier Park (the FP). The gangs s ...

''. The film co-stars Jason Trost,

Lee Valmassy Lee Douglas Valmassy (born September 15, 1987) is an American director and actor. He is best known for starring as L Dubba E ''The FP'' (2011) and as Charlie / The Wall in '' Vs'' (2011). In all of his American film projects, he has worked in co ...

Caitlyn Folley Caitlyn Folley, also known as Caker Folley, is an American actress known for her role as Stacy in ''The FP'' (2011). Career Following small roles in ''Speak (2004 film), Speak'', ''Happy Endings (film), Happy Endings'', ''Beautiful Loser (film) ...

, Art Hsu,

Dov Tiefenbach Dov Yosef Tiefenbach (born December 8, 1981) is a Canadian actor and musician. Life and career Tiefenbach was born on December 8, 1981, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is of Jewish background. He began his acting career at the age of 12, startin ...

, and James DeBello. It premiered at

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

on March 13, 2011. He later played Damien in '' Madison County'', Sledgesaw in '' Vs'', also directed by Jason Trost and co-starring Valmassy, and Lori in ''

The Summer of Massacre ''The Summer of Massacre'' is 2011 anthology horror film written and directed by Joe Castro. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the slasher film with the largest body count, at 155. Plot * Rampage: While out for a jog, Chris is mug ...

''. In 2013, he starred in ''Nobody Can Cool'', ''Army of the Damned'', and ''Self Storage''. In 2014, Principe starred in '' Seed 2: The New Breed'' and

Ryan Nicholson Ryan Nicholson (1971 – October 8, 2019) was a Canadian special effects makeup artist and filmmaker. Biography Nicholson was born in 1971 in Victoria, British Columbia. He was a self-taught artist who ran special-effects shop Flesh & Fantasy f ...

's ''Collar''. He is set to appear in ''American Muscle'' and ''Disciples'', along with making his directorial debut, ''Stockholm'' later in the year. Principe co-wrote the script for the 2023 film '' Johnny & Clyde''.

Filmography

As actor

Other

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Principe, Nick 1978 births Living people Male actors from Providence, Rhode Island People from Warwick, Rhode Island American male film actors American male television actors