Nickolas Ray Young is an American actor who appeared in the films ''

Friend of the World ''Friend of the World'' is a 2020 American independent black-and-white film written and directed by Brian Patrick Butler in his feature film debut, starring Nick Young and Alexandra Slade. The surreal experimental film takes place post-apocaly ...

'' (2020) and ''

Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea ''Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea'' is a 2023 American satirical dark comedy film directed by Tony Olmos and written by Brian Patrick Butler. Butler also leads the ensemble cast that includes Kimberly Weinberger, Aimee La Joie, Randy Davis ...

'' (2023), television movies '' El Diablo'' (1990) and ''

Geronimo Gerónimo (, ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a military leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache bands the Tchihen ...

'' (1993), and

OnStage Playhouse OnStage Playhouse is a non-profit community theatre located at 291 3rd Ave. in Chula Vista, California. OnStage Playhouse has acted as the only live theatre serving the South Bay section of San Diego County, covering the cities of Chula Vista, Na ...

's productions of ''

The Diary of Anne Frank ''The Diary of a Young Girl'', commonly referred to as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of t ...

'' (2011) and '' The Other Place'' (2022). Young began working on television in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s before moving to

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

for film and theater work in the 2010s.

Early life

Young was born to Elois Roain Drayfahl and Duain Francis Young in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. He became interested in performing arts while in grade school, was on the track team and played

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

as an offensive lineman at

Palo Verde High Magnet School Palo Verde High Magnet School is located at 1302 South Avenida Vega in Terra Del Sol, Tucson, Arizona. The school has been open since 1962. Its current principal is Eric Brock. The school's name comes from the surrounding Palo Verde trees, nativ ...

. After high school, Young majored in drama at

Pima Community College Pima Community College (PCC) is a Public university, public community college in Pima County, Arizona. It serves the Tucson, Arizona, Tucson metropolitan area with a community college district consisting of five campuses, four education centers, ...

. While there, he qualified for the National Junior College Athletic Association championships after winning the

Arizona Community College Athletic Conference The Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) is a junior college conference in Region 1 of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Conference championships are held in most sports and individuals can be named to All ...

for the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

but he was unable to place.

Career

1980–2008: Acting and firefighting career

Young acted in many

television movies A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrestr ...

and shows in Tucson and Phoenix while pursuing a career as a

firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

. He was appointed to the Tucson Fire Department on June 16, 1980. In 1981, Young received an electric shock while working with another fireman who suffered steam burns. Both were treated for non-serious injuries. Young was promoted to

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

on May 8, 1988, and retired on February 28, 2008.

2011–2023: Return to acting

After retiring as a fireman, Young relocated to

where he performed in stage plays such as ''

'', '' The Other Place'' and ''

Kimberly Akimbo ''Kimberly Akimbo'' is a play written in 2000 by David Lindsay-Abaire. Its title character is a lonely teenage girl suffering from a disease similar to progeria, that causes her to age four and a half times as fast as normal, thus trapping her ...

''. He was cast in films such as ''

'', ''The Case of: Dakota Moore'', ''I Brake for Caterpillars'' as well as a

Filmapalooza Filmapalooza is the finale festival for the 48 Hour Film Project in which the winning films from cities worldwide (125 cities as of 2023) are screened the following year and compete with each other for awards. It has existed since 2003. Filmapaloo ...

qualifying 48 hour short film called ''Con Boys''.

2020: ''Friend of the World''

Young auditioned for ''Friend of the World'' by submitting a mobile video and he was cast as

Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manito ...

, a lead role. Several film critics admired his performance and he was nominated for Best Actor at the San Diego Film Awards. The film was distributed by

Troma Entertainment Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production company, production and film distributor, distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz (producer), Michael Herz in 1974. They are the longest running independent film ...

. Ally Ham at Video Librarian said Young's chemistry with co-star Alexandra Slade was engaging but also out of place at times. Rob Rector at

Film Threat ''Film Threat'' is an American online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. ...

and John Noonan at

FilmInk ''FilmInk'' is an Australian film magazine published by FKP International Exports. It was founded by current publisher Dov Kornits and Colin Fraser in July 1997, in Sydney. The magazine has been through many changes over the course of its exist ...

noticed his character seemed to be inspired from ''

Dr. Strangelove ''Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'' (known simply and more commonly as ''Dr. Strangelove'') is a 1964 political satire black comedy film co-written, produced, and directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is loosely ...

''. Film critic

Daniel M. Kimmel Daniel M. Kimmel (born 1955) is an American film critic and author. In September 2014, he became editor of ''The Jewish Advocate'' where he served through December 2015. He received a B.A. from the University of Rochester and a degree in law fr ...

said Young proficiently expresses his character's thoughts and Cheryl Eddy at

Gizmodo ''Gizmodo'' () is a design, technology, science, and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the sub-blogs ''io9'' and ''Earther'', which focus on pop ...

claims he has an "unhinged aura of someone who's been alone too long." Young's performance has been compared to

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He rose to prominence in television before becoming an acclaimed and popular film actor. Goodman has received List of awards and nominations received by John Goodman, various acc ...

Bruce Campbell Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known best for his role as Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's ''Evil Dead'' horror series, beginning with the short movie '' Within the Woods'' (1978). He has also f ...

and

Sterling Hayden Sterling Walter Hayden (born Sterling Relyea Walter; March 26, 1916 – May 23, 1986) was an American actor, author, sailor, and Marine. A leading man for most of his career, he specialized in Westerns and film noir throughout the 1950s, in film ...

while director

Brian Patrick Butler Brian Patrick Butler is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He is known for writing and directing the film ''Friend of the World'' (2020), writing and performing in the film ''Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea ...

said his character is like

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

, casting him for his "grimness and humor."

Stage credits

Filmography

References

External links

Nick Young
at About the Artists
Nick Young
at

Broadway World BroadwayWorld is a theatre news website based in New York City, New York. Launched in 2003, the site covers Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, and international theater productions, with sections devoted to particular countries, cities, or regi ...

*
Nick Young
at

Moviefone Moviefone is an American-based moving pictures listing and information service. Moviegoers can obtain local showtimes, cinema information, film reviews, and advance tickets, as well as TV content and a comprehensive search tool that allows users ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Nick Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors Male actors from San Diego Male actors from Tucson, Arizona Male actors from Phoenix, Arizona American male stage actors American male television actors Pima Community College alumni 20th-century American firefighters 21st-century American firefighters Male Western (genre) film actors