Judd Nelson
Encyclopedia
Judd Asher Nelson is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

. He is best known for being a member of the "Brat Pack" in the mid-1980s; and for his roles as John Bender in The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club is a 1985 American teen drama film written and directed by John Hughes. The storyline follows five teenagers as they spend a Saturday in detention together and come to realize that they are all deeper than their respective stereotypes.-Plot:The plot follows five students at...

, Alec Newbary in St. Elmo's Fire
St. Elmo's Fire (film)
St. Elmo's Fire is a 1985 American coming-of-age film directed by Joel Schumacher. The film, starring Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Mare Winningham, is a prominent movie of the Brat Pack genre, and revolves around a group of friends that have...

, and Jack Richmond in Suddenly Susan
Suddenly Susan
Suddenly Susan is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The show takes place at The Gate, a fictitious magazine which is based in San Francisco. Among the magazine's employees is Susan Keane , who always has been cared for by someone else...

.

Early life

Nelson was born in Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...

, the son of Merle (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....

 Royte), a court mediator and former member of the Maine state legislature, and Leonard Nelson, a corporate lawyer. His family is Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

 and his father was the first Jewish president of the Portland Symphony Orchestra
Portland Symphony Orchestra
The Portland Symphony Orchestra, established in 1923 in Portland, Maine, is a fully professional symphony that is recognized as being one of the top orchestras of its size in the country. The orchestra performs a wide variety of concerts, frequently featuring guest artists, at the Merrill...

. He has two sisters, Eve and Julie. He went to school at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire
Concord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....

 and Waynflete School
Waynflete School
Waynflete School is a private, coeducational, college preparatory day school for early childhood education to twelfth grade, in Portland, Maine. Established in 1898, it is one of three independent private schools in the greater Portland area....

 in Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...

, and studied at Haverford College
Haverford College
Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States, a suburb of Philadelphia...

 in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, leaving during his sophomore year. He subsequently moved to Manhattan to study acting with Stella Adler
Stella Adler
Stella Adler was an American actress and an acclaimed acting teacher, who founded the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City and the The Stella Adler Academy of Acting in Los Angeles with long-time protege Joanne Linville, who continues to teach and furthers Adler's legacy...

.

Career

Nelson was one of the 1980s "Brat Pack", starring in such films as Joel Schumacher
Joel Schumacher
Joel T. Schumacher is an American film director, screenwriter and producer.-Early life:Schumacher was born in New York City, the son of Marian and Francis Schumacher. His mother was a Swedish Jew, and his father was a Baptist from Knoxville, Tennessee, who died when Joel was four years old...

's St. Elmo's Fire
St. Elmo's Fire (film)
St. Elmo's Fire is a 1985 American coming-of-age film directed by Joel Schumacher. The film, starring Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Mare Winningham, is a prominent movie of the Brat Pack genre, and revolves around a group of friends that have...

and John Hughes' The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club is a 1985 American teen drama film written and directed by John Hughes. The storyline follows five teenagers as they spend a Saturday in detention together and come to realize that they are all deeper than their respective stereotypes.-Plot:The plot follows five students at...

(in which he played rebel John Bender), as well as providing the voice of Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime
Rodimus
Rodimus is the name of a fictional character from the various Transformers universes. Rodimus is a young Autobot and succesor to Optimus Prime. He was formerly known as Hot Rod, but was reformatted as Rodimus Prime by the Matrix of Leadership and became the leader of the Autobots...

 in The Transformers: The Movie
The Transformers: The Movie
The Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated feature film based on the animated series of the same name. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986 and in the UK on December 5, 1986....

. He also starred in a film titled Making the Grade
Making the Grade (film)
Making the Grade is an American film which was released in 1984. It was directed by Dorian Walker and written by Charles Gale and Gene Quintano. It was filmed at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.-Synopsis:...

and co-starred alongside a young Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...

 in the road-trip film Fandango
Fandango (1985 film)
Fandango is a 1985 American film directed by Kevin Reynolds.It was originally a 30-minute black and white student film titled "Proof" made by Reynolds while he was attending USC film school. It was a parody of Greek life at his alma mater Baylor University...

. He also started work on a musical entitled Rob Hanley: Sutton Trust Warrior, but a lack of funding meant the project was ceased in preproduction.

Following his role in The Breakfast Club, several of Nelson's films performed poorly at the box office, including Blue City
Blue City (film)
Blue City is a 1986 drama film based on the 1947 Ross Macdonald novel of the same name about a young man who returns to a corrupt small town in Florida to avenge the death of his father...

(co-starring Breakfast Club alumna Ally Sheedy
Ally Sheedy
Alexandra Elizabeth "Ally" Sheedy is an American film and stage actress, as well as the author of two books. She is best known for her roles in the Brat Pack films The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire.-Early life:...

) and From the Hip
From the Hip (film)
From the Hip, is a 1987 comedy film directed by Bob Clark from a screenplay by Bob Clark and David E. Kelley. The film stars Judd Nelson, Elizabeth Perkins and John Hurt. Nelson's performance earned him a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actor....

, 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
Gina Gershon
Gina L. Gershon is an American film, television and stage actress, singer and author, known for her roles in the films Cocktail , Showgirls , Bound , Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back , Face/Off , The Insider , Demonlover , Category 7: The End of the World , P.S...

. He was also in urban-themed dramas such as New Jack City
New Jack City
New Jack City is a 1991 crime film starring Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Mario Van Peebles, Judd Nelson, and Chris Rock. Snipes stars as Nino Brown, a rising drug dealer and crime lord in New York City during the crack epidemic...

and Light It Up
Light It Up (film)
Light It Up is a 1999 American drama film starring an ensemble cast that consists of R&B singer/actor Usher Raymond , Rosario Dawson, Forest Whitaker, and Vanessa L. Williams. The film was written and directed by Craig Bolotin, and produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and his wife Tracy Edmonds...

. However, in 1996, he received a starring role on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 television sitcom Suddenly Susan
Suddenly Susan
Suddenly Susan is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The show takes place at The Gate, a fictitious magazine which is based in San Francisco. Among the magazine's employees is Susan Keane , who always has been cared for by someone else...

, which saw success for a four-season run. Nelson made a cameo appearance in the 2001 film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a 2001 American action adventure comedy film written, directed by, and starring Kevin Smith as Silent Bob, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse, a growing collection of characters and settings that developed out of his cult favorite Clerks...

; the film's writer/director, Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...

, had been a long-time fan of Nelson and the "Brat Pack" films. Throughout the late 1990s and 2000s, Nelson mostly appeared in television roles such as NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

's Las Vegas and lower-budget films, although he also acted on stage.

Nelson also appeared in the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...

as a friend of a murder victim and Eleventh Hour
Eleventh Hour (U.S. TV series)
Eleventh Hour is an American science-based drama television series, which is based on the 2006 British series of the same name. The series originally ran on CBS from October 9, 2008 to April 2, 2009 and aired on Thursdays at 10 pm . The series was a joint venture between Jerry Bruckheimer...

on November 20, 2008 as a psychologist researching soldiers returning from Iraq who suffer from Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He plays the host in The Real Fear Factor, a spoof on Fear Factor
Fear Factor
Fear Factor is an American stunt/dare reality game show. The original Dutch version was called Now or Neverland. When Endemol USA and NBC adapted it to the American market in 2001, they changed the name to Fear Factor. The show pits contestants against each other in a variety of stunts for a...

, in National Lampoon's TV: The Movie
National Lampoon's TV: The Movie
National Lampoon's TV: The Movie is a comedy film that was released in 2007 and features some of the actors from the TV show Jackass.-Plot:...

. In 2009, Nelson appeared in the sequel The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day is the 2009 sequel to 1999's The Boondock Saints. Written and directed by original Boondock Saints creator Troy Duffy, the film stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus, who return to their roles, as well as several of the other actors from the first...

.

More recently, he portrayed Father Charley Lock on Brookwood Sleazebags, a pilot he did for HBO. Nelson also reprised his role of Rodimus Prime from the 1986 Transformers film for the newest Transformers television series, Transformers Animated.

Nelson appeared at the 2010 Academy Awards to pay tribute to late film director John Hughes along with other cast members of Hughes' films.

Popular culture

Judd Nelson is frequently referenced in relation to the eighties due to the popularity of his films.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1982 Rock 'n' Roll Hotel Rocker Johnny
1984 Making the Grade
Making the Grade (film)
Making the Grade is an American film which was released in 1984. It was directed by Dorian Walker and written by Charles Gale and Gene Quintano. It was filmed at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.-Synopsis:...

Eddie Keaton
1985 The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club is a 1985 American teen drama film written and directed by John Hughes. The storyline follows five teenagers as they spend a Saturday in detention together and come to realize that they are all deeper than their respective stereotypes.-Plot:The plot follows five students at...

John Bender MTV Silver Bucket of Excellence (2005)
St. Elmo's Fire
St. Elmo's Fire (film)
St. Elmo's Fire is a 1985 American coming-of-age film directed by Joel Schumacher. The film, starring Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Mare Winningham, is a prominent movie of the Brat Pack genre, and revolves around a group of friends that have...

Alec Newbary
Fandango
Fandango (1985 film)
Fandango is a 1985 American film directed by Kevin Reynolds.It was originally a 30-minute black and white student film titled "Proof" made by Reynolds while he was attending USC film school. It was a parody of Greek life at his alma mater Baylor University...

Phil Hicks, Groover
1986 The Transformers: The Movie
The Transformers: The Movie
The Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated feature film based on the animated series of the same name. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986 and in the UK on December 5, 1986....

Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime
Rodimus
Rodimus is the name of a fictional character from the various Transformers universes. Rodimus is a young Autobot and succesor to Optimus Prime. He was formerly known as Hot Rod, but was reformatted as Rodimus Prime by the Matrix of Leadership and became the leader of the Autobots...

voice
Blue City
Blue City (film)
Blue City is a 1986 drama film based on the 1947 Ross Macdonald novel of the same name about a young man who returns to a corrupt small town in Florida to avenge the death of his father...

Billy Turner
From the Hip
From the Hip (film)
From the Hip, is a 1987 comedy film directed by Bob Clark from a screenplay by Bob Clark and David E. Kelley. The film stars Judd Nelson, Elizabeth Perkins and John Hurt. Nelson's performance earned him a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actor....

Robin 'Stormy' Weathers
1987 Billionaire Boys Club
Billionaire Boys Club (film)
Billionaire Boys Club is a two-part TV movie that aired on NBC in 1987. It told the story of the Billionaire Boys Club, and its founder, Joe Hunt, who was convicted in 1987 of murdering con-man Ron Levin. The film was written Gy Waldron and directed by Marvin J. Chomsky.-Cast:The film starred Judd...

Joe Hunt
1989 Relentless
Relentless (1989 film)
Relentless is a 1989 American crime film directed by William Lustig and starring Judd Nelson, Robert Loggia and Leo Rossi. The film follows two LAPD officers on a hunt for an ex-cop turned serial killer....

Arthur 'Buck' Taylor
1990 Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes Pete Dunham television film
1991 New Jack City
New Jack City
New Jack City is a 1991 crime film starring Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Mario Van Peebles, Judd Nelson, and Chris Rock. Snipes stars as Nino Brown, a rising drug dealer and crime lord in New York City during the crack epidemic...

Nick Peretti
The Dark Backward
The Dark Backward
The Dark Backward is a 1991 satirical comedy film directed and written by Adam Rifkin.-Plot summary:A man pursues stand-up comedy encouraged by his fellow garbage man. Though his friend, who accompanies him on accordion, continues to tell him how great he is, he actually stinks...

Marty Malt
1992 Primary Motive Andrew Blumenthal
What's Cookin Gaston Tales from the Crypt
1993 Conflict of Interest
Conflict of Interest (film)
Conflict of Interest is a 1993 independent film directed by Gary Davis.-Plot:Gideon is the owner of a heavy-metal-cafe on the edge of the city...

Gideon
Entangled David
1994 Every Breath Jimmy
Hail Caesar
Hail Caesar (1994 film)
Hail Caesar is a 1994 American heavy metal comedy film directed by Anthony Michael Hall and starring Hall, Robert Downey, Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Judd Nelson, and Bobbie Phillips.-Plot:...

Prisoner One
Airheads
Airheads
Airheads is a 1994 American comedy film written by Rich Wilkes and directed by Michael Lehmann. It stars Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi and Adam Sandler as a band of loser musicians called "The Lone Rangers" who take a radio station hostage, just so that their song would get played on the radio...

Jimmie Wing
Flinch Harry Mirapolsky
Blindfold: Acts of Obsession
Blindfold: Acts of Obsession
Blindfold: Acts of Obsession is a 1994 erotic television film directed by Lawrence L. Simeone.-Production:The movie contains several explicit nude and sex scenes. Shannen Doherty's character appeared several times nude. While filming in 1993, Doherty and Judd Nelson started an affair and even got...

Dr. Jannings television film
Caroline at Midnight
Caroline at Midnight
Caroline at Midnight is a 1994 romantic/thriller film, written by Travis Rink and directed by Scott McGinnis.- Plot :Victoria is a dealer. She is playing a dangerous game. She is playing into the hands of her husband and his partner, who are dirty cops...

Phil Gallo
1995 Circumstances Unknown Paul Kinsey television film
Blackwater Trail Matt
1996 For a Few Lousy Dollars Hitman
Suddenly Susan
Suddenly Susan
Suddenly Susan is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The show takes place at The Gate, a fictitious magazine which is based in San Francisco. Among the magazine's employees is Susan Keane , who always has been cared for by someone else...

Jack Richmond
1997 Steel
Steel (film)
Steel is a 1997 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character John Henry Irons, who first appeared in 1993 during the Reign of the Supermen! storyline in the Superman comic book titles. The film stars Shaquille O'Neal as Irons and his alter ego Steel, Annabeth Gish as his wheelchair...

Nathaniel Burke
1999 Mr. Rock 'n' Roll: The Alan Freed Story Alan Freed television film
Light It Up
Light It Up (film)
Light It Up is a 1999 American drama film starring an ensemble cast that consists of R&B singer/actor Usher Raymond , Rosario Dawson, Forest Whitaker, and Vanessa L. Williams. The film was written and directed by Craig Bolotin, and produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and his wife Tracy Edmonds...

Ken Knowles
2000 Endsville Rufus The Buck-Toothed Sluggard
Falcon Down
Falcon Down
Falcon Down was an action film from 2000 directed by Philip J. Roth and starring Dale Midkiff, William Shatner, Judd Nelson, Jennifer Rubin and Cliff Robertson.-Story:DVD synopsis: The biggest U.S...

Harold Peters
Cabin by the Lake
Cabin by the Lake
Cabin by the Lake is a black comedy/horror TV movie released in 2000. It tells the story of Stanley, played by Judd Nelson, a script writer who begins killing girls for research for a movie he is writing, where the villain does the same thing.-Plot:...

Stanley television film
The Spiral Staircase
The Spiral Staircase (2000 film)
The Spiral Staircase is a 2000 television film remake of the 1946 film The Spiral Staircase based on Ethel Lina White's novel Some Must Watch...

Phillip Warren television film
The New Adventures of Spin and Marty: Suspect Behavior Jack Hulka television film
2001 Strange Frequency Martin Potter television film
Lost Voyage Aaron Roberts television film
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a 2001 American action adventure comedy film written, directed by, and starring Kevin Smith as Silent Bob, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse, a growing collection of characters and settings that developed out of his cult favorite Clerks...

Sheriff
Return to Cabin by the Lake Stanley television film
Dark Asylum Quitz
The Cure for Boredom Max
2002 Cybermutt
Cybermutt
Cybermutt is a 2002 sci-fi comedy that was made for Animal Planet as part of a trio of movies for the cable channel called “Animal Tales.” Cybermutt is a fictional golden retriever.-Plot:...

Alex television film
Deceived Jack Jones
Santa Jr. Darryl Bedford television film
2003 White Rush
White Rush
-Cast:*Judd Nelson ... Brian Nathanson*Louis Mandylor ... Chick*Sandra Vidal ... Solange*Deborah Zoe ... Arlene Gelb*Santino Ramos ... Gang Member...

Brian Nathanson
2004 The Freediver Ziad
2005 Lethal Eviction Shep
The Lost Angel Father Brian
Three Wise Guys
Three Wise Guys
The Three Wise Guys is a 2005 USA movie, directed by Robert Iscove and starring Eddie McClintock, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Judd Nelson, Nicholas Turturro, Roddy Piper, Tom Arnold and Katey Sagal. This Christmas movie is a comedy about a the mistress of the owner of Royal Crown casino in Las Vegas, and her...

George television film
2006 Black Hole Eric television film
2007 Netherbeast Incorporated
Netherbeast Incorporated
Netherbeast Incorporated is an independent film directed by Dean Ronalds and written by Bruce Dellis. It is an undead office comedy concerning a telephone company in Arizona staffed entirely by flesh-eating, vampire-like employees who refer to themselves as "Netherfolk." Historical figures such as...

Steven P.D. Landry
Nevermore
Nevermore (film)
-Plot synopsis:The movie stars Judd Nelson as a wealthy but unstable hermit who is convinced he will soon become insane much as his father did; his father actually did go insane and murdered Nelson's character's mother....

Jonathon Usher
The Kidnapping Glen television film
2008 The Caretaker Ella's dad
Infected Malcolm Burgess television film
The Day the Earth Stopped
The Day the Earth Stopped
The Day the Earth Stopped is a 2008 direct-to-DVD science fiction film made by American studio The Asylum, directed by and starring C. Thomas Howell...

Charlie
2009 Dirty Politics Billy
Transformers Animated Rodimus Prime voice; one episode
A Single Woman
A Single Woman (film)
A Single Woman is a 2009 film made by Nevada Shakespeare Company and Heroica Films. It was directed by Kamala Lopez and produced by Cameron Crain, Richard Shelgren and Kamala Lopez. The screenplay was by Jeanmarie Simpson based on her play with the same title.-Artists:The film stars Jeanmarie...

Jewish reporter completed
Little Hercules in 3-D Kevin completed
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day is the 2009 sequel to 1999's The Boondock Saints. Written and directed by original Boondock Saints creator Troy Duffy, the film stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus, who return to their roles, as well as several of the other actors from the first...

Concezio Yakavetta
2010 Psych
Psych
Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts...

Dr. Reidman guest star (episode Death Is in the Air)
Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...

Chris Guest Star
Endure Emory Lane post-production
Brookwood Sleazebags Father Charley Lock post-production
2011 " Cancel Christmas" Santa / Chris Frost television film

External links

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