Biography for
Nick Nolte More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

8 February 1941, Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Birth Name

Nicholas King Nolte

Height

6' 1" (1.85 m)

Mini Biography

Nick Nolte was born in Omaha, Nebraska and began his career on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse and in regional theatre productions. His breakthrough role was in the TV mini-series "Rich Man, Poor Man" (1976), playing the role of "Tom/Tommy Jordache". Nick Nolte said that when he played a young man in the early scenes of the project, he weighed about 160 pounds. When he played a middle aged man in the later scenes, he weighed over 180 pounds.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Tak

Spouse

Rebecca Linger	(19 February 1984 - 1994) (divorced) 1 child
Sharyn Haddad	(10 March 1978 - 1983) (divorced)
Sheila Page	(1966 - 1970) (divorced) 2 stepchildren

Trivia

He, along with Christopher Walken, were both considered for the role of Han Solo in Star Wars (1977).

In 1962, Nolte was given five years probation for selling fake draft cards.

In 1978 Karen Ecklund, his girlfriend of 5 years, sued him for community property and support.

Nolte gained 50 pounds for his role in Q & A (1990).

Born at 7:00pm-CST.

Lives in Malibu, California.

Father of Brawley Nolte.

Nolte was a heavy drinker until 1990. When Katharine Hepburn accused him of falling down drunk in every gutter in town, he replied: "I've got a few to go yet."

Chosen as People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive. [1992]

In September 2002, he checked himself into Silver Hill Hospital in Connecticut for counselling after he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Malibu, CA a few days earlier. Tests later showed that he was under the influence of GHB, the "date rape" drug.

12 December 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 counselling with random testing required.

Attended Westside High School in Omaha, Nebraska.

Attended Kingsley Elementary School in Waterloo, Iowa

Is of German, Swedish, Irish and Italian descent.

His career started in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Eleanor Moore Agency as a model for print ads.

His paternal grandfather was a German farmer with a farm in Iowa.

His father, Frank Nolte, was an irrigation pump salesman. His father was also an All-American candidate at Iowa State in 1934. His mother, Helen Nolte, was a department store buyer. He has an older sister, Nancy, who is the executive for Red Cross.

Turned down the role of Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

Was supposed to host "Saturday Night Live" (1975) back in 1982 as part of the promotional tour for 48 Hrs. (1982), which was the film debut of then "Saturday Night Live" (1975) star Eddie Murphy, but fell ill at the last minute and had to drop out, so Murphy hosted in his place.

Was considered for the role of Superman/Clark Kent in Superman (1978).

There is a long-standing misconception that Dr. Charles Nolte, professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota Department of Theatre Arts and Dance, is Nick Nolte's father.

Visited Sarajevo Film Festival (Bosnia, 8/2006)

#1 of VH1's "40 Most Shocking Celebrity Mugshots" - had a Hawaiin shirt and a bed-head.

Father, with girlfriend Clytie Lane, of a girl named Sophie Lane born on October 3th 2007 in Los Angeles. The girl weighed seven pounds thirteen ounces.

Director Keith Gordon took a one-day role in I Love Trouble (1994) to personally ask Nick Nolte to read the script for Mother Night (1996), after being initially dismissed by Nolte's agent.

He eagerly pursued the role of Cpt. Willard in Apocalypse Now (1979). When Harvey Keitel was fired, Nolte thought he had the part, but Coppola gave it to Martin Sheen.

Considered for the lead in The Thing (1982).

Considered for the role of John Rambo in First Blood (1982).

Good friend of Jeff Bridges, Gary Busey and Don Johnson.

Was cast in Pride and Glory (2008), but just before shooting began, an old knee injury flared up from his footballing days and he had to drop out.

Nolte's father, Franklin A. Nolte, was an All-American candidate at Iowa State in 1934. He served in the Pacific Theater in World War II, with the elite US Marine Raiders. When he was discharged, he went home to his family, but according to Nick Nolte, he was a different man and didn't speak often. Nolte consulted his father while preparing for Who'll Stop the Rain (1978) where he played a Vietnam veteran.

Was considered for the role of Rick Deckard in Blade Runner (1982), one of three roles that ultimately went to Harrison Ford.

Has shot films in over 14 countries. [2009]

Was considered for the role of Jeffrey Goines in Twelve Monkeys (1995).

Personal Quotes

[at the 2000 Cannes film festival, of the "obscene" amounts being paid to actors] It's sick. I want nothing to do with it.

Early on I decided that I was going to lie to the press. The best approach to talking about my personal life was to lie.

I've made a lot of mistakes and I don't regret any of them. Sometimes that's the only way you learn.

America is in a difficult position right now. It has so much wealth, it has become obese and gluttonous. It will change but it has to get through this time now. It's not that I wish I was not from America. It just goes through these peculiar times. I could live anywhere. But I wouldn't want to abandon a country just because it's being silly. I'll do what we did in 1968, and try and change it and get some sense into it.

There's nothing in the United States to do except the independents. Certainly not in the studios. It's a situation where films are made for $100m and they knock out all competition. Their audiences are eight to 20. It feels silly being a 60-plus year-old man in those films, which are basically cartoons and high technology.

You convince yourself you can fix the screenplay, because there's a lot of money involved. But you can never make it work. If the script has a hole in it, it will always have that hole.

I didn't stay in a popular vein. I never really got stamped like that. I worked very hard to keep changing my image.

There's an understanding about addiction. It's just learning about yourself. Either things are tough and you detach yourself or it becomes an experiment and a lifestyle. The thing about addiction is that you don't feel things. It's about cutting the pain off, whether it's physical or psychological.

There's always a bit of catharsis in film-making in general, in the arts. We're really all alone. We can't ever get inside another person's spirit, and see the world they do. So we are alone in that sense. The only way we have to communicate feelings is through words. I became obsessed about that.

If you feel you have a film that's valid, you stick your ass on the line.

I never felt comfortable in real life very well. It's always been an awkward kind of thing for me and so when I hit the stage I just sensed freedom. I sensed here's a place that I can have all the experiences of life and not feel uncomfortable about it.

Salary

Investigating Sex (2001)	$0
48 Hrs. (1982)	$2,000,000

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