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| Birth Name(s) : Austin Nichols |
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Full Austin Nichols Biography
Austin Nichols (born April 24, 1980) is an American television and movie actor. Nichols has appeared in guest spots on television shows such as CSI, Six Feet Under, and Deadwood. His film roles include the 2004 blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow, in which he was cast as an academic and romantic rival to Jake Gyllenhaal's protagonist. In Wimbledon, a film also released in 2004, Nichols played an arrogant American tennis pro, opposite Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany. Signed to a rare holding deal with HBO, he most recently starred in his own series, John from Cincinnati.
Nichols is the son of a 10-time water skiing champion and was raised in Austin, Texas. He became a successful competitive water skier himself, until a shoulder injury forced him to retire. Shortly afterwards, Nichols moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a career in acting.
Austin Nichols was born on April 24, 1980 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and moved to Austin, Texas before he was a year old. He was named after the Austin, Nichols distilling company, producers of Wild Turkey Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. His father, David Nichols, is a radiologist and his mother, Kay Nichols, is a professional trick water skier. Kay has been a national champion ten times and an international champion once. He has one older sister, Ashley.
In 2004, Nichols was cast as J.D., an intelligent rich kid and romantic rival to Jake Gyllenhaal's main character in the environmental blockbuster, The Day After Tomorrow. The science and script were generally panned by critics, and cast performances criticized. Also in 2004, he appeared in Wimbledon, opposite Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany. The film was well received by critics, though it only did reasonably well at the US box office. Nichols' acting as Jake Hammond, an arrogant tennis pro, was described as "effectively unlikeable". For the role, Nichols had to learn tennis from scratch; he was trained to look professional by Pat Cash, who was taken aback by Nichols' skill. Speaking of the actor's forehand shot, the coach observed: "It’s absolutely as good as anybody’s on the circuit. I swear to God. He hits it like a bullet. He’s our star pupil." By the end of their training, Nichols and Bettany were able to have rallies and play points, although some of their more intricate exchanges were computer generated.
After Glory Road, Nichols appeared in an episode of CSI:Miami and starred in Lenexa, 1 mile, a film about the disturbing secrets of five childhood friends, set during their last summer together before college. As of 2007, the creators have not announced plans to release the film.
In April 2006, Nichols guest starred in Deadwood, a HBO Western series. Shortly afterward, Nichols signed a rare holding deal with the HBO Network. In August of that year, Nichols was cast as the lead in a new series, John From Cincinnati, a surfing drama created by David Milch, who also produced Deadwood. The series began airing in June 2007, but was cancelled after one season due to poor ratings and mixed critical reviews. Nichols played John Monad, a stranger who suddenly appears in a quiet surfing town; for the role, he took up surfing and practiced every day for three months.
Austin Nichols has signed on for the Brett Easton Ellis film 'The Informers'. Filming begins in early October. Nichols will also play a teacher/guidance councillor in 5 episodes of TV show 'Friday Night Lights'.
Alongside his acting career, Nichols maintains a strong interest in cinema. He keeps a log of every film he sees: "I take it to the movies and write down who does the music, edits, directs, and how long the film is." Claire Oswalt, an ex-girlfriend, said in a 2003 interview that Nichols watches an average of 20 movies a week. Nichols himself has stated: "If I'm not working, I spend almost half my day at theaters or watching DVDs at my house." He especially admires Hal Ashby, Sam Fuller, and John Ford. In addition to his interest in film, Nichols enjoys golf, tennis, and horseback riding. Since beginning filming John from Cincinnati, he has also taken up surfing, which he finds "very therapeutic and healing".
Nichols dated artist Claire Oswalt for seven years before breaking off their engagement in 2004. The breakup was apparently bitter; he has mentioned in an interview he was living out of his car and sleeping on friends' couches for some time afterwards. Although linked to several women, including Sophia Bush, he is currently "totally available".
Nichols has been friends with fellow actor Jake Gyllenhaal since the two met on the set of The Day After Tomorrow in 2004. Nichols said in one interview, "I've learned a ton from Jake. He's a really sharp guy. He told me everything about acting, the business, girls, life." After the film was made, there were some rumors that the two were a couple, which Nichols dismissed as "all new to me" and "ridiculous".
Nichols was pulled over at 3 A.M. on August 24, 2007 in Jackson, Michigan after driving the wrong way down a one-way street in his silver Mercury Mountaineer. His blood alcohol level was a reported .10 and he was arrested for DUI. |
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