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Judd Nelson

Highest Rated: 89% The Breakfast Club (1985)

Lowest Rated: 0% Blue City (1986)

Birthday: Nov 28, 1959

Birthplace: Portland, Maine, USA

Judd Nelson was an American actor who carved a unique path to fame, starting out as a rebellious bad boy teen heartthrob before transitioning into a quieter life as a well-respected (if slightly prickly and eccentric) character actor. Born on November 28, 1959 in Portland, ME, Nelson was raised in one of Portland's most prominent Jewish families; his mother was a former state legislator turned court mediator, while his father was a corporate lawyer and the first Jewish president of the Portland Symphony Orchestra. Nelson attended St. Paul's School, a distinguished boarding school in Concord, NH, before studying at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. However, he dropped out during his sophomore year, and decided to move to Manhattan, where he studied acting under the tutelage of Stella Adler. By the time he was 25, Nelson was starring in films such as "Making the Grade" (1984) and "Fandango" (1985), but it would be a film about a brain, a beauty, a jock, a rebel, and a recluse all stuck together for Saturday afternoon detention that would make Nelson a bona fide phenomenon. "The Breakfast Club" (1985) was writer/director John Hughes' second feature, an instant addition into the cannon of teen movie classics. Nelson turned in a dark, hilarious, and surprisingly vulnerable performance as John Bender, the cynical, angry burnout from a broken home who becomes an unlikely paramour for Molly Ringwald's preppy prom queen, Claire Standish. The final shot of the film, a freeze frame on Nelson raising his fist in triumph as Simple Minds' "Don't You Forget About Me" blared on the soundtrack, was instantly iconic. Then, as if "The Breakfast Club" wasn't enough, four months later, Nelson's next film, "St. Elmo's Fire" (1985) was released, quickly grossing nearly $40 million on a $10 million budget. The tale of a group of friends trying to figure out their post-college lives, "St. Elmo's Fire" showed a different, more mature side of Nelson. Taken together, these two films are perhaps best remembered for introducing the world to a group of actors who would come to be known as the Brat Pack: Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. The press followed their every move with intense scrutiny for most of the 1980s, and Nelson was never shy of professing his hatred for the term Brat Pack, even once saying he wished he had punched out David Blum, the journalist who coined it in an article for New York Magazine. Instead of getting mad, though, Nelson focused on the work of acting. He made his TV debut in 1986 with a cameo on "Moonlighting" (ABC, 1983-89), starred in an acclaimed production of Chekhov's "The Seagull" in L.A., and played a sleazy, fast-talking attorney in Bob Clark's courtroom comedy "From the Hip" (1987). This character type, the slimy yet charming yuppie, would come to define many of Nelson's biggest roles in the nineties, from the crime drama "New Jack City" (1991) to the goofy heavy metal comedy "Airheads" (1994), and even his villainous turn in the superhero flop "Steel" (1997), starring Shaquille O'Neal. Nelson continued to make headway in the world of television as well, turning in a memorable cameo on "Tales From the Crypt" (HBO, 1989-1996), and taking a lead role alongside Brooke Shields on the successful sitcom "Suddenly Susan" (NBC, 1996-1999). Nelson continued to work in the new millennium, most notably turning in a cameo for Brat Pack superfan Kevin Smith in "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" (2001) and playing an Italian mob boss in the cult sequel "Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day" (2009). He even reprised the role of John Bender, albeit in cartoon form, for a bit in a 2007 episode of "Family Guy" (FOX, 1999-2002, 2005-). Nelson could next be seen playing Billy Beretti on Lee Daniels' hip-hop primetime soap "Empire" (FOX, 2015-).

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Highest rated movies

89% 92% The Breakfast Club Watchlist
81% 80% New Jack City
Watchlist
64% 39% Nurse
Watchlist
63% 77% Fandango
Watchlist
62% 88% The Transformers: The Movie Watchlist
60% 26% Down and Dangerous
Watchlist
52% 75% Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Watchlist
50% 33% Relentless
Watchlist
45% 60% The Dark Backward
Watchlist
44% 67% This Is Happening Watchlist

Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet South of Hope Street Tom (Character) - 2024
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Engagement Plan Dash Donnelly (Character) - 2024
No Score Yet No Score Yet Dante's Hotel Brayer (Character) - 2023
No Score Yet 25% The Most Dangerous Game Marcus Rainsford (Character) - 2022
No Score Yet No Score Yet A Tale of Two Guns Captain Mathias (Character) - 2022
No Score Yet 61% Girl in the Basement Don (Character) - 2021
No Score Yet 81% Electric Jesus Pastor Wember (Character) - 2020
No Score Yet 57% Iceland Is Best Mr. Sonquist (Character) - 2020
No Score Yet 40% Santa Fake Seb (Character) - 2019
No Score Yet 22% Dauntless Admirial Raymond Spruance (Character) - 2019
17% 20% Dead Water McLean (Character) - 2019
7% 34% Billionaire Boys Club Ryan Hunt (Character) - 2018
No Score Yet 97% 1/1 Robert (Character) - 2018
No Score Yet 50% From Straight A's to XXX Don (Character) - 2017
No Score Yet 35% Stagecoach: The Texas Jack Story Sid (Character) - 2016
No Score Yet 86% The Bandit Hound Manny (Character) - 2016
No Score Yet No Score Yet When Duty Calls Gary Lawton (Character) - 2016
44% 67% This Is Happening Steven (Character) - 2015
No Score Yet 60% Road to the Open Anger Management Therapist (Character) - 2014
No Score Yet 16% Private Number Sheriff Stance (Character) - 2014
No Score Yet 9% Bigfoot Wars Dr. Leonard Evans (Character) - 2014
64% 39% Nurse Dr. Morris (Character) - 2014
No Score Yet 0% Haunting of the Innocent Mr. Franklin (Character) - 2014
No Score Yet 46% Kristin's Christmas Past Glenn (Character) - 2013
60% 26% Down and Dangerous Charles (Character) - 2013
18% 71% Just 45 Minutes From Broadway Unknown (Character) - 2012
44% 35% Bad Kids Go to Hell Headmaster Nash (Character) - 2012
No Score Yet 43% Mayor Cupcake Donald Maroni (Character) - 2011
No Score Yet 64% Cancel Christmas Santa Claus/Kris Frost (Character) - 2010
No Score Yet 18% Endure Emory Lane (Character) - 2010
No Score Yet 8% The Terror Experiment Agent Wilson (Character) - 2010
No Score Yet 9% Little Hercules Kevin (Character) - 2009
23% 58% The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day Concezio Yakavetta (Character) $10.3M 2009
No Score Yet 40% A Single Woman Unknown (Character) - 2009
No Score Yet No Score Yet Dirty Politics Billy (Character) - 2009
No Score Yet 16% The Day the Earth Stopped Charlie (Character) - 2008
No Score Yet 11% The Caretaker Unknown (Character) - 2008
No Score Yet 9% Infected Malcolm Burgess (Character) - 2008
No Score Yet No Score Yet Crenshaw Nights Jared Greene (Character) - 2008
No Score Yet No Score Yet Black Friday Glen (Character) - 2007
No Score Yet 47% Netherbeast Incorporated Steven P.D. Landry (Character) - 2007
No Score Yet No Score Yet Nevermore Jonathan Usher (Character) - 2007
No Score Yet 8% The Black Hole Eric Bryce (Character) - 2006
No Score Yet 16% Lethal Eviction Shep (Character) - 2005
No Score Yet 45% Three Wise Guys George (Character) - 2005
No Score Yet 25% The Lost Angel Father Brian (Character) - 2004
No Score Yet 0% The Freediver Ziad (Character) - 2004
No Score Yet 26% White Rush Brian Nathanson (Character) - 2003
No Score Yet 60% Cybermutt Alex (Character) - 2003
No Score Yet 55% Deceived Jack Jones (Character) - 2002
No Score Yet 45% Santa Jr. Darryl Bedford (Character) - 2002
No Score Yet 33% Lost Voyage Aaron Roberts (Character) - 2001
No Score Yet 61% Strange Frequency Martin Potter (Character) - 2001
No Score Yet 17% Dark Asylum Quitz (Character) - 2001
52% 75% Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Sheriff (Character) $30.1M 2001
No Score Yet 38% Return to Cabin by the Lake Stanley Caldwell (Character) - 2001
No Score Yet 10% Falcon Down Harold Peters (Character) - 2000
No Score Yet No Score Yet Sex & Bullets Max (Character) - 2000
No Score Yet 0% The Spiral Staircase Phillip Warren (Character) - 2000
No Score Yet No Score Yet Hide and Shriek: A New Spin and Marty Adventure Jack Hulka (Character) - 2000
No Score Yet 63% Cabin by the Lake Stanley (Character) - 2000
No Score Yet 44% Mr. Rock 'n' Roll: The Alan Freed Story Alan Freed (Character) - 1999
40% 76% Light It Up Ken Knowles (Character) $5.9M 1999
8% 19% Steel Nathaniel Burke (Character) $1.7M 1997
No Score Yet No Score Yet For a Few Lousy Dollars Hitman (Character) - 1996
No Score Yet No Score Yet Blackwater Trail Matt (Character) - 1995
No Score Yet No Score Yet Circumstances Unknown Paul Kinsey (Character) - 1995
No Score Yet 13% Hail Caesar Prisoner One (Character) - 1994
29% 50% Airheads Jimmie Wing (Character) $4.9M 1994
No Score Yet 39% Blindfold: Acts of Obsession Dr. Jennings (Character) - 1994
No Score Yet 10% Entangled David (Character) - 1993
No Score Yet 44% Flinch Harry Mirapolsky (Character) - 1993
No Score Yet No Score Yet Every Breath Jimmy (Character),
Screenwriter
- 1993
No Score Yet 43% Caroline at Midnight Phil Gallo (Character) - 1993
No Score Yet 15% Conflict of Interest Gideon (Character) - 1993
No Score Yet No Score Yet Primary Motive Andrew Blumenthal (Character) - 1992
45% 60% The Dark Backward Marty Malt (Character) $7.9K 1991
81% 80% New Jack City Nick Peretti (Character) $44.1M 1991
No Score Yet 100% Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes Pete Dunham (Character) - 1990
No Score Yet 50% Far Out Man Self $71.4K 1990
50% 33% Relentless Arthur "Buck" Taylor (Character) $7.0M 1989
No Score Yet 38% Never on Tuesday Motorcycle cop (Character) - 1988
No Score Yet 74% Billionaire Boys Club Joe Hunt (Character) - 1987
30% 60% From the Hip Robin "Stormy" Weathers (Character) $7.0M 1987
62% 88% The Transformers: The Movie Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime (Voice) $5.8M 1986
0% 25% Blue City Billy Turner (Character) $6.0M 1986
No Score Yet No Score Yet Shattered: If Your Kid's on Drugs Unknown (Character) - 1986
89% 92% The Breakfast Club John Bender (Character) - 1985
63% 77% Fandango Phil Hicks (Character) - 1985
43% 67% St. Elmo's Fire Alec Newbary (Character) - 1985
No Score Yet 54% Making the Grade Eddie Keaton (Character) - 1984
No Score Yet No Score Yet Rock 'n' Roll Hotel Johnny (Character) - 1983

TV

Credit
84% 47% Empire Billy Beretti (Guest Star) 2015 2019
No Score Yet 11% The View Guest 2015
40% No Score Yet Heartbreakers Unknown (Character) 2014
85% 69% Nikita Unknown (Guest Star) 2013
31% 82% The Neighbors Unknown (Guest Star) 2013
65% 66% Two and a Half Men Chris Makelroy (Guest Star) 2010
89% 94% Psych Unknown (Guest Star) 2010
35% 67% Eleventh Hour Unknown (Guest Star) 2008
No Score Yet 64% Family Guy John Bender (Guest Voice) 2007
No Score Yet 82% CSI: New York Cigarette Company Executive (Guest Star) 2007
No Score Yet No Score Yet Las Vegas Unknown (Guest Star) 2007
No Score Yet 80% CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Unknown (Guest Star) 2006
No Score Yet No Score Yet Suddenly Susan Jack Richmond (Character) 1996-2000
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Outer Limits Harry Longworth (Guest Star) 2000
82% 90% Tales From the Crypt Unknown (Character) 1992