Who is Judd Nelson?
American actor Judd Asher Nelson was born in Portland, Maine USA, on 28 November 1959, making Sagittarius his zodiac sign. He’s had roles in over 120 movies and TV series, but is probably still known best for starring as John Bender in the 1985 comedy movie “The Breakfast Club”, which John Hughes wrote and directed, and which also starred Molly Ringwald and Emilio Estevez. It follows five high school students who’ve become friends during Saturday detention, and the film won four awards.
Judd’s still today highly active in the movie industry, and is currently shooting for the upcoming movies “In-Security”, “The Downside of Bliss” and “South of Hope Street”.
Education and early life
Judd was raised in Portland alongside his sisters Julie and Eve, by their father Leonard Lenson who was a lawyer, and mother Merle (nee Royte) who’s a politician and court mediator; Judd’s family’s Jewish.
He fell in love with acting during his time at St. Paul’s School and Waynflete School, from which he matriculated in 1978; Judd appeared in a number of plays performed at both schools, and was also passionate about playing soccer as a teenager.
He continued his education at Haverford College, but quit during his second year and enrolled at Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City.
Roles in movies
Judd made his debut film appearance in the 1983 musical “Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel’, while some of his roles in the remainder of the decade were in the 1986 crime action “Blue City”, the 1988 comedy “Never on Tuesday” and the 1989 crime thriller “Relentless”.
In 1991, he portrayed Nick Peretti in the crime action “New Jack City”, directed by Mario Van Peebles, and which starred Wesley Snipes, Ice-T and Allen Payne. It follows a police detective who’s trying to bring a crime lord to justice, and the movie won one of its seven award nominations. Judd could then have been seen appearing in the 1992 thriller “Primary Motive”, the 1993 crime thriller “Entangled”, and the 1994 crime thriller “Blindfold: Acts of Obsession”.
In 1999, he played Ken Knowles in the thriller “Light It Up”, written and directed by Craig Bolotin, and which starred Usher, Forest Whitaker and Rosario Dawson; it follows a group of teenagers who want to improve the conditions at their high school, and the film was nominated for five awards.
Judd portrayed Sheriff in the critically acclaimed 2001 comedy “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back”, while some of his following notable performances were in the 2002 romantic fantasy comedy “Santa, Jr.”, the 2003 crime thriller “White Rush” and the 2005 thriller “The Lost Angel”. In 2009, he played the supporting character Concezio Yakavetta in the action thriller “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day”, which Troy Duffy wrote and directed, and which starred Billy Connolly, Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery. It follows the MacManus brothers from Ireland who’ve travelled to Boston, Massachusetts to catch those responsible for their priest’s murder.
The year 2014 saw Judd star as Sheriff Garrett Stance in the horror thriller “Private Number”, written and directed by LazRael Lison, and which also starred Hal Ozsan and Nicholle Tom; it follows a man who’s found a way to travel through time.
Judd’s three most recent movie roles have been in the western “A Tale of Two Guns”, the thriller “The Most Dangerous Game” and the family fantasy comedy “Save Christmas”, all released in 2022.
Roles in TV series
Judd made his debut TV series appearance in the 1986 episode “Camille” of the critically acclaimed mystery comedy “Moonlighting”, created by Glenn Gordon Caron, and which starred Cybill Shepherd, Bruce Willis and Allyce Beasley. It follows a detective and a former model as they’re running a private detective agency together; the series aired from 1985 through 1989, and won 19 of its 79 award nominations.
In 1987, Judd starred as Joe Hunt in both episodes of the thriller mini-series “Billionaire Boys Club”, while the year 1992 saw him play Gaston in the episode “What’s Cookin’” of the crime fantasy comedy “Tales from the Crypt”.
From 1996 through 1999, he portrayed the main character Jack Richmond in the comedy “Suddenly Susan”, created by Clyde Phillips and Steven Peterman, and which also starred Brooke Shields and Kathy Griffin. It follows Susan who’s left her fiancée at the altar, and has now begun working for her former brother-in-law’s magazine; the series won eight of its 22 award nominations.
Judd had only a couple of TV series roles in the 2000s, appearing in an episode of the horror “Strange Frequency”, the crime mystery “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”, and the crime drama “Las Vegas”.
Judd Nelson looks back at ‘The Breakfast Club’…30 years later: http://t.co/bc52W9th0F pic.twitter.com/X5JSTCSsXC
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 10, 2015
In 2017 and 2018, he voiced the lead character Hot Rod, aka Rodimus Cron, in three episodes of the short animated action mini-series “Transformers: Titans Return”, which also starred Peter Cullen and Wil Wheaton, and follows the Autobots and the Decepticons who’ve teamed up against their common enemy.
Judd’s since had only two TV series roles, voicing Rodimus Cron in six episodes of the 2018 animated action science fiction “Transformers: Power of the Primes”, and playing Billy Beretti in four episodes of the musical “Empire” from 2015 through 2019.
Other credits
Judd produced the 2003 crime thriller movie “White Rush”, and wrote the 1994 thriller film “Every Breath” and the 2012 short comedy movie “The Spin Room: Super Tuesday”.
He received special thanks for the 2000 animated action adventure movie “Heavy Metal”, and the 2016 historical documentary film “Equal Means Equal”.
Some of Judd’s most recent talk-show appearances have been in “The View”, “Bret Easton Ellis Podcast” and “Entertainment Tonight”.
Awards and nominations
Judd won a 2005 MTV Movie Silver Bucket of Excellence Award, for his performance in “The Breakfast Club”.
He was also nominated for two Razzie Awards for Worst Actor in 1987 and 1988, for “Blue City” and “From the Hip” respectively, a 1988 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture for “Billionaire Boys Club”, and a 2013 Maverick Movie Award for Best Supporting Actor: Feature, for “Down and Dangerous”.
Love life and relationships
Judd prefers to keep his love life away from media, but some details about it are still known, including that he was once married, and is today a father of three.
He was in a relationship with pornographic actress Tabitha Stevens, but the exact dates of when they were together remains undisclosed.
From 1985 through 1988, Judd was in a relationship with jewelry designer Loree Rodkin.
He married American actress, producer and director Shannen Doherty in 1991 – their divorce was finalized in 1993; Shannen’s appeared in close to 90 TV series and movies, and is perhaps still known best for starring as Prue Halliwell in the fantasy mystery series “Charmed”, which aired from 1998 through 2001.
For a couple of years, starting from 1993, Judd was in a relationship with American actress Sheila Lussier.
His daughter Mathilda was born in 2003, and his twins Roman and Adele followed in 2009, however, Judd hasn’t disclosed the name/s of his three children’s mother/s.
He seems to be unattached as of April 2023, was once married to Shannen Doherty, and has three children.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Judd’s still today passionate about sports, and is an avid golfer.
He likes to read books in his spare time; his favorite author’s George R. R. Martin, and his favorite books “A Storm of Swords”, “A Game of Thrones” and “The Winds of Winter”.
Judd loves to ride his motorbike.
He’s a huge dog-lover, and once had a pet Staffordshire Bull Terrier called Tallulah Bighead.
Judd’s a fan of Major League Baseball (MLB) and cheers for the Boston Red Sox.
He’s today living in Los Angeles, California.
Judd’s uploaded 18 pictures onto his Instagram account, and is followed by only a few over 1,500 people on the network.
His favorite actor is Keanu Reeves, while some of Judd’s favorite movies include “The Devil’s Advocate”, the trilogy “Matrix”, and “Constantine”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Judd’s age is 63. His hair and eyes are brown, he’s 5ft 10ins (1.78m) tall and weighs around 170lbs (76kgs).
Judd’s net worth’s been estimated at over $8 million, as of April 2023.
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