Austin Nichols

Austin Nichols (born April 24, 1980) is an American actor and director, known for his role as Julian Baker in The CW drama series One Tree Hill. He is also known for his roles in the films The Day After Tomorrow and Wimbledon. He starred as John Monad in the HBO drama series John from Cincinnati, and portrayed Spencer Monroe in the AMC horror drama series The Walking Dead.

Early life Nichols was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and moved to Austin, Texas before his first birthday. His father, David Nichols, is a radiologist, and his mother, Kay (née Vermeulen), was a professional trick water skier. Kay was a national champion ten times and an international champion once. He has one older sister, Ashley. Nichols began competitive water skiing from the age of two. He represented the United States junior water ski team in the Pan-American Championships in 1997, and was also on the United States junior Olympic water skiing team. At age thirteen, he was ranked third in the world. Nichols had intended to become a professional water skier until he injured his shoulder in Florida, and was forced to give up the sport. Nichols' interest in acting was sparked when he was fifteen and began to take acting lessons. He moved to Los Angeles after high school. Nichols initially wished to attend the University of Texas, but moved to Los Angeles after his signing and enrolled at the University of Southern California, graduating in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. One critic wrote that Nichols "transforms himself from a cardboard jock and frat boy caricature to a likeable vulnerable human being with surprising sensibilities." Aguirre commended Nichols as a "stellar talent" able to play his character "with total abandon to self ego."

Commercial and critical success 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 film received negative reviews but was a box office success. Also in 2004, he appeared in Wimbledon, opposite Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany. The film was well received by critics, though it was only a mild success at the U.S. 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. Cash 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 this success, Nichols then had a minor role in an obscure and panned 2005 film, Thanks to Gravity. Nichols followed this with short guest spots on episodes of Pasadena and Surface, before being cast in a successful 2006 film, Glory Road. Glory Road, directed by James Gartner and starring Josh Lucas, is a film based on the true story of the 1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, in which Coach Don Haskins led a team with an all-black starting lineup, a first in NCAA history. Nichols played one of the few white players on the team; he trained heavily for the role and had to master basketball as it was played in the 1960s, saying "I'd never been so sore in my life."

The House of Usher and beyond Nichols' next film was the 2006 thriller The House of Usher, directed by Hayley Cloake, and based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe. He played the disturbed Roderick Usher, who was described by Nichols as a "twisted, terminally ill, fucked-up guy". 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. Nichols took up surfing and practiced every day for three months for this role.

In 2007, Nichols appeared in a few episodes of the NBC drama series Friday Night Lights, before being cast as Julian Baker in The CW's teen drama One Tree Hill. He was upgraded to series regular for the seventh season. He directed two episodes of the series including the seventh episode of the ninth and last season. In 2013, Austin landed the role of Tommy Wheeler in the Showtime series Ray Donovan. Nichols then had a recurring role as Spencer Monroe in AMC's horror series The Walking Dead, before being promoted to a series regular. He will recur as Sam Loomis in the fifth and final season of A&E's drama-thriller series Bates Motel.

In 2024, Nichols starred in the Lifetime film Gaslit By My Husband: The Morgan Metzer Story as Rodney Metzer.

Personal life Alongside his acting career, Nichols maintains a strong interest in cinema. He keeps a log of every film he sees. He said "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. He especially admires Hal Ashby, Sam Fuller, and John Ford.

He was previously in an on and off relationship with One Tree Hill co-star Sophia Bush from 2006 to 2012 and took the role of Julian Baker in the series to be closer to her. He also dated the actress Chloe Bennet from 2013 to 2017 after meeting on the set of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. where he played her ex-boyfriend, Miles.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role NotesRef. 1999 Durango Kids Sammy 2001 Holiday in the Sun Griffen Grayson Direct-to-video 2003 The Utopian Society Justin Mathers 2004 The Day After Tomorrow J.D. Wimbledon Jake Hammond 2005 Thanks to Gravity Alex Ford 2006 Glory Road Jerry Armstrong Lenexa, 1 Mile Shane Bolin The House of Usher Roderick Usher Love & Debate Alex 2007 Luz del mundo Neal Cassady Short film 2008 The Informers Martin 2009 The True-Love Tale of Boyfriend & Girlfriend Girlfriend Short film 2010 Beautiful Boy Cooper Stearns Unthinkable Bomb Disposal Expert 2012 LOL Mr. Ross 2013 Parkland Emory Roberts We Can’t Help You Boss Short film 2014 Stroker Stroker Short film; also director 2015 Nostradamus Harry Fisher Short film; also executive producer 2016 Lawless Range Tommy Donnelly 2018 The Iron Orchard Dent Paxton 2021 Masquerade Daniel 2022 Match Ian 2024 The Six Triple Eight Collins 2025 I Know What You Did Last Summer Pastor Judah The Long Shot director

Television Year Title Role NotesRef. 1999 Sliders Seth Episode: "The Great Work" Odd Man Out Lyle Episode: "Punch Line" 2001 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Adam Walkey Episode: "Sounds of Silence" Family Law James Perliss Episode: "Sacrifices" Pasadena Charlie Darwell Recurring role; 4 episodes Watching Ellie Joe Episode: "Junk" 2002 Wolf Lake Scott Nichols Episode: "If These Wolves Could Talk" Six Feet Under Kyle / Tall Stoner Guest role; 2 episodes 2003 She Spies Fake College Guy Episode: "Learning to Fly" 2005 Quarterlife Charlie Television film Surface Jackson Holden Recurring role; 4 episodes 2006 CSI: Miami Patrick Wilder Episode: "Fade Out" Deadwood Morgan Earp Guest role; 2 episodes 2007 John from Cincinnati John Monad Main role; 10 episodes Friday Night Lights Noah Barnett Recurring role; 2 episodes 2008–2012 One Tree Hill Julian Baker Recurring role (season 6), Main role (seasons 7-9); 71 episodes 2009 Prayers for Bobby Ed Griffith Television film 2011 Five Edward Television film 2013 The Mob Doctor Luke Harris Guest role; 3 episodes Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Miles Lydon Episode: "Girl in the Flower Dress" 2013–2016, 2019 Ray Donovan Tommy Wheeler Recurring role (seasons 1-2), Guest role (seasons 3-4, 7); 9 episodes 2014 The Temp Agency The Temp Television mini-series; also executive producer 2015–2016 The Walking Dead Spencer Monroe Recurring role (season 5), Main role (seasons 6-7); 15 episodes 2017 Bates Motel Sam Loomis Recurring role; 6 episodes 2019 The Village Ethan Guest role; 2 episodes 2019 This Close Shep Recurring role; 3 episodes 2021 Walker Clint West Recurring role; 8 episodes 2022 Minx Billy Brunson Guest role; 3 episodes 2024 Gaslit By My Husband: The Morgan Metzer Story Rodney Metzer Television film 2026 Virgin River Dr Eli Kelly Guest role (season 7); 2 episodes