Judd Nelson

Judd Asher Nelson (born November 28, 1959) is an American actor. His roles include Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime in The Transformers: The Movie, John Bender in The Breakfast Club, Alec Newbury in St. Elmo's Fire, Alex in Cybermutt, Joe Hunt in Billionaire Boys Club, Nick Peretti in New Jack City, Billy Beretti in Empire, and Jack Richmond in the television series Suddenly Susan.

Early life Nelson was born in Portland, Maine, the son of Merle (née Royte), a court mediator and former member of the Maine House of Representatives, and Leonard Nelson, a corporate lawyer. He grew up in a Conservative Jewish home, although his family did not keep kosher. His father was the first Jewish president of the Portland Symphony Orchestra. He has two sisters, Eve and Julie. He studied at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, leaving during his sophomore year. He subsequently moved to Manhattan to study acting with Stella Adler. A subsequent article in New York magazine, which focused primarily on the success of these films, resulted in the term "Brat Pack" being coined.

In 1986, Nelson provided the voice of Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime in The Transformers: The Movie and teamed up with Breakfast Club alumna Ally Sheedy for a third time in Blue City. He also provided narration for Bill Couturie's Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam, a critically acclaimed war documentary that featured a cast including Tom Berenger, Robert De Niro, Willem Dafoe, and Matt Dillon. Film critic Roger Ebert praised the documentary, and it maintains a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

He starred opposite Burt Reynolds in the ABC Afterschool Special Shattered If Your Kid's On Drugs, which also featured Megan Follows and Dermot Mulroney. In 1987, he starred in the Bob Clark courtroom comedy From the Hip, which co-starred John Hurt and Elizabeth Perkins; he also provided a stand-out performance in Billionaire Boys Club, a courtroom thriller based on actual events; his performance earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor in a Mini-Series. In late 1988, he played Konstantin in Chekhov's The Seagull directed by Charles Marowitz at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, earning praise, as did the entire production.

Nelson closed the 1980s with the William Lustig thriller, Relentless (1989), in which he plays a Los Angeles serial killer hunted by two police officers (Robert Loggia and Leo Rossi); he provided a cameo in the Adam Rifkin road film Never on Tuesday (1989) along with Nicolas Cage, Cary Elwes, Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen; and appeared in Tommy Chong's Far Out Man (1989) with Rae Dawn Chong and C. Thomas Howell.

Key TV roles in the 1980s included Moonlighting (1986) – episode "Camille" – in which he played a police officer opposite Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis.

Nelson began the 1990s with a starring role opposite Max von Sydow in the World War II drama Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes (1990). The film focused on the horror of the Hiroshima bombing. It co-stars Mako Iwamatsu and Pat Morita. In the Fall of 1990, he appeared on stage in Chicago and New York in Jules Feiffer's Carnal Knowledge with Jon Cryer. He then worked for a second time with Adam Rifkin, this time starring in The Dark Backward (1991) with Bill Paxton. This quirky comedy featured fellow actor Rob Lowe, as well as Lara Flynn Boyle, James Caan, and Wayne Newton. Nelson plays the worst comedian in stand-up comedy history.

In 1991, he had a starring role in the Mario Van Peebles-directed New Jack City, an urban gangster film with Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Vanessa A. Williams, and Chris Rock. The film was a commercial success. He then had a special guest appearance in the HBO TV series Tales from the Crypt – on the episode What's Cookin (1992) – with Christopher Reeve and Meat Loaf, followed by a starring role with Richard Jordan in the thriller Primary Motive (1992), and a similar role in Entangled (1993) opposite Pierce Brosnan, which was set in Paris.

In 1994, Nelson appeared with Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, Chris Farley, and Adam Sandler in the comedy Airheads, with Gina Gershon in the psychological thriller Flinch, and with then partner Shannen Doherty in the thriller Blindfold: Acts of Obsession. Nelson wrote, produced, and starred in the thriller Every Breath in which he co-starred with Joanna Pacula. He headlined the Australian thriller, Blackwater Trail (1995), with Peter Phelps. He had a starring role on the NBC television sitcom Suddenly Susan (1996), which saw success for a four-season run. He had a starring role in the Shaquille O'Neal film Steel (1997), which became a commercial flop.

Nelson wrapped up the 1990s with another urban gangster thriller, Light It Up (1999), which featured an ensemble cast including R&B singer/actor Usher Raymond (in his first leading role), Rosario Dawson, Forest Whitaker, and Vanessa L. Williams. He played Alan Freed in the latter's life story, Mr. Rock 'N' Roll: The Alan Freed Story (1999) opposite Mädchen Amick and Paula Abdul.

Nelson appeared in such TV series as The Outer Limits (2000), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2006), CSI: NY (2007), Las Vegas (2007), Eleventh Hour (2008) as a psychologist researching soldiers returning from Iraq who suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder, Psych (2010), and a recurring role in Two and a Half Men (2010) with Charlie Sheen.

Other film credits include the psychological thriller Cabin by the Lake (2000), its sequel Return to Cabin by the Lake (2001), and a cameo appearance in the 2001 film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back; the film's writer-director, Kevin Smith, had been a long-time fan of Nelson and the "Brat Pack" films. In 2002, he co-starred with Lauren Holly in Santa Jr. and reprised his role as John Bender in an episode of Family Guy (2007). Later, Nelson reprised his role of Rodimus Prime in Transformers Animated (2009) and appeared in The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (2009), the latter with Julie Benz, Billy Connolly, Sean Patrick Flanery, and Peter Fonda.

He portrayed Father Charley Lock on Brookwood Sleazebags (2010), a pilot he did for HBO. In 2012, Nelson played the role of Headmaster Nash in the live-action feature film Bad Kids Go to Hell, based on the graphic novel of the same name. The same year, Nelson co-wrote and starred in the short film The Spin Room: Super Tuesday. Nelson reprised his role as Rodimus in Transformers: Animated and voiced Ben 10,000, Eon, and Atomic-X in Ben 10: Omniverse.

In 2013, Nelson authored four books released on Kindle: The Power of Speech, Nine of Diamonds, The Gig, and Water Music.

Nelson played a pivotal role in the final season of Nikita.

Nelson played a lead role in the 2010 Hallmark movie, Cancel Christmas. He portrayed Chris Frost, who is also Santa Claus.

In 2019, he starred in the suspense thriller, Dead Water.

In 2021, Nelson starred as Don Cody in the Lifetime film Girl in the Basement which was inspired by the Fritzl case.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1983 Rock 'n' Roll Hotel Rocker Johnny 1984 Making the Grade Eddie Keaton 1985 The Breakfast Club John Bender Won – MTV Movie Silver Bucket of Excellence Award St. Elmo's Fire Alec Newbury Fandango Phil Hicks, Groover 1986 The Transformers: The Movie Hot Rod / Rodimus Prime Voice Blue City Billy Turner 1987 From the Hip Robin 'Stormy' Weathers 1989 Relentless Arthur 'Buck' Taylor Never on Tuesday Motorcycle Cop Direct-to-video; uncredited cameo 1990 Far Out Man Himself Cameo 1991 New Jack City Nick Peretti The Dark Backward Marty Malt 1992 Primary Motive Andrew Blumenthal 1993 Conflict of Interest Gideon Entangled David Caroline at Midnight Phil Gallo Direct-to-video 1994 Every Breath Jimmy Also writer and producer Hail Caesar Prisoner One Airheads Jimmie Wing Flinch Harry Mirapolsky 1995 Blackwater Trail Matt Curren 1996 For a Few Lousy Dollars Hitman 1997 Steel Nathaniel Burke 1999 Light It Up Ken Knowles 2000 Endsville Rufus the Buck-Toothed Sluggard Falcon Down Harold Peters 2001 Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Sheriff Dark Asylum Quitz The Cure for Boredom Max 2002 Deceived Jack Jones 2003 White Rush Brian Nathanson 2005 Lethal Eviction Shep The Lost Angel Father Brian 2006 National Lampoon's TV: The Movie Fear Factor Host / Judd 2007 Netherbeast Incorporated Steven P.D. Landry Nevermore Jonathon Usher 2008 The Caretaker Ella's Dad The Day the Earth Stopped Charlie Direct-to-video A Single Woman Jewish reporter 2009 Dirty Politics Billy Little Hercules in 3-D Kevin The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day Concezio Yakavetta 2010 The Terror Experiment (Fight or Flight) Agent Wilson Endure Emory Lane Mayor Cupcake Donald Maroni 2012 Bad Kids Go to Hell Headmaster Nash 2013 Down and Dangerous Charles Nominated – Maverick Movie Award Nurse 3D Dr. Morris 2014 Bigfoot Wars Dr. Leonard Evans Private Number Sheriff Stance Road to the Open Anger Management Therapist 2016 Stagecoach: The Texas Jack Story Sid Dalton 2018 Billionaire Boys Club Ryan Hunt 1/1 Robert 2019 Dead Water San McLean Santa Fake Seb Electric Jesus Pastor Wember Madness in the Method Miscreant Dauntless: The Battle of Midway Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance 2020 Iceland Is Best Mr. Sondquist 2022 The Most Dangerous Game Marcus Rainsford

Television Year Title Role Notes 1986 Moonlighting Policeman Episode: "Camille" 1987 Billionaire Boys Club Joe Hunt 2 episodesNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film 1990 Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes Pete Dunham Television film 1992 Tales from the Crypt Gaston Episode: "What's Cookin'" 1994 Blindfold: Acts of Obsession Dr. JanningsTelevision film 1995 Circumstances Unknown Paul Kinsey 1996–1999 Suddenly Susan Jack Richmond 71 episodes 1999 Mr. Rock 'n' Roll: The Alan Freed Story Alan Freed Television film 2000 The Outer Limits Harry Longworth Episode: "Something About Harry" Cabin by the Lake Stanley Television film The Spiral Staircase Phillip Warren The New Adventures of Spin and Marty: Suspect Behavior Jack Hulka 2001 Strange Frequency Martin Potter Return to Cabin by the Lake Stanley 2002 Lost Voyage Aaron Roberts Cybermutt Alex Santa Jr. Darryl Bedford 2005 Three Wise Guys George 2006 The Black Hole Eric CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Mick Sheridan Episode: "Time of Your Death" 2007 Las Vegas Ollie Episode: "Fleeting Cheating Meeting" The Kidnapping Glen Television film CSI: NY Cigarette Company Executive Episode: "The Ride In" Family Guy John Bender Voice; episode: "Blue Harvest" 2008 Infected Malcolm Burgess Television film 2009 Phineas and Ferb The Guru Voice; episode: "Isabella and the Temple of Sap"