Ian Nelson
Born
Ian Michael Nelson

1994 or 1995 (age 28–29)[1]
North Carolina, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active2011–present

Ian Michael Nelson (born 1994/95) is an American actor. He played the teen version of werewolf Derek Hale in the television series Teen Wolf, Eric Palmer in the drama film The Judge, and Andy in the Hulu series There's...Johnny!.

Personal life

Nelson is the son of Mark and Janie Nelson, and the youngest of four children.[2] Nelson attended Forsyth Country Day School in Lewisville, North Carolina.[1] He studied screenwriting at the University of Southern California.[3] Nelson is Jewish.[4]

Career

Nelson first became interested in the performing arts by auditioning for a school musical to impress a girl.[2] He performed in several local shows, including Piedmont Opera's Amahl and the Night Visitors.[2] In addition to acting and singing, he is a dancer, and featured in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on three occasions.[2][5] To further hone his craft, Nelson studied at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and the Stagedoor Manor performing arts school.[2] He also trained under Burgess Jenkins at Jenkins' Actors Group school.[6][1]

His first film role was a non-speaking part as the unnamed tribute from District 3 in The Hunger Games in 2012.[2][3] That was followed by Alone yet Not Alone the following year. The movie, filmed in Virginia and Tennessee, was filmed prior to The Hunger Games.[2] Throughout 2013 and 2014, Nelson appeared in Medeas, The Judge, and The Best of Me.[3] In 2015, he starred in The Boy Next Door as Kevin, the son of Jennifer Lopez and John Corbett.[3] Nelson described the experience as a "great role", stating he really enjoyed the collaboration with director Rob Cohen.[3]

Nelson's first foray into television was in the role of a teen were-wolf Derek Hale in Teen Wolf. He appeared as the teenaged version of Tyler Hoechlin's character in three episodes throughout the third and fourth seasons. He went on to appear in Criminal Minds and Comedy Bang! Bang!, before earning a recurring role as Parker in The Deleted, which aired in 2016.[3][7] Nelson stars as Andy on There's...Johnny!, a show depicting the backstage workings of The Tonight Show during Johnny Carson's tenure in the 1970s. The series was released on Hulu in November 2017.[8] He starred in the 2020 drama film Paper Spiders opposite Stefania LaVie Owen and Lili Taylor.[9]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2012 The Hunger Games District 3 Male Tribute [10]
2013 Alone yet Not Alone Young Owen Gibson [2]
Medeas Micah [11]
2014 The Judge Eric Palmer [6]
The Best of Me Jared Reynolds [3]
2015 The Boy Next Door Kevin Peterson [6]
2017 Freak Show Mark "Flip" Kelly [6]
Like Me Burt Walden [1]
2019 Summer Night Seth [1]
2020 Paper Spiders Daniel [9]

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2013–2014 Teen Wolf Teen Derek Hale 3 episodes [10]
2014 Criminal Minds William Pratt Episode: "Hashtag" [6]
2015 Comedy Bang! Bang! Craig Wilson Episode: "Simon Helberg Wears a Sky Blue Button Down and Jeans" [3]
Legends Teen Curtis Ballard Episode: "The Legend of Curtis Ballard"
2016 The Deleted Parker 7 episodes [7]
2017 Law and Order: Special Victims Unit Eric Hendricks Episode: "Decline and Fall" [6]
There's...Johnny! Andy Klavin Series lead (7 episodes) [12]

Theater

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Clodfelter, Tim (November 16, 2017). "HERE'S IAN! Winston-Salem actor stars in new Hulu series". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Clodfelter, Tim (April 26, 2012). "Winston-Salem youth actor happy over his role in 'Hunger Games'". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Clodfelter, Tim (April 26, 2015). "TV Tidbits: FCDS alumnus appearing in 'Boy Next Door'". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  4. ^ @ianmnelson95 (April 3, 2015). ""@CaitlinRiverss: @ianmnelson95 wait, you're Jewish? How did I not know this" Yes. I am Jewish :)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ Keuffel, Ken (November 26, 2009). "A Big Day in the Big Apple: Winston-Salem boy to be part of Santa finale in Macy's annual parade". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Clodfelter, Tim (March 6, 2018). "Winston-Salem actor Ian Nelson to talk at Aperture Cinema about new film with Bette Midler". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Petski, Denise (August 8, 2016). "'Orange Is The New Black's Madeline Brewer Among Seven Cast In Bret Easton Ellis' 'The Deleted'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  8. ^ Clodfelter, Tim (November 11, 2017). "TV Tidbits: Several local connections in new Hulu series". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Shampanier, Inon (September 24, 2020), Paper Spiders (Drama), Peyton List, Lili Taylor, Max Casella, David Rasche, Buffalo 8 Productions, Cranium Entertainment, Idiot Savant Pictures, retrieved November 29, 2020
  10. ^ a b Bricker, Tierney (February 23, 2016). "Teen Wolf Casting Scoop: Hunger Games Actor to Play Young Derek Hale". E!. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  11. ^ Harvey, Dennis (June 20, 2014). "Film Review: 'Medeas'". Variety. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  12. ^ Goodman, Tim (November 16, 2017). "'There's ... Johnny!': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 4, 2018.

External links

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