Nico Tortorella
Born (1988-07-30) July 30, 1988 (age 35)
Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • model
Years active2009–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2018)​
[1]
Children1

Nico Tortorella (born July 30, 1988) is an American actor and model, known for roles in films – including Scream 4, the Fox crime drama series The Following (2013–2015), and the TV Land comedy-drama series Younger (2015–2021). From 2020 to 2021, they[a] also played Felix Carlucci on the AMC series The Walking Dead: World Beyond.

Life and career

Tortorella is a native of Wilmette, Illinois, and a graduate of New Trier High School. They are of Italian descent.[4] In May 2009, The CW ordered a 13-episode first season of the drama series The Beautiful Life: TBL.[5] The series centered on a group of models sharing a residence in New York City and Tortorella portrayed the role of an up-and-coming underwear model Cole Shepard. The series premiered on September 16, 2009, to mixed reviews from critics. The CW cancelled the series after its second episode due to low ratings.[6]

In June 2009, Tortorella was announced to star in the ABC Family teen drama television series Make It or Break It,[7] where they took on the role of Razor, an aspiring singer. Tortorella temporarily left the series to pursue work on The Beautiful Life and, after that series' cancellation, returned to Make It or Break It in a recurring role. In August 2010, Tortorella made a special guest appearance in the episode "If Only..." which marked their final appearance on the series. That year, Tortorella also had a small role in the Joel Schumacher film Twelve.[8]

In June 2010, Tortorella was announced to star in the horror film Scream 4, the fourth installment of the Scream film series.[9] They portrayed Trevor Sheldon, a Woodsboro teenager whose life is in danger when school peers are killed off one by one.[10] Tortorella next appeared on the Fox serial killer drama The Following. The show was created by Kevin Williamson, who also wrote Scream 4. In 2014, Tortorella was cast as Josh, Sutton Foster's character Liza's younger lover in the TV Land comedy-drama Younger, created by Darren Star.[11] Their first leading film role was in the 2015 independent film Hunter&Game, in which they played hard-partying electronic musician Carson Lowe, which they described as a "role I was meant to play."[12] The film premiered at the LA Indie Film Fest in October 2014, where it won Best Feature and Best Director of a Feature Awards. The film had its East Coast premiere at the Art of Brooklyn Film Festival in May 2015, where it won the Best Feature award.

In September 2016, Tortorella launched the podcast The Love Bomb on the At Will Radio podcast network.[13] On May 1, 2018, Tortorella and Matteo Lane were featured on a Nancy podcast.[14]

In April 2020, Tortorella competed in RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race.[15]

Personal life

In an October 2016 interview with Vulture, Tortorella identified as bisexual.[16] In November 2017, Tortorella and Bethany C. Meyers (who they had been dating for 11 years) talked about being in a polyamorous relationship, a revelation that got them uninvited from their respective families' Thanksgiving dinners.[17] Tortorella is also demisexual.[18]

Tortorella civilly married Meyers on March 9, 2018, at a Manhattan City clerk's office before exchanging vows at St. Paul's Chapel.[19] Tortorella announced that they are gender fluid during a video collaboration with drag queen Trinity the Tuck in the same year.[20] Tortorella uses they/them pronouns.[21][3] Tortorella and Meyers have one child, a daughter, born in 2023.[22]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Twelve Tobias
2011 Scream 4 Trevor Sheldon
Trespass Jake
2013 Odd Thomas Simon Varner
2014 Hunter&Game Carson Lowe
2019 Fluidity Matt
2023 The Mattachine Family Thomas

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2009 The Beautiful Life Cole Shepherd Main role
2009–2010 Make It or Break It Razor Recurring role
2013 The Following Jacob Wells Main role (season 1)
2015–2021 Younger Josh Main role
2016 Mamma Dallas Jesse Television film
2017 Menendez: Blood Brothers Lyle Menéndez Television film
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race Themself Episode: "Tap That App"; also guest judge [23]
Trailblazer Honors Television film
2018–2019 How Far Is Tattoo Far? Themself Host[24]
2019 Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club Themself Guest
2020 RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race Themself Competitor
Legendary Themself Guest judge, episode: "Wild Wild West"
2020–2021 The Walking Dead: World Beyond Felix Carlucci Main role
2021 Cribs Themself Guest
2023 City on Fire William Main role

Music videos

Year Title Role Artist
2013 "Valentine's for One" Kissing man Forklift Comedy

Note

  1. ^ Tortorella uses they/them pronouns.[2][3]

References

  1. ^ "@nicotortorella on Instagram: "just married. for real. @bethanycmeyers and i wrote a very special piece about our wedding and unconditional love exclusively for @them -…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  2. ^ Petter, Olivia (May 8, 2018). "Nico Tortorella speaks out about exploring gender identity and using they/them pronouns". The Independent. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "'Younger' star Nico Tortorella discusses nontraditional marriage, sobriety and advocacy for LGBTQ+ community". ABC News. October 24, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  4. ^ "Wilmette's Nico Tortorella talks about his fate on The Following". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  5. ^ Calabria, Rosario T. (May 19, 2009). "The CW Picks Up The Beautiful Life, Melrose Place and Vampire Diaries; But Passes on Gossip Girl Spinoff and Cancels Privileged and The Game [Update: Reaper and 'Chris' Also Canceled". Your Entertainment Now. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  6. ^ Finke, Nikki (September 25, 2009). "First Fall TV Season Fatality: CW Cancels 'The Beautiful Life'". Deadline. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  7. ^ Fienberg, Daniel (August 24, 2009). "ABC Family stretches out Make It or Break It". Hitfix.com. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  8. ^ "Nico Tortorella More Meat for the Beast in Scream 4". Dread Central. June 13, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  9. ^ Vena, Jocelyn (July 29, 2010). "'Scream 4' Stars Rory Culkin, Nico Tortorella On Working With Original 'Scream' Cast". MTV. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  10. ^ "Another Young Teen to Solve the Riddle of 'Scream IV'". Bloody Disgusting. June 13, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  11. ^ "Younger, Darren Star's new single camera comedy to premiere Tuesday, January 13th at 10pm ET/PT on TV Land" (PDF) (Press release). TV Land. October 2, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  12. ^ "Nico Tortorella and the Heart of Hunter&Game". Teeco71. November 11, 2015. Archived from the original on May 10, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  13. ^ "The Love Bomb". At Will Radio. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  14. ^ "Nancy podcast episodes". NPR. 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  15. ^ Quinn, Dave (May 18, 2020). "RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race: See Every Star's Unrecognizable Drag Queen Transformation". People. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  16. ^ Jung, E. Alex (October 30, 2016). "Nico Tortorella Wants to Be 'The Future Man'". Vulture. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  17. ^ Fernández, Alexia (November 14, 2017). "Nico Tortorella & Partner Aren't Welcome at Family's Holiday Celebrations As They're Polyamorous". People. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  18. ^ Schmidt, Chantelle (November 8, 2018). "Nico Tortorella's Sage Advice For Exploring A Polyamorous Relationship". PEDESTRIAN.TV. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  19. ^ "Inside Nico Tortorella and Bethany Meyers' Private, Epic Wedding". Them.us. March 17, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  20. ^ Damshenas, Sam (May 17, 2018). "American actor Nico Tortorella comes out as gender fluid". Gay Times. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  21. ^ Petter, Olivia (May 8, 2018). "Nico Tortorella speaks out about exploring gender identity and using they/them pronouns". The Independent. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  22. ^ Andaloro, Angela (March 13, 2023). "Nico Tortorella and Bethany C. Meyers Welcome First Baby, Daughter Kilmer Dove, in 'Beautiful' Home Birth". People Magazine. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  23. ^ "Shania Twain, "Broad City" Stars And More Join The Judges' Panel On "Drag Race" Season 10 - NewNowNext". Newnownext.com. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  24. ^ "How Far Is Tattoo Far?". MTV. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.

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