Judd Nelson is an American actor most famous for starring in the movie ‘The Transformers’. After studying acting in Manhattan, Nelson made his debut in the early 1980s with the movie ‘Rock 'n' Roll Hotel.’ The following year, he starred in the teen-comedy film ‘Making the Grade’ directed by ‘Dorian Walker.’
Nelson gained prominence in 1985 after starring in the coming-of-age comedy film ‘The Breakfast Club.’ He played the role of ‘John Bender’ in the film and won the ‘MTV Movie Silver Bucket of Excellence Award’ for his performance. Nelson also appeared in ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’ as ‘Alec Newbury’ that same year.
After this initial bout of success, he starred in several movies and TV series throughout the 1980s such as ‘The Transformers: The Movie’ (1986), ‘Moonlighting’ (1986), From the Hip (1987), ‘Billionaire Boys Club’ (1987), and ‘Never on Tuesday’ (1989).
In the 1990s, Judd Nelson continued working actively in TV and films. His most notable works from this period include ‘New Jack City’ (1991), Airheads’ (1994), and ‘Suddenly Susan’ (1996-1999). All these shows and movies were commercially successful. However, he also tasted failure as some of his films like ‘The Dark Backward’ (1991), and ‘Steel’ (1997) were both commercial flops and were panned by critics.
Nelson played his best roles in 2000s as he became a regular for several hit TV series, including ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’ (2006), ‘CSI: NY’ (2007), and ‘Two and a Half Men’ (2010). He also appeared in popular movies like ‘Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back’ (2001), ‘Return to Cabin by the Lake’ (2001), and Infected (2008). He also starred in the 2009 action-thriller film ‘The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day.’ While the movie received negative reviews from the critics, but it managed to earn back its budget. The movie also saw a limited release in 2012 and earned over $50 million.
Nelson’s movies ‘Cybermutt’ (2002), ‘White Rush’ (2003), and ‘Bad Kids Go to Hell’ (2012) fared poorly at the box office and are considered his worst movies.
Judd Nelson was last seen in the 2020 television film ‘Girl In The Basement’ where he played the character of ‘Don.’