Overview (3)

Mini Bio (1)

Trivia (15)

Attended the St. Paul's preparatory school in Concord, New Hampshire.



Attended the prestigious Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania.





Was once engaged to Shannen Doherty

He appeared in John Parr's music video "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" (1985).



Favorite baseball team is the Boston Red Sox.



Had a Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Talluah Bighead (deceased).



Currently resides in Los Angeles, California.



His manager is Steven Siebert.



Loves to play golf, read, write and ride his motorbike.



Parents are Leonard and Merle Nelson. Has two younger sisters: Eve and Julie Nelson.



He is from an Ashkenazi Jewish family (from Russia, Poland, Romania and Lithuania).





Alumnus of Stella Adler Studio of Acting.

His 2 most notable film roles were both released in 1985 and were solar opposites characters from each other . In Breakfast Club he played a burnout stoner high school kid who many doubt (including himself) has much of a future and in St. Elmo's Fire he played an overachieving, yuppie college graduate with future political aspirations.



Personal Quotes (37)

I think that there's room for everyone. I don't think that if one person succeeds then another must fail. That's lunacy. I'm not sure what the reasons are for my philosophy, maybe it's the fact that if there are ten people doing the same job, we all know how we feel and what our high points and low points are.



My Brat Pack buddies and I didn't exactly handle celebrity very well. Success at an early age is far more difficult to handle than failure.



Remember to be as smart as you are. With failure, you just try again.



I find it very difficult to relax. I find it increasingly difficult to find outlets for my frustration.



It is a career of make-believe, of masks. We all have masks in life.



When I was in college, all the pretty women were in the theatre, so I auditioned for a play.



You can be knocked down, but it doesn't mean you're out.



I love the rehearsal process in the theatre, and the visceral sense of contact and communication with a live audience.



I put less stock in others' opinions than my own. No one else's opinions could derail me.



My first love is acting on stage. A sitcom is a hybrid of stage and film.



Young alienation, disappointment and heartache is all a part of the first real growing up that we do.



Heroes always make the right decision; I find that seldom happens in my life.



While they would have provided financial support if I had needed it, the greatest support my parents gave was emotional, psychological.



Catcher in the Rye had a profound impact on me-the idea that we all have lots of dreams that are slowly being chipped away as we grow up.



I went to acting school in New York City for two years. I studied with Stella Adler.



I am very grateful to make my living doing what I would do for free.



I like every single actor or actress in the world, because we never know what the conditions are like when they are working. I give everyone the benefit of the doubt and root for them like a psychotic sports fan.





I just couldn't go back to Susan (1996) after David Strickland 's suicide. I didn't see how we could make the show light and funny any more.

I like being a villain. Villains are more exciting.



My closest friend is canine. I have precious few close friends, and most of them are not actors.



I always thought that the badge a cop has was more like the shield that Captain America has. It's an obvious sign of good and something you'll protect other people with, but it will also protect you.





It's very easy to confuse Sean Connery with James Bond. Sometimes in the entertainment industry, people believe the cake is more real than the baker.



Ice-T was just a pleasure to work with. He was a smart gentleman.

I don't know if it matters what country you're from, size of the city you're from, urban or rural, there are people that are hurting each other everywhere.



All of the directors I've worked with I have loved and would work with again. I have no favorites.



A fancy watch, it's completely unnecessary. I just need a watch to tell the right time.



It's great to work with people that you like, any job, no matter what you do.



I like the way the old Toyotas look.



Almost anything makes me laugh, especially jokes at my own expense. And I will never, ever admit to being ticklish anywhere.



I'm involved with Recording Artists and Actors Against Drunk Driving. I'm also involved with most children's causes, because children can't help the environment they're in.



I took all the philosophy courses I could. Death is not my best subject.



I have adopted clothes from all the projects I'm in. It's really been a while since I've bought anything myself.



It's still a bottom-line business. You can be out of control, and if they want you, they will pick you. And you can be a mensch, and if you're not the product they want, you won't get it.



I don't have any blindness when it comes to my money. As an actor, you can get distracted by your work. I do keep an eye on my nest egg, if you will.





The movie that's had the most effect on me is Der weiße Hai (1975). To this day when I'm in the ocean, I'm hearing that music.