Biography
Nick was born in Wisconsin, and moved to Maryland when he was about one year old. Growing up, his first experience with acting came when he was 8 years old after seeing one of his friends perform in a local play, and he knew right away it was something he wanted to try. He started becoming involved in community theatre and performed in dozens of plays all the way through high school, where he continued to take advanced drama classes.
Simultaneously, he took a passion to music, and joined the school band as a trumpet player in 4th grade, and played with every possible school band, jazz band and professional group he could find, all the way through high school. He participated in several prestigious music programs, including two years at the renowned Summer Center For The Arts at Goucher College in Baltimore, and was even invited to play with the high school jazz ensemble while he was still in junior high. He also sang with the high school choir and elite chamber choir.
Not content to just play the trumpet, he started tinkering with his family's old upright piano that had been sitting in the garage for years, and learned to play piano without any formal training, leading eventually to forming a classic rock band with his friends, and playing many community events as the lead singer and keyboard player of the foursome. They released two albums.
After high school, he continued acting in community theatre, while also exploring other interests. His passion for music served a dual-purpose as he started a recording studio, and served as the producer and engineer for over 40 local bands. He also became a web designer for a local Internet Service Provider back when the Internet was just starting, and quickly learned the ins and outs of Internet & server technology and graphic design.
He also became actively involved with the local police department for over 4 years, receiving police training (including Hostage Negotiation Training from the FBI), as well as being selected for a full-time internship with the department's Youth Services Section (where he helped teach DARE and other programs in schools, as well as serve as a counselor in various police-sponsored after school programs and Summer camps). He made his way up through the ranks of the specialized group he worked with, eventually being promoted to Captain. He also took an interest to the other side of the public safety world, and became a Board-Certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) with the fire department, and actively worked on an ambulance for over 3 years.
In late August 2001, Nick decided to pursue his acting career full-time, and drove 3000 miles from Baltimore to Los Angeles. However, life is never supposed to be easy, and less than a year after moving to LA, he discovered he had a rare form of cancer - a tumor the size of a golf ball had taken up residence in the back of his neck. After 2 surgeries in July and August of 2002, he quickly bounced back, and returned to his acting & film career.
Throughout the years, Nick has become extremely active in the acting & filmmaking community, having performed in leading roles in several independent films, as well as supporting roles in larger films and TV shows. He's had the opportunity to work with the casts and crews of shows such as The West Wing, Gilmore Girls, ER, Without A Trace, 7th Heaven, The Shield, Boston Public, Crossing Jordan, The Agency, and Spin City, among others. And he's worked as either a cast or crew member on films such as Austin Powers 3, Matchstick Men, Seabiscuit, Red Dragon, Bruce Almighty, House of Sand and Fog, The Stevens Get Even, Biker Boyz, Like Mike, Solaris, and many more.
