The Real Reasons You Don't Hear Much From Nick Nolte Anymore

For the latter part of the 20th century, Nick Nolte was one of Hollywood's most acclaimed and most popular leading men. He'd picked up an Academy Award nomination and Golden Globe for his performance alongside Barbra Streisand in romantic drama "The Prince of Tides," received similar plaudits for his work in "Rich Man, Poor Man," "North Dallas Forty" and "Affliction," and graced box office hits "48 Hrs.," "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" and "Cape Fear."

In fact, Nolte was such a magnetic presence that in 1992 that he received perhaps the highest honor in all of Tinseltown, People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive. Of course, throughout this golden period, Nolte became just as renowned for his behavior off camera as his performances on it.

And in the '00s, his ability to cause chaos ended up completely overshadowing his talents. From legal troubles and industry snubbings to health problems and self-sabotage, here's a look at why you're now far less likely to see the once-ubiquitous hellraiser.

"Succession" star Jeremy Strong nearly broke the internet in 2021 when he disclosed his commitment to method acting in a piece published by The New Yorker. But the man best known as Kendall Roy has nothing on Nick Nolte when it comes to immersing yourself in a character.

As he revealed in his memoir "Rebel," Nolte left Bette Midler disgusted during the filming of "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" due to his extreme performance style: the Oscar nominee chowed down on dog food and refused to take a shower while playing vagrant Jerry Baskin in the 1986 comedy. He also spent four days living on the streets in order to be as convincing as possible.

But the most shocking example came with 2002's "The Good Thief." Nolte played the heroin-addicted lead character Bob Montagnet in Neil Jordan's crime thriller. And yes, you guessed it, the Omaha native ended up using the class A drug for eight weeks to prepare for the role. Could this intensity have deterred certain directors, particularly those who like a relatively easygoing set, from hiring such a loose cannon?

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Like The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards, Nick Nolte is one of those celebrities who, despite a life of hellraising, has managed to make it well into old age. But "The Thin Red Line" star believes that his time is now running out.

In fact, in his 2018 memoir "Rebel," the Golden Globe winner predicted that he wouldn't be around in 2024. He wrote (via USA Today) "I've got five years or so before I, too, get to head 'elsewhere' to be rebellious and cause more glorious havoc." This isn't the first time that the Omaha native, who's thankfully still with us, has discussed his mortality.

In a 2011 roundtable for The Hollywood Reporter, Nolte brought the mood down slightly when he suddenly declared, "I live with death lately because I'm 70. After 70, you don't think about sex much anymore. You think about death." And in an interview with GQ four years later, the star revealed that the recent passing of several friends and acquaintances had got him pondering about his own funeral.

Nick Nolte's career has been built on flitting between the Hollywood machine and the independent circuit. Even during his commercial heyday, when he was co-starring alongside the likes of Eddie Murphy, Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler, he was still gracing Cannes favorites such as "Grace Quigley" and "New York Stories." But in recent years, the Omaha native appears to have entirely swerved the high-profile picture altogether.

The last time that Nolte graced a multiplex screen was in 2019 when he played Gerard Butler's estranged father Clay Banning in the gung-ho sequel "Angel Has Fallen." Since then, he's appeared in Jonathan Nossiter's indie drama "Last Words," two-hander "Rittenhouse Square" and Netflix original "Blackout." And he'll next be seen in Hank Bedford's psychological thriller "Eugene the Marine."

In a 2022 interview with Insider, Nolte explained why he's been absent from bigger-budgeted films in recent years: "My connection is to the story itself. The stories in Hollywood are just so few that I don't know of them anymore."

"It went viral — my hair wild, my expression unsettling, looking like an asylum inmate out for a lark. In 1992, People magazine had named me the Sexiest Man Alive, and now, 10 years later, I looked to all the world like a madman." That's how Nick Nolte described the police mugshot in memoir "Rebel" (via Page Six) that undoubtedly tarnished his reputation forever.

Indeed, it would undoubtedly have been hard for any casting director to imagine Nolte as a brooding romantic lead after the photo that broke the internet in 2002. It was taken by a police officer, of course, after the actor had been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. In fact, as he freely admitted years later, the star was actually under the influence of GHB.

Nolte had taken the illegal drug to help with a gym workout but also before he got behind the wheel to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Unsurprisingly, as the "Lorenzo's Oil" star explained in his book, he soon realized he was in no fit state to drive: "I was a mess and driving on the Pacific Coast Highway. I'm told six drivers called 911 to report a big sedan weaving on the wrong side of the road." Following a stint in rehab, Nolte managed to get clean.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

It appears as though "Parks and Recreation" favorite Nick Offerman may have some competition when it comes to Hollywood's most talented craftsman. You might be surprised to learn that former hellraiser Nick Nolte now likes nothing more than working with marble.

The "Jefferson in Paris" star waxed poetic about his creative passion in a 2018 interview with Esquire, explaining that he was inspired to take up the hobby by his sister: "You get a piece of marble, from America or Italy, and you get the kit with the hammer and the carving tools, then just have at it. The stone chips out right along the line you want. You have to screw up good to make a mistake. You might not know exactly what you're carving. It's that old concept: if you don't know where to begin, just start."

Marble isn't the only material Nolte works with, though. The Emmy Award winner also has a glass-blowing studio next to his Malibu treehouse. In 2016, he told CBS News that the art form has an instant meditative quality: "I got hooked on it right away. I thought geez, what a way to calm down, ya' know?"

It's hard to picture Nick Nolte saving the world clad in spandex. But before establishing himself as one of Hollywood's most brooding leading men, the Omaha native was in the frame to play none other than Superman.

Nolte was hot property at the time having just won an Emmy Award for his role as Tom Jordache in miniseries "Rich Man, Poor Man." But the actor had little interest in capitalizing on this success in the superhero world. So in order to deter the film's casting director, he came up with an ingenious plan, as he explained to Insider several decades later: "They were interested in me but I turned them off by saying that I would only do it if I could play him as a schizophrenic."

"That's sabotage," Nolte went on to add. "It would have been very strange to play that." Presumably content to play the character without any mental health problems, Christopher Reeve was given the role instead and Nolte was free to explore a career away from comic book adaptations. Well, until he played David Banner's father in 2003's "Hulk" that is. But you have to wonder whether the star's self-sabotaging streak has cost him several other high-profile parts.

As well as rubbing castmates up the wrong way with his method acting, Nick Nolte also appears to have made a few enemies on set with his general personality. Take Julia Roberts, for example, who told The New York Times that her "I Love Trouble" co-star was "completely disgusting" during the 1993 movie's production, adding, "He's going to hate me for saying this, but he seems go out of his way to repel people."

Nolte did indeed seem to take offense at Roberts' comments, telling the Los Angeles Times (via Independent), "It's not nice to call someone 'disgusting.' But she's not a nice person. Everyone knows that." However, over time the Omaha native seems to have taken some responsibility for the mutual disdain.

Speaking to Insider in 2022, Nolte admitted that although he and Roberts had never made amends, he can now see he made certain mistakes at the time. He said, "I mean, it was absurd what we went through. It was partly my fault and a little bit of hers. Julia got married at the beginning of that film and it was one of those things where I just approached it all wrong."

Nick Nolte joined the club that includes Billy Joel, Rod Stewart and Alec Baldwin when he became a dad once again in his sixties. The "Three Fugitives" star, who already had a son, Brawley, from a previous marriage, and future wife Briton Clytie Lane welcomed daughter Sophia Lane into the world in 2007. And as he revealed in an interview with GQ eight years later, he takes the role of fatherhood very seriously.

"Really, the greatest thing about marriage is not marriage, it's the children," the Omaha native said. "The love of your child is when you learn what love really is. It may sound terrible, but I don't know if I would die for my wife, but I know I would die for my child. No question — I'd step in front of the car, I'd take a bullet. For my wife ... I don't know! Depends on the day."

Nolte would go on to share the screen with his daughter in Til Schweiger's "Head Full of Honey." The pair actually played grandpa and granddaughter in the 2018 drama, something which you may think Sophia would find confusing. But speaking to the New York Post, the Oscar nominee revealed, "She calls me Grandpa, anyway. I asked her why and she said, 'Because you're twice the age of most of my friends' parents!'"

Nick Nolte has lent his Omaha tones to everything from an American black bear ("Over the Hedge") and Anatolian Shepherd ("Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore") to western lowland gorilla ("Zookeeper") and fallen angel ("Noah") in recent years. But his most high-profile voice role undoubtedly came in 2019 when he was cast as Kuiil in "The Mandalorian."

Nolte appeared in three episodes of the Disney+ original's first season as the wise moisture farmer (Misty Rosas portrayed the character on screen). But despite being popular with viewers, we won't be seeing him return to the "Star Wars" spin-off. Spoiler alert: scout troopers killed poor Kuiil while he was helping Baby Yoda reach safety.

This wasn't Nolte's first brush with the world of stormtroopers and Ewoks, however. The actor was one of several names considered for the role of Han Solo in the 1977 original. But the man himself told NextMovie (via MTV) in 2011 that the part went to the right guy: "I think that was a given that [Han Solo] was going to go to Harrison Ford. In that group of filmmakers, he was their actor. I'd have been kind of a goofy "Star Wars" guy."

It's fair to say that Nick Nolte hasn't had much luck when it comes to television in recent years. In 2011, the scheduled second season of acclaimed drama "Luck" in which he played horse trainer Walter Smith was canceled after the deaths of three horses in production. 2014's "Gracepoint," in which he played bike rental shop owner Jack Reinhold, failed to repeat the success of the hit British drama, "Broadchurch," it was adapted from. And then "Paradise Lost," the Spectrum original in which he played Judge Forsythe, was pulled after just ten episodes.

Even Nolte's biggest TV hit of the 2010s, "Graves," only lasted two seasons. Still, at least the Omaha native picked up a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor — Television Series Musical or Comedy nomination for his portrayal of fictional former POTUS Richard Graves in the Epix series.

When asked why he'd gravitated toward the small screen again after decades away by Stuff, Nolte replied, "Today a lot of actors are turning to television because there are very few limitations and you can tell adult stories not based on comic books. Television is where the industry has gone for all the really deep storytelling."

One of the most obvious reasons why you don't see Nick Nolte as much as you used to these days is the fact that he no longer gives the tabloids anything to write about. Indeed, after decades of causing chaos wherever he goes, the Oscar nominee now appears to have settled down into a life of tranquility.

In a 2022 interview with Senior Planet, Nolte discussed his average day now that he's an octogenarian. And there wasn't an illegal substance or public feud to be found. He said, "I wake up before light and then I take Sophie to school. Afterwards, I stop by my son Brawley's house and watch the news with him. After, I get back home, I might work in the garden because we grow a lot of our own food. Then I usually turn to some reading or a script I'm working on. I watch a little football now and then, and go to bed early around 8 pm."

Not only does Nolte retire for the night at the un-rock and roll hour of 8 pm, he also doesn't taste a drop of alcohol. The "Who'll Stop the Rain" star added, "I stopped drinking rather abruptly, and I didn't even have to fight it. Drinking and smoking just all went away about three or four years ago."

Although Nick Nolte has no plans to retire — in fact, he wants to keep working until he shuffles off this mortal coil — his advancing years means he's been forced to cut down on his workload. Indeed, in a 2015 interview with GQ, the Academy Award nominee admitted that his daily routine involves shedding some tears over his physical state.

While promoting the adaptation of Bill Bryson memoir "A Walk in the Woods," Nolte said, "Today. I cry every day. It's just part of my emotional makeup. It's nothing tragic or anything — it's just life. I cry when I try to get out of bed, because I'm in my 70s and my body hurts like hell. Once my joints are moving, I'm all right, but those are my first tears in the morning, wondering if the pain is going to get worse or get better."

That doesn't mean that Nolte has simply given up when it comes to exercise. Speaking to Senior Planet seven years later, when he was aged 81, the actor claimed that he still commits to at least three full aerobic workouts every week.

One of Nick Nolte's most memorable big screen performances was as lawyer Sam Bowden in the 1991 remake of "Cape Fear." But there's perhaps a reason why he hasn't been cast in another Martin Scorsese picture since. And it all stems from a round of applause (or lack thereof) at the Academy Awards.

When he was nominated for Best Actor for 1997's "Affliction," Nolte refused to clap when Elia Kazan appeared on stage. The legendary director, who was being presented with an honorary award by Scorsese and Robert De Niro, had served as a "friendly witness" at the McCarthy's House Committee on Un-American Activities. And it was this fact that the Omaha native took umbrage with.

Nolte now believes that Scorsese, who later made a documentary about Kazan, was so offended by the silent protest that he's deliberately snubbed him ever since. Although hurt, the actor believes that the Academy is to blame for damaging their relationship. He said (via IndieWire), "It was a terrible situation. And actors should not have been put in that position to be able to be judged over whether they applauded or not."

Martin Scorsese might not have been the only industry bigwig who negatively impacted Nick Nolte's career. In his 2018 memoir, "Rebel," the star explained that he once got on the wrong side of a movie mogul who famously had the ability to make or break an actor, and often in the most disturbing ways.

Nolte claimed that the disgraced Harvey Weinstein, who's since received lengthy jail sentences after being convicted of rape and sexual misconduct, tried to bully him into taking on several movie roles including 1997 neo-noir "Cop Land." He also expressed his disdain for the Miramax founder's manipulative behavior during awards season and recalled how he reduced his 2000 period drama "The Golden Bowl" to shreds.

"I never had much admiration for Miramax or Harvey," Nolte went on to add (via ET Canada). "Primarily because I had friends who made movies that were shelved." The Omaha native also discussed how at the age of 21, he fled the Bel-Air home of an unnamed Tinseltown agent after being propositioned for the casting couch.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).