Nickolas Ray Young is an American actor who appeared in the films ''
Friend of the World'' (2020) and ''
Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea'' (2023), television movies ''
El Diablo
Diablo or El Diablo may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional entities
* Diablo (Disney), a raven in ''Sleeping Beauty''
* Diablo (Marvel Comics), a Fantastic Four villain
* El Diablo (comics), several fictional characters from DC Comics
* ...
'' (1990) and ''
Geronimo
Geronimo ( apm, Goyaałé, , ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache ba ...
'' (1993), and
OnStage Playhouse's productions of ''
The Diary of Anne Frank'' (2011) and ''
The Other Place
"Another place" or "the other place" is a euphemism used in many bicameral parliaments using the Westminster system, including Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.
A member of one house will not usually refer directly to the other, but ...
'' (2022). Young began working on television in
Arizona throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s before moving to
San Diego County for film and theater work in the 2010s.
Early life
Young was born to Elois Roain Drayfahl and Duain Francis Young in
Tucson, Arizona. He became interested in performing arts while in grade school,
was on the track team and played
American football as an offensive lineman at
Palo Verde High Magnet School. After high school, Young majored in drama at
Pima Community College.
While there, he qualified for the
National Junior College Athletic Association championships after winning the
Arizona Community College Athletic Conference for the
discus throw but he was unable to place.
Career
1980-2008
Young acted in many
television movies and shows in Tucson and
Phoenix while pursuing a career as a
firefighter
A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...
.
He was appointed to the Tucson Fire Department on June 16, 1980.
In 1981, Young received an electric shock while working with another fireman who suffered steam burns. Both were treated for non-serious injuries.
Young was promoted to
engineer on May 8, 1988 and retired on February 28, 2008.
2011-2022
After retiring as a fireman, Young relocated to
San Diego County where he performed in stage plays such as ''
The Diary of Anne Frank'',
''
The Other Place
"Another place" or "the other place" is a euphemism used in many bicameral parliaments using the Westminster system, including Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.
A member of one house will not usually refer directly to the other, but ...
'' and ''
Kimberly Akimbo
''Kimberly Akimbo'' is a play written in 2000 by David Lindsay-Abaire. Its title character is a lonely teenage girl suffering from a disease similar to progeria, that causes her to age four and a half times as fast as normal, thus trapping her in ...
''.
He was cast in films such as ''The Case of: Dakota Moore'',
''I Brake for Caterpillars''
as well as a
Filmapalooza
Filmapalooza is the finale festival for the 48 Hour Film Project in which the winning films from cities worldwide (150 cities as of 2018) are screened the following year and compete with each other for awards. It has existed since 2003.
Filmapalo ...
qualifying
48 hour short film called ''Con Boys''.
2020: ''Friend of the World''
Young auditioned for ''Friend of the World'' by submitting a mobile video and he was cast as
Gore, a lead role.
Several film critics admired his performance
and he was nominated for Best Actor at the San Diego Film Awards. The film was distributed by
Troma Entertainment.
Character analysis
Ally Ham at Video Librarian said Young's chemistry with co-star
Alexandra Slade
Alexandra Slade is an American actress who appeared in the films ''Friend of the World'' (2020)'', We All Die Alone'' (2021) and Cygnet Theatre Company, Cygnet Theatre's production of ''The Legend of Georgia McBride'' (2017). She portrayed a you ...
was engaging but also out of place at times. Rob Rector at
Film Threat
''Film Threat'' is an online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. It first ...
and John Noonan at
FilmInk noticed his character seemed to be inspired from ''
Dr. Strangelove''. Film critic
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel (born 1955) is an American film critic and author.
In September 2014, he became editor of The Jewish Advocate where he served through December 2015. He received a B.A. from the University of Rochester and a degree in law from B ...
said Young proficiently expresses his character's thoughts and Cheryl Eddy at
Gizmodo
''Gizmodo'' ( ) is a design, technology, science and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton, and runs on the Kinja platform. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the subsite ''io9'', whic ...
claims he has an "unhinged aura of someone who's been alone too long." Young's performance has been compared to
John Goodman,
Bruce Campbell
Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958) is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's ''Evil Dead'' franchise, beginning with the 1978 short film ''Within the Woods''. He has starred in many low ...
and
Sterling Hayden while director
Brian Patrick Butler said his character is like
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
, casting him for his "grimness and humor."
Stage credits
Filmography
References
External links
Nick Youngat About the Artists
Nick Youngat
Broadway World
*
Nick Youngat
Moviefone
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Nick
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American male film actors
Male actors from San Diego
Male actors from Tucson, Arizona
Male actors from Phoenix, Arizona
American male stage actors
American male television actors
Pima Community College alumni
20th-century American firefighters
21st-century American firefighters
Male Western (genre) film actors