Judd Nelson

Judd Nelson was the only son of the three children born to Merle and Leonard Nelson. While his mother served as the court mediator and former member of the Maine state legislature, his father worked as a corporate lawyer.

Academically proficient, he attended the St Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. Later on, he enrolled at the Waynflete School in Portland, Maine. Completing his studies, he gained admission at the Haverford College in Pennsylvania but left after sophomore year.

Eventually, he moved to Manhattan in 1980 to take up an acting course with Stella Adler Conservatory.

In 1984, he made his debut as an actor in the film, ‘Making the Grade’. For the movie, he played the role of a street smart Eddie Keaton.

The following year marked as an ice-breaker for this budding actor, who was cast in John Hughes’s movie, ‘The Breakfast Club’. In the movie, he portrayed the role of a tough teenager. The movie was a major hit and gave him a star status.

Same year, he was seen in a couple of other movies as well including ‘Fandango’ and Joel Schumacher’s ‘St Elmo’s Fire’. The latter movie cemented his position as a talented actor, for his perfect portrayal of the character of a political aide.

In 1986, he indulged in varied kind of works. He gave a voiceover for the character of Rodimus Prime in ‘The Transformers: The Movie’, acted along with co-star Ally Sheedy in ‘Blue City’, served as a narrator for Bill Couturie's war documentary ‘Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam’, and starred in the ABC Afterschool Special ‘Shattered If Your Kid's On Drugs’.

Same year, he made his television debut with ‘Moonlighting’. He appeared as a police officer opposite Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Williams in the Camille episode.

This actor of ‘The Breakfast Club’ fame gained stardom playing bad guys and antiheroes in the flicks.