Judd Nelson is best known for being a member of the "Brat Pack" in the mid-1980s, and for his roles as John Bender in “The Breakfast Club,” Alec Newbary in “St. Elmo's Fire” and Jack Richmond in “Suddenly Susan.”
Nelson was born and raised in Portland, Maine, the first of three children to Merle Nelson, the retired five-term State Representative. After graduating from St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, Nelson attended Haverford/Bryn Mawr Colleges, in Pennsylvania where he studied philosophy. He also began acting in college theatrical productions, and performing in summer stock. Ultimately, Judd decided to leave college, his sophomore year, for NYC to study under the legendary acting teacher Stella Adler. After two years with Ms. Adler at her conservatory, Nelson made his motion-picture debut in the film “Fandango,” co-starring alongside a young Kevin Costner.
Nelson has been working in film, television and theatre ever since, appearing in the television show “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” as a friend of a murder victim and “Eleventh Hour” as a psychologist researching soldiers returning from Iraq who suffer from Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Nelson plays the host in “The Real Fear Factor,” a spoof on “Fear Factor,” in “National Lampoon's TV: The Movie.” In 2009, Nelson appeared in the sequel “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day.”
More recently, he portrayed Father Charley Lock on “Brookwood Sleazebags,” a pilot he did for HBO. Nelson also reprised his role of Rodimus Prime from the 1986 “Transformers” movie for the newest “Transformers” television series, “Transformers Animated.” Nelson appeared at the 2010 Academy Awards to pay tribute to late film director John Hughes along with other cast members of Hughes' films.
