Austin Nichols Debut Role: How Did He Get It?

As you know, Austin Nichols is no longer with Chloe Bennet. After dating for nearly six years, the couple parted ways and started focusing on their professional careers.

Who Is Austin Nichols?

Austin Nichols is a director and actor from the United States of America. He is well-known for his character that he played in the CW’s drama, One Tree Hill as Julian Baker.

He is also very popular for his appearances in The Day After Tomorrow and Wimbledon. He appeared in HBO’s drama series John from Cincinnati as John Monad.

Nichols also had a minor part in AMC’s horror television drama The Walking Dead as Spencer Monroe. His estimated net worth is around $4 million as of now.

All About Austin Nichols

Born on April 24, 1980 in  Ann Arbor, Michigan, Austin Nichols relocated to Austin, Texas before he turned one year old. He was named after the distillery Austin Nichols, which produces Wild Turkey bourbon. 

Austin Nichols’ parents are quite successful in their professional fields. David, his father, is a radiologist, whereas Kay (née Vermeulen), his mother, was a professional trick water skier. 

His mother has won 10 national championships and one international title. He has one sibling named Ashley. She is his older and only sibling.

Life as a Teen

Nichols grew up near Lake Austin and went to Casis Elementary School. Because of his mother, Nichols too started competitive water skiing when he was two years old.

In 1997, Nichols competed for the United States junior water skiing team in the Pan-American Championships with his incredible skills as his mother was a professional trainer.

Later progressing in his sports career, Nichols became a member of the United States junior Olympic water skiing squad.

He was rated third in the world at the age of thirteen. Nichols planned to become a professional water skier until he broke his shoulder in Florida and had to abandon his sports career.

He also played basketball at McCallum High School in Austin but he was not very good at it. He used to play simply to pass the time.

Nichols’ passion in acting began when he was fifteen, and he began taking acting training. After graduating from high school, he relocated to Los Angeles.

Career Beginnings 

Austin Nichols started his career as an actor when he went to a Sundance Film Festival party without an invitation. A manager saw him there and signed him.

Shortly after he signed a contract with a manager, he moved to Los Angeles although his plan was to enroll in the University of Texas.

And then he later enrolled at the University of Southern California, from where he graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.

Before graduating, Austin Nichols made cameo appearances not only on Sliders, Odd Man Out, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, but also on Family Law, Watching Ellie, as well as Wolf Lake.

In 2002, he got his first prominent role when he appeared in two episodes of Six Feet Under as Brenda Chenowith’s lover. He has previously acted in two films, Durango Kids in 1999 but also Holiday in the Sun in 2001.

Breakthrough

Nichols made his cinematic debut as a stereotyped “frat guy” in The Utopian Society, a 2003 indie film directed by John P. Aguirre that garnered multiple prizes and critical praise. 

This was his breakthrough moment. He landed the role of Julian Baker in The CW’s teen drama One Tree Hill. For the sixth season, he was elevated to regular cast member.

Nichols later appeared as Spencer Monroe in AMC’s horror series The Walking Dead as a recurring character before being upgraded to frequent cast member.

In the 2004 environmental smash The Day After Tomorrow, Nichols played J.D., an intellectual privileged boy and romantic antagonist to Jake Gyllenhaal’s main protagonist. 

Despite receiving unfavorable reviews, the picture was a box office triumph. He also starred in Wimbledon in 2004, alongside Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany.

The picture earned positive reviews from reviewers, although it was only a moderate success at the box office in the United States. 

Nichols’ performance as egotistical tennis pro Jake Hammond was regarded as “effectively unlikeable.” Nichols had to study tennis from the ground up for the job; he was coached to appear professional by Pat Cash, who was taken by Nichols’ ability.

Personal Life of a Star

Nichols has a keen interest in movies in addition to his acting job. He maintains a record of every movie he watches. Nichols sees 20 films every week on average. He is particularly fond of Hal Ashby, Sam Fuller, and John Ford.

Since 2004, Nichols has indeed been great buddies with actor Jake Gyllenhaal, whom he met on the shooting of The Day After Tomorrow. 

In one interview, Nichols stated, “I’ve learned a ton from Jake. He’s a really sharp guy. He told me everything about acting, business, girls, and life.”

After becoming famous, he had his first romance with Claire Oswalt. Claire Oswalt is a contemporary American artist who creates drawings, paintings, plus sculptures. They were engaged after dating for a long period, but they subsequently parted ways.

He met his co-star in One Tree Hill, Sophia Bush, after years of being single. Sophia Bush is an actress, director, speaker, and activist from the United States. They had an on and off relationship for six years from 2006 to 2012 before splitting up.

Just to keep Sophia Bush closer to him, Nichols took on the character of Julian Baker in the drama. From 2014 until 2017, he started seeing actress Chloe Bennet, whom he met on the set of Marvel’s Agents of Shield, where he portrayed her ex-boyfriend, Miles.

They were more like a married pair, however they split up after knowing each other for a while. Chloe and Austin met in 2013 and fell in love. They began dating and were well-liked by many.