Culture news 75 films and 3 nominations… This actor could have ended up in prison: he ultimately had a rich career in Hollywood
If the setbacks of many actors are commonplace in the tabloid press, it is not uncommon for these stunts to compromise the careers of certain professionals in the field, and this is what almost happened to this actor with 75 films and 3 Oscar nominations.
Sentenced from 20 years
Already known by American justice for various cases, Nick Nolte is no stranger to scandals. For example, in the past, he received nearly three years of parole after being arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. However, few know that 40 years before that, he could very well have already been sent behind bars and never found success. At the age of 20, In 1961, Nick Nolte was arrested and fined $75,000 and sentenced to 45 years in prison, for selling and using false ID cards.
Discover Nick Nolte in The Mandalorian on Disney+
On track to spend the majority of his life in a cell, his initial sentence was ultimately suspended, subject to a stern warning from the judge: if he were to appear again for any offense, he would be directly imprisoned under the said canceled conditions. Nick Nolte therefore spent most of his life on parole, even during Vietnam War, in which he could not then take part because his conviction made him ineligible for military service. He admitted in an interview that this ineligibility had then “given the feeling of being incomplete”.
Memoirs
In his memoirs – Rebel: My Life Outside the Lines – the actor tells his story and his various legal troubles. He explains in particular that he “had two legal photos (the famous “mug shot”) in my life. It’s hard to get them. And if you do, you better examine the circumstances under which you got them”. He admits to always having been very playful, although this lifestyle involves risks. On top of that, he even admitted having actually taken heroin for almost 2 months in order to better immerse himself in his role as a heroin addict in The Man of the Riviera (2002).
In his book, he also reveals the numerous pressures he received from various newspapers and magazines, including National Enquire, threatening to publicly reveal his previous setbacks if he did not agree to take part in interviews and provide information on his current and future projects. In response to this, Nolte then went to the set of presenter and friend Rona Barrett to speak himself about the said matters concerning him and to pull the rug out from under Enquire magazine. Still very active today, the actor can notably be seen in The Mandalorian on Disney+.
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