R.I.P. Nicky Katt, from Boiler Room and Dazed And Confused
Often cast as villains, Katt was a favorite of Richard Linklater, Steven Soderbergh, Christopher Nolan, and more.
Photo: SGranitz/WireImage
Nicky Katt has died. A veteran character actor, Katt’s career was notable, among other things, for how frequently he worked with some of the biggest directors of his era, many of whom returned to him on multiple occasions to tap into his acerbic, daredevil energy. Steven Soderbergh, Robert Rodriguez, Christopher Nolan, and Richard Linklater all turned to Katt on multiple times to inject energy (and, frequently, menace) into their movies, starting with Linklater, who put Katt in memorable early roles in Dazed And Confused and SubUrbia. Katt’s death was confirmed today by TMZ. He was 54.
Originally a child actor, Katt popped up in films like Gremlins and The ‘Burbs when he was still a teenager, making Joe Dante the first of many directors to double-dip on his career. Post-childhood, he got his first big break in 1993, when Linklater cast him as the bully Clint Bruno in Dazed And Confused. Like many elements of the high school classic, Bruno is both a bit of a stereotype and a surprisingly vibrant character: Katt gives him an edge, with a genuine thirst for violence, that makes his attacks on Adam Goldberg’s Mike feel legitimately threatening. (Years later, Goldberg would cast Katt in a small part in his directorial debut, Hollywood thriller I Love Your Work.) Three years later—and after Katt had scored eye-catching roles as villains in films like Strange Days and A Time To Kill—Linklater cast him in one of the lead roles of SubUrbia, tapping in to the actor’s gifts for bitter laughs and roiling anger to play disaffected military vet Tim. (Opposite Giovanni Ribisi, with whom Katt would end up appearing in numerous films.)