Trivia

Nolte was a heavy drinker until 1990. When Katharine Hepburn accused him of falling down drunk in every gutter in town, he replied: "I've got a few to go yet.".

Good friends with Jeff Bridges, Gary Busey and Don Johnson.

In 1962, Nolte was convicted for selling fake draft cards and was sentenced to a seventy-five year jail sentence and a $75,000 fine. He was suspended under the terms of the Youth Corrections Act and was on probation throughout the length of the Vietnam War. He was warned by the judge that if he was arrested for any other crime he would be jailed under the original conviction terms.

Became a father for the first time at age 45 when his third wife Rebecca Linger gave birth to their son Brawley Nolte on June 20, 1986.

He was considered for the role of Superman/Clark Kent in Superman (1978), which went to Christopher Reeve. Legend has it that he wanted to play the role as a schizophrenic.

In September 2002, he checked himself into Silver Hill Hospital in Connecticut for counseling after he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Malibu, California, a few days earlier. Tests later showed that he was under the influence of GHB, the "date rape" drug.

He was considered for Harrison Ford's roles in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Blade Runner (1982), one of three roles that ultimately went to Harrison Ford. In addition, Walter Hill wanted to direct The Fugitive (1993) with with Nolte starring, but Nolte reportedly said he was tired with action movies, and too old.

Became a father for the second time at age 66 when his girlfriend Clytie Lane gave birth to their daughter Sophie Lane on October 3, 2007.

The longest he has gone without an Academy Award nomination is 13 years, between Affliction (1997) and Warrior (2011).

His career started in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Eleanor Moore Agency as a model for print ads.

Played college football for Arizona State University.

He eagerly pursued the role of Captain Benjamin L. Willard in Apocalypse Now (1979). When Harvey Keitel was fired, Nolte thought he had the role, which Coppola gave to Martin Sheen.

Nolte's father, Franklin A. Nolte, was an All-American candidate at Iowa State in 1934. He served in the Pacific Theater in World War II, with the elite US Marine Raiders. When he was discharged, he went home to his family, but according to Nick Nolte, he was a different man and didn't speak often. Nolte consulted his father while preparing for Who'll Stop the Rain (1978) where he played a Vietnam veteran.

His father was 6'6" tall, and his sister was 6'1" tall, as stated in an interview with The Dallas News (12/4/87).

Was supposed to host Eddie Murphy/Lionel Richie (1982) as part of the promotional tour for 48 Hrs. (1982), which was the film debut of then Saturday Night Live (1975) star Eddie Murphy, but fell ill at the last minute and had to drop out, so Murphy hosted in his place.

He was considered for the role of John Rambo in First Blood (1982), which went to Sylvester Stallone.

He missed out on several roles that went to Kurt Russell. He was offered the role of Snake Plissken in Escape from New York (1981), but he was not interested. He was then considered for R.J. MacReady in The Thing (1982). He was also set to star in Tequila Sunrise (1988), but dropped out.

Nolte gained 50 pounds for his role in Q&A (1990).

Was cast in Pride and Glory (2008), but just before shooting began, an old knee injury flared up from his footballing days and he had to drop out.

In 1992, he was chosen as People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive.

His ancestry includes English, German, Scottish, Scots-Irish and Swiss-German. His paternal grandfather was a farmer, with a farm in Iowa.

Director Keith Gordon took a one-day role in I Love Trouble (1994) to personally ask Nick Nolte to read the screenplay for Mother Night (1996), after being initially dismissed by Nolte's agent.

Appeared in a Clairol print commercial for Clairol's "Summer Blonde". The campaign was such a success that the company later used the photograph on the box of dye itself, the only time a guy ever appeared on a woman's hair-color package.

His father was an irrigation pump salesman. His father was also an All-American candidate at Iowa State in 1934. His mother was a department store buyer. He has an older sister, Nancy Nolte, who was an executive for Red Cross.

On December 12, 2002, he pleaded no contest to charges of driving under the influence. He was given 3-years' probation with orders to undergo alcohol and drug counseling with random testing required.

He lobbied hard for the role of Ned Braden in Slap Shot (1977), but there was no time for him to learn how to skate. The role went to Michael Ontkean.

Ranked #1 of VH1's "40 Most Shocking Celebrity Mugshots" - had a Hawaiian shirt and a bed-head.

Resided with Clytie Lane for 13 years before they got married on September 8, 2016.

One of Nolte's closest friends is writer-director Alan Rudolph. They have worked together on four films.

He was considered for the role of Jeffrey Goines in 12 Monkeys (1995), which went to Brad Pitt.

In 1966, he was cast in the role of Helen Keller's brother in the Phoenix Little Theatre production of "The Miracle Worker" opposite Sheila Page (as Annie Sullivan) who became his first wife where they had an open marriage.

While residing in Omaha, Nebraska, he attended Omaha Benson High School and then transferred to Omaha Westside High School.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6433 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on November 20, 2017.

Graduated from Omaha Westside High School of Omaha Nebraska in 1959.

Parents are Franklin Arthur and Helen Nolte.

Nick Nolte and poet Ted Kooser, grew up only a block apart in Historic Old Town Neighborhood of Ames, Iowa.

There is a long-standing misconception that Dr. Charles Nolte, professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota Department of Theatre Arts and Dance, is Nick Nolte's father.

Attended four colleges but did not graduate from any of them. Eastern Arizona College. University of Nebraska - Omaha. Pasadena City College. Phoenix College.

He was considered for the role of Dan Gallagher in Fatal Attraction (1987), which went to Michael Douglas.

He was considered for the role of Detective John McClane in Die Hard (1988), which went to Bruce Willis.

In 1978, Karen Ecklund, his girlfriend of five years, sued him for community property and support.

In 1972, he appeared in the Southwest Ensemble Theatre of Phoenix world premiere of William Inge's "The Last Pad" in the role of Jess, a young man scheduled to be electrocuted for murdering his wife. The play opened at the Kerr Cultural Center in Scottsdale, Arizona before moving to the Unitarian Church in Phoenix, Arizona. The play moved to Los Angeles in early Summer 1973 where it opened at the Contempo Theatre (now the Geffen) in Westwood.

While in New York waiting for a television commercial to begin filming, Nolte audited acting classes of Sandy Meisner and Stella Adler.

Appeared at the Old Log Theatre in Excelsior, Minnesota one of the longest continually operating professional theaters in America.

His first stage appearance was at the Phoenix Little Theatre where he appeared in "The Hasty Heart" by playwright John Patrick.

Performed in Summer Stock at Little Theatre of the Rockies in Greely, Colorado. He performed in Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" as both Willy Loman and Biff and then Maxwell Anderson's "Winterset" as Mio Romagna. In 1966, his third Summer doing Summer Stock at Little Theatre of the Rockies, he appeared as Martin Luther in John Osborne's "Luther". This was the only production his father ever saw him perform in.

In his 2018 memoir, he wrote that his leading lady Debra Winger is "beautiful in her own way" but that he didn't like her antics when they worked together on Cannery Row (1982). He doesn't explain why he chose to work with her again on Everybody Wins (1990) or of their rumored real-life romance.

Has a granddaughter via his son Brawley and daughter-in-law Navi Rawat.

Attended Kingsley Elementary School in Waterloo, Iowa

Maternal grandparents were Lucy Millicent (Massure), who ran the student union at Iowa State University, and Matthew Leander King, who was a prominent engineer, invented the hollow-tile silo, and was a leader in early aviation.