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Nat Wolff

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Nat Wolff
Wolff at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival premiere of Stuck in Love
Wolff at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival premiere of Stuck in Love
Background information
Birth nameNathaniel Marvin Wolff
Born (1994-12-17) December 17, 1994 (age 29)[1]
Los Angeles, California, U.S.[1]
GenresPop, rock, indie, bubblegum pop
Occupation(s)Actor, musician, singer-songwriter, composer
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, keyboards
Years active2003–present
LabelsColumbia Records (2007–2008)
Nick Records (2007–2008)
Sony BMG Music Entertainment (2007–2008)
SaddleUp Records (2011–present)
RED Music (2011–present)
Websitenatnalex.com

Nathaniel Marvin Wolff (born December 17, 1994)[1] is an American actor, singer-songwriter, composer, keyboardist, and guitarist. Wolff gained recognition for starring in and composing the music for the Nickelodeon musical comedy series The Naked Brothers Band (2007–09) which was created and produced by his actress mother Polly Draper and earned him a Broadcast Music, Inc. Cable Award in 2007.

Wolff's jazz pianist father Michael Wolff co-produced two of he and his brother's soundtrack albums titled The Naked Brothers Band (2007) and I Don't Want to Go to School (2008); the former of which ranked number 23 on the Top 200 Billboard Charts. Nat and his younger actor and musician brother Alex Wolff, who also co-starred in the series, formed a duo called Nat & Alex Wolff and they released an album titled Black Sheep in 2011.

Personal life

Wolff was born in Los Angeles, California, to jazz pianist Michael Wolff and actress Polly Draper.[1] He is the older brother of actor/musician and singer-songwriter Alex Wolff. His maternal grandfather is venture capitalist and civic leader William Henry Draper III,[2] and is also the nephew of venture capitalist Tim Draper,[3] cousin of actress Jesse Draper,[4] and great-grandson of banker and diplomat William Henry Draper, Jr.[5][6] His father is Jewish, while his mother is from a Christian background; Wolff was brought up with "respect for Jewish traditions."[7][8] Wolff was raised in New York City, and has stated that in his spare time he likes to play basketball, write music, and play with the family's dog, E.T.

Career

Wolff at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival

When Nat and his younger brother Alex were toddlers, they arose from the bathtub shouting, "We're the naked brothers band!" Their father tells of Nat teaching himself to play major and minor chords on the piano when he was four years old. As his father recalls,[9] "I asked him, 'How did you learn them?' He said, 'Dad, they're right here.' I said, 'What are those chords?' He said, 'These are my proud chords.'" By age 5, he started writing his own songs, and by the time he was in preschool, he constructed a band called The Silver Boulders alongside his best friends.[4]

Nat first gained notice in the wake of the September 11 attacks when he held his birthday party outside his apartment, which is where he performed his composition titled "Firefighters". The benefit concert was a success; it raised over $46,000 and was donated to the children of New York City Fire Department's Squad 18.[10] Alex eventually joined the band as the drummer; both boys were emboldened by The Beatles. When Wolff was young, he put signs on his bedroom door stating: "I want to be a child actor!" At first, his mother refused because she did not want her children exposed to stardom when they were young. As a result, Draper decided to appease Nat by letting him film his own sitcom called Don't Eat Off My Plate.[11]

"I always loved it. I love the Beatles. I know every Beatles song. I wanted to be like them. It's all based on reality; it's not like work. It's things we might say or do or want to say or do. I like the feeling of creating something that wasn't there. If we have another season, I'm totally getting ideas."
—Nat Wolff[4]

He began his acting career Off-Broadway with a minor role in his mother's playwright Getting Into Heaven (2003) and in the Off-Broadway production of Heartbeat to Baghdad (2004), both at The Flea Theater. He later gained recognition, at the age of nine, for starring in, contributing lead vocals, instrumentation, and lyrics for the 2005 musical comedy film The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie, which was written and directed by his mother and had obtained the Audience Award for a Family Feature Film at the Hamptons International Film Festival. The film was bought by Nickelodeon as the pilot to the television series of the same name (2007-2009) which was created, written, produced and directed by his mother, while his father co-starred and produced and supervised the music. Moreover, Nat's younger brother was featured in the ensemble cast and also wrote and performed the music.[4][12]

"Having our life turned into a mockumentary wasn’t as big a deal as some would think. We took all the friendships, Alex’s one liners, and my music and put it into a storyline; it was a heightened reality...The show created a great audience for us..."
—Nat Wolff[13]

The series earned him one BMI Cable Award for composing the series' music, as well as two Young Artist Award nominations and one KCA nomination for Best TV Actor. The show produced two soundtrack albums and the single "Crazy Car" reached #23 on the Top 200 Billboard Charts. Wolff, who was 6 when he wrote the song, is believed to be the youngest person ever to compose a charting song on the Top 200 Billboard Charts. His unreleased song "Yes We Can", in honor of President Barack Obama, was heard by the President and his two daughters who enjoyed it and called him.[14] Prior to the encounter, Nat had the occasion of meeting Obama who emboldened him to write the composition.[14]

Wolff's other film credits include appearing in the Nickelodeon TV movie special Mr. Troop Mom (2009), the romantic comedy New Year's Eve (2011), and the independent comedic drama Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding (2011). In 2010, he starred in his brother's playwright What Would Woody Do? at The Flea Theater. Wolff starred in in the comedy film Admission in 2013. He co-starred in the film The Fault in Our Stars, based on the best-selling book of the same name, as well as Behaving Badly, both in 2014. He is also set to appear as Q in a forthcoming adaptation of Paper Towns.

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
2005 The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie Himself
2007 The Naked Brothers Band Himself
2007 The Today Show Himself/Special Guest
2007 Good Morning America Himself/Special Guest Performer
2008 The View Himself/Special Guest Performer
2008 The Today Show Himself/Special Guest Performer
2008 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2008 Himself/Special Guest Performer
2009 Mr. Troop Mom Himself TV movie
2009 BrainSurge Episode, "Celebrity BrainSurge"
2011 New Year's Eve Walter
2011 Special Things To Do Cliff
2012 The Last Keeper Simon
2012 Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding Jake
2013 Stuck in Love Rusty
2013 Admission Jeremiah
2014 Palo Alto Fred
2014 The Fault in Our Stars Isaac
2014 Behaving Badly Rick Stevens Post-production
2015 The Intern Filming
2015 Ashby Filming
TBA Paper Towns Quentin “Q” Jacobsen Pre-production

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Nat Wolff Biography". TV Guide. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  2. ^ Europa Publications (2003). The International Who's Who 2004. Routledge. p. 454. ISBN 1857432177. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
  3. ^ Saracevic, Al (January 26, 2007). "The Technology Chronicles: Six degrees of Tim Draper". SFGate. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d Lee, Felicia R. (January 25, 2007). "A TV Family Bound by Blood and a Band". The New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
  5. ^ Lim, Jason (June 3, 2011). "Baidu Early Investor, Tim Draper is the Risk Master". TechNode. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  6. ^ PV, Sahad (October 16, 2008). "Next Tech Giant Will Be A Cellphone Application Company: Tim Draper". VCCircle. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  7. ^ Smason, Alan (November 3, 2006). "Cleveland set to enjoy smooth jazz stylings of Michael Wolff". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved February 16, 2007. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ Smason, Alan (March 8, 2013). "Jeff Berlin to join Wolff and Clark Expedition here". Crescent City Jewish News. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  9. ^ Seidel, Mitchell (September 2007). "Michael Wolff". Jazz Times. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  10. ^ Dagostino, Mark (November 5, 2007). "Hanging Out with ... the Naked Brothers Band: For These Tween Stars and Their Famous Parents, Making Music—and Hit TV Shows—Runs in the Family". People. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  11. ^ Ryan, Suzanne C (January 7, 2007). "Getting with the program". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
  12. ^ Steinberg, Jacques (September 22, 2007). "Famous for Playing Rock Stars". The New York Times. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  13. ^ Sutton, Judy (August 11, 2009). "Chatting with the Wolff brothers of the Naked Brothers Band". Time Out Chicago. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  14. ^ a b Fekadu, Mesfin (December 11, 2008). "Tween TV star inspired by Obama". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 14, 2012.

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