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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)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
GenresPop, rock, indie
Occupations
  • Actor
  • musician
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, keyboards
Years active2003–present
LabelsColumbia Records (2007–08)
Nick Records (2007–08)
Sony BMG (2007–08)
SaddleUp Records (2011–present)
RED Music (2011–present)
Websitewww.natandalex.com

Nathaniel Marvin "Nat" Wolff (born December 17, 1994)[1] is an American actor, singer-songwriter, and musician. Wolff gained recognition for composing the music for The Naked Brothers Band (2007–09), a Nickelodeon television series he starred in with his younger brother Alex that was created by their actress mother Polly Draper. Wolff's jazz pianist father Michael Wolff co-produced the series' soundtrack albums, The Naked Brothers Band (2007) and I Don't Want to Go to School (2008); the former of which ranked the 23rd spot on the Billboard 200 charts.

Following the ending of the Nickelodeon series, Wolff and his brother formed the music duo Nat & Alex Wolff, and they released the album Black Sheep in 2011. He later became known for his lead role in the film Paper Towns (2015), and other films such as Admission, Behaving Badly, and Palo Alto, each of which premiered in 2013. Wolff also co-starred in the highly successful theatrical film, The Fault in Our Stars (2014) before portraying Ed in the film Ashby in 2015.

Personal life

Wolff was born in Los Angeles, California, to jazz pianist Michael Wolff and actress Polly Draper.[1] He is the older brother to actor/musician and singer-songwriter Alex Wolff. His maternal grandfather is venture capitalist and civic leader William Henry Draper III,[2] and he is also the nephew of venture capitalist Tim Draper,[3] cousin to actress Jesse Draper,[4] and the great-grandson of banker and diplomat William Henry Draper, Jr.[5][6] His father is Jewish, while his mother is of Christian background; Wolff was brought up "culturally Jewish."[7][8]

Career

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: "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.'"[9] By age five, Wolff had started writing his own songs, and by the time he was in preschool, he constructed a band called The Silver Boulders with 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]

"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..."

He began his acting career Off-Broadway with a minor role in his mother's play 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 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 (2007–09) 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][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 Billboard 200. Wolff, who was six when he wrote the song, is believed to be the youngest person ever to compose a charting song on the 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 at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival

Wolff's other film credits include appearing in the Nickelodeon television film 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 play What Would Woody Do? at The Flea Theater. Wolff co-starred in the comedy film Admission (2013), Palo Alto (2013), and the comedy film Behaving Badly (2014). That same year, his supporting role in the drama film The Fault in Our Stars earned him two Teen Choice Awards in the categories of Choice Movie: Scene Stealer and Choice Movie: Chemistry.[15]

In 2015, Wolff starred in Paper Towns, his second film adaptation of a John Green novel following The Fault in Our Stars. He played the lead role, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen, a teenage boy in love with his neighbor (played Cara Delevingne). Writing for Variety, critic Justin Chang stated: "Wolff, who's present in just about every scene, manages to hold the center as a young man who isn't overly concerned about either standing out or fitting in, and whose behavior can often be as hesitant as it is impulsive."[16] He will star in the Off-Broadway revival of Sam Shepard's play Buried Child with Ed Harris and Taissa Farmiga. The production is scheduled to run from February 2 through March 13, 2016.[17]

Wolff's upcoming film projects include starring roles in Death Note, the American remake of the 2006 Japanese psychological thriller of the same name,[18] and the independent thriller Rosy to be directed by Jessica Manafort.[19]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2005 The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie Nat Wolff / Himself
2011 New Year's Eve Walter
2011 Special Things To Do Cliff Finley Short film
2011 Peace, Love & Misunderstanding Jake Hudson
2012 Stuck in Love Rusty Borgens
2013 Admission Jeremiah Balakian
2013 The Last Keepers Simon
2013 Palo Alto Fred
2014 The Fault in Our Stars Isaac
2014 Behaving Badly Rick Stevens
2015 Grandma Cam
2015 Ashby Ed Wallis
2015 Paper Towns Quentin "Q" Jacobsen
2015 The Intern Justin
2016 In Dubious Battle Jim Nolan
2017 Death Note Light Turner In post-production
2017 Home Again Filming

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2007–09 The Naked Brothers Band Nat Wolff / Himself Main cast; 42 episodes
2009 Mr. Troop Mom Nat Wolff / Himself Television film

Stage

Year Title Role Location
2016 Buried Child Vince The New Group, Off-Broadway

Albums

Soundtrack albums as part of the TV series The Naked Brothers Band
Studio albums as duo Nat & Alex Wolff

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Work Result
2005 Hamptons International Film Festival Audience Award – Family Feature Film The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie Won
2007 BMI Awards The Naked Brothers Band Won
2008 Young Artist Awards Best Young Ensemble Performance in a TV Series Nominated
2009 Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Leading Young Actor Nominated
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Television Actor Nominated
2010 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Leading Young Actor Nominated
2014 Young Hollywood Awards Breakthrough Actor Himself Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie: Scene Stealer The Fault in Our Stars Won
Choice Movie: Chemistry (with Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley) Won
2015 Choice Summer Movie Star: Male Paper Towns Nominated
CinemaCon Awards Rising Star Himself Won

References

  1. ^ a b "Nat Wolff Biography". TV Guide. Archived from the original on March 9, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Europa Publications (2003). The International Who's Who 2004. Routledge. p. 454. ISBN 1857432177.
  3. ^ Saracevic, Al (January 26, 2007). "The Technology Chronicles: Six degrees of Tim Draper". SFGate. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c 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.
  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 December 9, 2007.
  12. ^ Sutton, Judy (August 11, 2009). "Chatting with the Wolff brothers of the Naked Brothers Band". Time Out Chicago. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  13. ^ Steinberg, Jacques (September 22, 2007). "Famous for Playing Rock Stars". The New York Times. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  14. ^ a b Fekadu, Mesfin (December 11, 2008). "Tween TV star inspired by Obama". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  15. ^ "2014 Teen Choice Awards - Movies - Vote Every Day". Teen Choice Awards. Archived from the original on March 16, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ Chang, Justin (July 4, 2015). "Film Review: 'Paper Towns'". Variety. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  17. ^ Clemet, Olivia (December 3, 2015). ""Mad Men" Star Rich Sommer Joins Cast of Upcoming Off-Broadway Revival of Sam Shepard's Buried Child". Playbill.
  18. ^ Kroll, Justin (September 29, 2015). "'Paper Towns Nat Wolff to Star in Adam Wingard's 'Death Note'". Variety.
  19. ^ Fleming Jr, Mike (November 17, 2015). "Nat Wolff Set To Star In Jessica Manafort-Helmed Indie 'Rosy'". Deadline.com.
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