He’s an ’80s heartthrob for the teens who swooned over his youthful delinquent personality in a cult classic.
That film would go down as one of the most iconic teen films in history, establishing itself as emblematic of the rebellious ’80s – especially thanks to its classic ending scene where he punches the air as the credits roll.
His rugged, dark appearance made him a favorite among the young stars of the time; his name was even mentioned alongside Demi Moore, Molly Ringwald and Rob Lowe.
Now, because of his character and his rebellious nature, he is often seen driving his helicopter around Beverly Hills.
But the star was recently spotted looking unrecognizable with a long gray beard and glasses as he got out of his car in a private parking lot during a rare outing in Los Angeles.
Can you guess who it is?
The former ’80s heartthrob was spotted on a rare public outing in Los Angeles last week
He sported a buzzed haircut and a well-groomed gray long beard, along with a gray long-sleeved shirt, a black LL Bean vest, boot-cut jeans and black loafers.
He was seen in a parking lot doing some shopping
It’s Judd Nelson!
The one-time heartthrob was spotted walking around a parking lot while running errands.
The 64-year-old actor had a buzz cut and wore a gray long-sleeved shirt, a black LL Bean vest, boot-cut jeans and black slip-on sneakers.
Nelson is best known for his performance as John Bender in the 1985 cult classic The Breakfast Club.
The film brings together the stereotypical ’80s high school archetypes for a Saturday detention: the “princess,” “athlete,” “geek,” “basket case,” and “criminal.” Nelson’s masterful characterization as Bender playing the “criminal” is undoubtedly best remembered from that star-studded cast.
When he receives the final kiss and a diamond earring as memorabilia from Molly Ringwald’s “princess” character, Claire Standish, a monologue begins playing in the background that directly juxtaposes the labels each character has been given by the power-hungry protagonist, Paul Gleason’s character. , Richard Vernon.
Nelson is best known for his performance as John Bender in the ’80s cult classic ‘The Breakfast Club’
The film brings together the stereotypical ’80s high school archetypes for a Saturday detention: the ‘princess’, ‘athlete’, ‘geek’, ‘basket-case’ and ‘criminal’
He achieved icon status in the film’s final scene by receiving a kiss and a diamond earring from Molly Ringwald’s “princess” character, Claire Standish. As the sun sets and the song Don’t You (Forget About Me) reaches a crescendo, he takes off. his fist in the air, signifying his triumph
Nelson didn’t realize how ingrained that film would become in pop culture. He said on the Today show in 2015 that he was surprised, but pleasant.’
Bender puts in the earring and as the now famous song ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ rises to a crescendo as the sun sets, the delinquent raises his fist in the air in an act of triumph – with the film pausing on this powerful frame as the credits roll.
Even Nelson didn’t realize how ingrained this film would become in pop culture Today showed in 2015 that he was surprised, but pleasant.’
Shortly after finishing filming The Breakfast Club, Nelson starred in another cult classic, St. Elmo’s Fire, in which a group of recent college graduates experience a series of misadventures in the real world.
He played the politically driven Alec Newbury who pushes his girlfriend Leslie, played by Ally Sheedy, away with his ambitions and deceit.
He was dubbed a member of the “Brat Pack” by a New York magazine reporter who came up with the name after seeing him and other young actors such as Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Molly Ringwald and Ally. Sheedy, publicly harassed by fans.
The term was adopted from Frank Sinatra’s famous ‘Rat Pack’ and has since become closely associated with those actors.
Nelson would go on to star in another cult classic, the 1985 film St. Elmo’s Fire, alongside many members of the Brat Pack – a term coined by a New York magazine reporter that has stuck over the years
Nelson earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor in a Miniseries from the 1987 two-part television film Billionaire Boys Club
He moved away from his ’80s bad boy persona and shifted to TV roles as Suddenly Susan, where he starred as Brooke Shield’s boss Jack Richmond – he would leave the show at the start of the fourth season.
Nelson took a turn after the success of these two films and plunged into the world of animation – starring as Hot Rod in the first film of the Transformers franchise, The Transformers: The Movie.
Also symbolic of this shift was when he appeared in the critically acclaimed Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam – a documentary that to this day holds a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating.
Nelson earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor in a Miniseries from the 1987 two-part television film Billionaire Boys Club.
Other 80s films he starred in were Blue City (1986), From the Hip (1987), Relentless (1989) and Far Out Man (1990).
The 1990s were also successful for Nelson. He started the decade in Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes (1990) starring opposite Max von Sydow. He then switched to laughs as the worst stand-up comedian in history in The Dark Backward (1991).
The film with the most commercial success at the time was the gangster film New Jack City, in which he played the role of rapper and actor Ice-T’s partner in a police investigation.
Judd Nelson is often seen riding around on his helicopter in the Beverly Hills area
In the late 1990s, Nelson returned to the gangster genre with the 1999 film Light It Up, as a teacher who helped troubled teenagers.
He moved away from his ’80s bad boy persona and shifted to TV roles as Suddenly Susan, where he starred as Brooke Shield’s boss Jack Richmond. Although the first season was a hit, viewership gradually declined and he left at the beginning of season four.
Since then, he has mainly played television roles, made Hallmark movies and voiced animated shows.
Nelson is the son of court mediator and former member of the Maine House of Representatives Merle Nelson and corporate lawyer Leonard Nelson. He grew up in a conservative Jewish home in Portland, Maine.
When he left to pursue acting, he studied with famed Broadway actress and teacher Stella Adler.
Adler’s teachings on the Stanislavski system, also known as method acting, may have been the reason there were reports that his method acting almost got him trapped. dismissed from The Breakfast Club.
Even when the cameras weren’t rolling, Nelson stayed in character – much to the disapproval of director John Hughes, who didn’t like how his muse, Molly Ringwald, was taunted and teased by Nelson between takes.