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Nat Wolff
American actor, musician, and singer-songwriter From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Nathaniel Marvin "Nat" Wolff (born December 17, 1994)[1] is an American actor, musician, and singer-songwriter. He initially gained recognition for composing the music for The Naked Brothers Band (2007–2009), a Nickelodeon television series he starred in with his younger brother, Alex, that was created by his actress mother, Polly Draper. Wolff's jazz musician father, Michael Wolff, co-produced the series' soundtrack albums The Naked Brothers Band (2007) and I Don't Want to Go to School (2008), both of which placed the 23rd spot on the Billboard 200 charts.
After the Nickelodeon series concluded, he and his brother formed the music duo Nat & Alex Wolff and they released the albums Black Sheep (2011), Public Places (2016), and Table for Two (2023). Wolff later became known for his lead role in the film Paper Towns (2015) and starring in other movies, such as Admission (2013), Behaving Badly (2013), Palo Alto (2013), The Fault in Our Stars (2014), Ashby (2015), Home Again (2017), the Netflix adaptation of Death Note (2017), Stella's Last Weekend (2018), Rosy (2018), and Mortal (2020).[2][3]
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Early life
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Wolff was born on December 17, 1994, in Los Angeles, California, to jazz musician Michael Wolff and actress Polly Draper.[1] He is the older brother of actor and musician Alex Wolff. His uncle is venture capitalist Tim Draper,[4] and he is a cousin to TV personality and venture capitalist Jesse Draper.[5] He is also a maternal grandson of venture capitalist and civic leader William Henry Draper III,[6] and a great-grandson to banker and diplomat William Henry Draper, Jr.[7][8] His father is Jewish,[9][10] while his mother is from a Christian background, and Wolff was raised "culturally Jewish."[11][12]
Wolff has Tourette's syndrome that he inherited from his father.[13]
When he and his younger brother were toddlers, they climbed out of the bathtub and referred to themselves as "the naked brothers band", which inspired the name of the Nickelodeon TV series.[5]
Wolff taught himself to play major and minor chords on the piano at the age of 4. 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.'"[14] Around this age, his passion for The Beatles emboldened him to start writing his own songs. Throughout the years he attended preschool, he, alongside his best friends, constructed a band[5] called The Silver Boulders.
In the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he held his seventh birthday party outside his apartment, where he and his band performed a song he composed called "Firefighters". The benefit concert was a success; it garnered over $46,000 and was donated to the families of New York City Fire Department's Squad 18.[15]
As an 8 year old, Wolff placed a sign on his bedroom door stating: "I want to be a child actor!" In response, his mother appeased him by suggesting they film a home movie titled Don't Eat Off My Plate, which later served as the basis for The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie.[16]
Despite the success of the subsequent Nickelodeon series over the course of three seasons, the network proposed to shoot a 30 TV movie fourth season during the school year, leading his parents to cancel the series in 2009.[17] From the beginning, they were hesitant to expose him and his brother to stardom at a young age[18] and later agreed to the series spin-off on the provision that filming would take place only during the summer and early fall, allowing him and his brother to proceed with their enrollment at private school in New York City.[15][19][20]
In 2008, Wolff, then aged 13, wrote a song called "Yes We Can" that was featured in the Nickelodeon TV series, as a tribute to Barack Obama's presidential campaign. The song was overheard by Obama and his two daughters, who endorsed it and called him to express their gratitude.[21]
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Career
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"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..."
During his childhood, Wolff began his acting career off-Broadway with a minor role in his mother's play Getting into Heaven (2003) and in Heartbeat to Baghdad (2004), both staged at The Flea Theater in Manhattan, New York. At this time, he frequently performed at the Improv Comedy Club, also located in Manhattan.
He later gained recognition, at the age of 9, for starring in and contributing lead vocals, lyrics, and instrumentation for The Naked Brothers Band film that was written and directed by his mother and screened at the Hamptons International Film Festival in 2005.
However, Wolff did not first rise to prominence until he was 12 years old after the film was bought by a former Nickelodeon executive at the festival as the pilot for the Nickelodeon television series of the same name (2007–09).[5][20] The series was also created, showran, written, and directed by his mother, while his brother was featured in the ensemble cast and played the drums. His father co-starred, as well as produced and supervised the music. It released two soundtrack albums that were charted on the Billboard 200, with the single "Crazy Car" ranking #83 on the Billboard Hot 100. Wolff, who was 9 when he recorded the song under the guidance of his father in the studio, is believed to be the youngest person to compose a song featured on the Billboard charts.
His TV movie credits include a cameo in Mr. Troop Mom (2009), as well as starring alongside his brother in Stella's Last Weekend (2018), which was written and directed by his mother, who also co-starred. He appeared in the Netflix film based on the manga of the same name Death Note (2017),[22] and was cast in several theatrical movies, such as New Year's Eve (2011), Peace, Love & Misunderstanding (2011), Admission (2013), Palo Alto (2013), Behaving Badly (2014), The Fault in Our Stars (2015),[23] Paper Towns (2015),[24] Home Again (2017),[25][26] Rosy (2018),[27][28] Good Posture (2019),[29] and Mortal (2020).[30]
Wolff's other off-Broadway performances comprise roles in his brother's play What Would Woody Do? (2010) at The Flea Theater, and in the revival of Sam Shepard's play Buried Child (2016).[31]
As of 2024, he and his brother have been touring with Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and musician Billie Eilish as the opening act for her concerts across the United States.[13]
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Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
Stage
Albums
Soundtrack albums as part of the TV series The Naked Brothers Band
- 2007: The Naked Brothers Band: Music from the Movie
- 2007: The Naked Brothers Band
- 2008: I Don't Want to Go to School
- 2013: Throwbacks
Studio albums as duo Nat & Alex Wolff
- 2011: Black Sheep
- 2016: Public Places[37]
- 2023: Table for Two[38]
Singles
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Awards and nominations
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The Naked Brothers Band film and TV series earned Wolff two awards and many other nominations. In 2005, The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie obtained him an Audience Award for a Family Feature Film. He received a Broadcast Music, Inc. Cable Award for composing the series' music in 2007. In 2008, Wolff was given a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Young Ensemble Performance in a TV Series. Wolff took another Young Artist Award nomination for Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) - Leading Young Actor and one Kids' Choice Award nomination for Best TV Actor in 2009. In 2010, he was also given a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Leading Young Actor.
In 2014, Wolff won two Teen Choice Awards in the categories of Choice Movie: Scene Stealer and Choice Movie: Chemistry for The Fault in Our Stars.[43] That following year in 2015, he was honored with a CinemaCon Award for a Rising Star.
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References
External links
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