Judd Asher Nelson (born November 28, 1959 in Portland, Maine) is one of the actors commonly associated with the Brat Pack group of teen movie stars in The '80s. He famously played Bender in classic teen movie The Breakfast Club. Also appeared in St. Elmo's Fire, Suddenly Susan, New Jack City, Cabin by the Lake, and is responsible for the destruction of Unicron. His career waned in the Nineties, attributed by some in Hollywood to his personality, which they claimed was difficult to get along with.
This actor provides examples of:
- Enforced Method Acting: Frequently reduced Molly Ringwald (his co-star in The Breakfast Club) to tears when in character as Bender. Writer-director John Hughes was obviously not happy about this and actually almost fired Nelson, when Paul Gleason, ironically playing Nelson's on-screen nemesis, Principal Vernon, intervened on his behalf. He was also almost arrested at a laundromat when he approached a woman in character in the same role, only getting off when he explained to the cops that he was an actor.
- Jerk Jock
- Playing Against Type: He played an utterly irredeemable Serial Killer in Cabin by the Lake.
- Plucky Comic Relief
- Romance on the Set: After filming the TV movie Blindfold: Acts of Obsession with Shannen Doherty, the two got engaged.
- Throw It In!
- Younger Than He Looks: Even today, he tends to play characters significantly younger than his actual age.
