Nicky Katt, the actor best known for his roles in Dazed and Confused, the 2000 film Boiler Room, and the TV series Boston Public, has passed away at the age of 54. His death was confirmed to Page Six by John Sloss, founder and partner at Sloss Law, the firm that represented Katt. The cause of death has not been disclosed.
Born on May 11, 1970, Katt gained recognition for portraying complex, edgy characters. In Dazed and Confused, he played Clint Bruno, a high school bully who famously picks a fight with Adam Goldberg’s character, Mike Newhouse.
Katt also had a leading role as Harry Senate, a bold and unconventional geology teacher, during the first three seasons of the Fox drama Boston Public. He made a notable guest appearance on Friends in 1996.
His film credits included Full Frontal (2002), directed by Steven Soderbergh, where he starred alongside Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt. In the film, Katt played an egotistical actor portraying Adolf Hitler in a fictional stage production titled The Sound and the Fuhrer.
Soderbergh praised Katt’s performance, describing him as “absolutely fearless.” Katt himself acknowledged that the role allowed him to express frustrations he had encountered as a working actor.
“There’s so much desperation in the air, in Los Angeles especially,” Katt remarked in an interview, adding, “I think Stanley Kubrick called the vibe in LA a ‘low-level malevolence.’ It eats away at you at some point.”
Katt also appeared in Behind the Candelabra (2013), the Liberace biopic on HBO, and his final acting credit came in 2018 with a guest appearance on the Hulu series Casual.
Katt was previously married to Annie Morse from 1999 to 2001.
