10 Things You Didn’t Know About OTH Star Austin Nichols
Published on April 12, 2016.Austin Nichols has been acting since he was a teenager, but he did not become well known until he landed a recurring starring role on the hit CW series One Tree Hill. Over the years, Nichols has transitioned easily from television’s biggest series and into some major Hollywood films, all while maintaining a pretty low profile in the industry. There is just so much to know about the talented and charming actor, so here are 10 things you didn’t know about Austin Nichols!
10. What’s In a Name?
Austin Nichols was born to parents David Nichols, a radiologist, and Kay Nichols, a professional water skier, in Ann Arbor, Michigan and was named after the Austin, Nichols Distilling Company in Kentucky, which produces Wild Turkey Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. His family then moved to Austin, Texas before he turned one.
William Gratz/ABACAUSA.COM9. Arrest
Nichols really seems like a stand-up guy but he found himself on the wrong side of the law when he was arrested in August 2007 in Michigan after being pulled over for driving the wrong way down a street at 3 A.M. After being pulled over, officers noticed he was under the influence and, after a reported blood alcohol level of .10, he was arrested for a DUI.
Photo by Stewart Cook / Rex Features8. Education
Nichols went to McCallum High School in central Austin and at 15 became interested in acting, sparking his move to L.A. after her graduated. He ended up at the University of Southern California and in 2002 graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English.
Photo by MediaPunch/REX Shutterstock7. Forgotten Roles
Many know him as Julian Baker on One Tree Hill from 2008-2012 and now The Walking Dead, two very popular shows that make many forget about his previous roles. One of his first roles was as a love interest in the Olsen twins’ 2001 film Holiday in the Sun, and after a few TV roles landed co-starring roles in the films The Day After Tomorrow, Wimbledon and Glory Road. He also appeared in two episodes of Friday Night Lights as Noah, a teacher who gets too close to Julie Taylor.
Dualstar Productions6. Becoming A Star
After moving to L.A., word is Nichol did not get noticed until he “gate-crashed” a Sundance Film Festival party where he met a manager who signed him.
Photo by Broadimage/REX5. Film Buff
In One Tree Hill, Nichols’s character is a film producer who is obsessed with films, and telling the perfect story through cinema, and as it turns out, Nichols is a film buff like his iconic character. He has stated that he takes a notebook with him to every movie he sees. “I take it to the movies and write down who does the music, edits, directs and how long the film is,” and has also said, “If I’m not working, I spend almost half my day at theaters or watching DVDs at my house.”
4. Bad Breakup
Nichols and artist Claire Oswalt dated from 1997-2004 and were engaged for a bit before splitting in a somewhat bad breakup. Following the split, Nichols said in an interview that he had spent time living out of his car and sleeping on friends’ couches before pulling his life back together again.
3. Love Life
After his split from Oswalt, Nichols didn’t begin seriously dating again until hooking up with his One Tree Hill co-star and on-screen love interest Sophia Bush who played Brooke Davis. They also ended up dating off and on for seven years before finally calling it quits, and he is now currently dating actress Chloe Bennet who is best known as Daisy ‘Skye’ Johnson on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Despite the 12 year age gap between the two, things have been going strong for three years now.
Photo by Rob Latour/Variety/REX Shutterstock2. Sports
Given his 6’3″ athletic frame, it isn’t too surprising that Nichols takes easily to sports, but it is interesting that because of his height he was pushed into basketball and it is the one sport he didn’t really excel at. He described himself as “absolutely awful” in high school, yet went on to portray a basketball player in The Utopian Society and Glory Road. He also enjoys football, golf, horseback riding, tennis and waterskiing.
(c) Buena Vista/courtesy Everett Collection1. Olympian
When he was only two years old, Nichols began competitive waterskiing thanks to the influence of his professional trick water skier mother. In 1997 Nichols represented the US Junior Water Ski Team in the Pan-Am championships, and was also a member of the Junior US Olympic Water Skiing team. By 13 years old he was ranked at third in the world and was on the path to becoming a professional water skier before injuring his shoulder so badly he had to give up the sport.
