Ian Michael Nelson (born April 10, 1995) is an American actor. He played the teen version of werewolf Derek Hale in the television series Teen Wolf, Eric Palmer in the drama film The Judge, and Andy in the Hulu series There's...Johnny!.
Personal life Nelson is the son of Mark and Janie Nelson, and the youngest of four children. Nelson attended Forsyth Country Day School in Lewisville, North Carolina. He studied screenwriting at the University of Southern California. Nelson is Jewish.
Career Nelson first became interested in the performing arts by auditioning for a school musical to impress a girl. He performed in several local shows, including Piedmont Opera's Amahl and the Night Visitors. In addition to acting and singing, he is a dancer, and featured in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on three occasions. To further hone his craft, Nelson studied at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and the Stagedoor Manor performing arts school. He also trained under Burgess Jenkins at Jenkins' Actors Group school.
His first film role was a non-speaking part as the unnamed tribute from District 3 in The Hunger Games in 2012. That was followed by Alone yet Not Alone the following year. The movie, filmed in Virginia and Tennessee, was filmed prior to The Hunger Games. Throughout 2013 and 2014, Nelson appeared in Medeas, The Judge, and The Best of Me. In 2015, he starred in The Boy Next Door as Kevin, the son of Jennifer Lopez and John Corbett. Nelson described the experience as a "great role", stating he really enjoyed the collaboration with director Rob Cohen.
Nelson's first foray into television was in the role of a teen were-wolf Derek Hale in Teen Wolf. He appeared as the teenaged version of Tyler Hoechlin's character in three episodes throughout the third and fourth seasons. He went on to appear in Criminal Minds and Comedy Bang! Bang!, before earning a recurring role as Parker in The Deleted, which aired in 2016. Nelson stars as Andy on There's...Johnny!, a show depicting the backstage workings of The Tonight Show during Johnny Carson's tenure in the 1970s. The series was released on Hulu in November 2017. He starred in the 2020 drama film Paper Spiders opposite Stefania LaVie Owen and Lili Taylor.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 2012 The Hunger GamesDistrict 3 Male Tribute 2013 Alone yet Not Alone Young Owen Gibson Medeas Micah 2014 The Judge Eric Palmer The Best of Me Jared Reynolds 2015 The Boy Next Door Kevin Peterson 2017 Freak Show Mark "Flip" Kelly Like Me Burt Walden 2019 Summer Night Seth 2020Paper SpidersDaniel
Television Year Title Role Notes 2013–2014 Teen Wolf Teen Derek Hale 3 episodes 2014 Criminal Minds William Pratt Episode: "Hashtag" 2015 Comedy Bang! Bang! Craig Wilson Episode: "Simon Helberg Wears a Sky Blue Button Down and Jeans" Legends Teen Curtis Ballard Episode: "The Legend of Curtis Ballard" 2016 The Deleted Parker 7 episodes 2017 Law and Order: Special Victims Unit Eric Hendricks Episode: "Decline and Fall" There's...Johnny! Andy KlavinSeries lead (7 episodes)
Video games Year Title Role Notes 2022 Need for Speed Unbound Speedie Voice role, male version
Theater Amahl and the Night Visitors – Amahl 13 – Archie Walker West Side Story – Baby John Oliver! – Artful Dodger The Secret Garden – Colin Craven You're a Good Man Charlie Brown – Linus van Pelt Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Joseph
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