Nicky Katt, ‘Dazed and Confused’ and ‘Boston Public’ actor, dies at 54

Character actor Nicky Katt, known best for his film and television roles in Dazed and Confused, Boston Public, and Boiler Room, has died at age 54. 

Katt’s attorney John Sloss confirmed the news to Entertainment Weekly but did not disclose the actor’s cause of death. 

Born on May 11, 1970, Katt got his start at the age of 7, appearing in shows like Code Red, Father Murphy, Fantasy Island, and Herbie, the Love Bug, among numerous others. 

His breakout role was the bully Clint Bruno in the 1983 classic Dazed and Confused. Directed by Richard Linklater, the classic coming-of-age film focused on a group of Austin teenagers celebrating the last day of high school in 1976. Katt starred in the film alongside Matthew McConaughey, Parker Posey, and Ben Affleck. 

Following his Dazed and Confused role, Katt worked with Linklater again on the films Waking Life and SubUrbia. The A Time to Kill actor wed Annie Morse (Get Over It) in 1999. The couple divorced in 2001, with Katt never remarrying. 

The actor continued to film projects in Austin, starring in the 2005 Robert Rodriguez film Sin City as the villainous character Stuka. He also had a role in Rodriguez’s double feature with Quentin Tarantino Planet Terror/Death Proof. 

Katt would later reunite with his Dazed and Confused castmates for a live script reading of the stoner film in 2020. 

Katt’s other notable roles included that of teacher Harry Senate on the school drama Boston Public, crooked finance associate Greg Weinstein in Boiler Room, and detective Frank Duggar in Speakeasy. He ventured into voice acting for video games, playing the character Atton Rand in Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. He also appeared in a 2004 off-Broadway production of the Woody Allen play, A Second Hand Memory. 

His final role was in a 2018 episode of Casual. 

Speaking to IGN in 2008 about his ability to bring humor to the dark roles he became known for, Katt explained, ” I kind of am notorious for bringing a lot of humor to stuff, and not in a scene-stealing way, [but] especially if something is really kind of heavy subject matter I’m kind of like oxygen for a drowning man.”

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Adding how he looked up to actors like Gary Oldman and Warren Oates because they didn’t really, “fit into one [type of role],” Katt told the outlet, “I’ve definitely gone through streaks where that’s all that people wanted me to play, the bad guy, especially after Dazed and Confused. But I’ve been really lucky because I get to play all different types of guys.”