Nicky Katt, ‘Boston Public’ and ‘Dazed and Confused’ Actor, Dies at 54
Nicky Katt, the actor best known for his role in Richard Linklater’s 1993 movie “Dazed and Confused, 2000’s “Boiler Room,” and the TV series “Boston Public” has died. He was 54.
Katt’s death was confirmed to TheWrap by attorney John Sloss, founder and partner at Sloss Law, the firm that provided the actor’s legal representation. No cause of death was given.
Katt also starred in Steven Soderbergh’s 2002 film “Full Frontal” alongside Julia Roberts, Catherine Keener, and Brad Pitt) as an egotistical actor playing Adolf Hitler as an average man with commitment issues in the play “The Sound and the Fuhrer.”
In a 2002 interview with the Los Angeles Times, the director praised the actor’s performance at the time and told the outlet, “I think he understood that there’s no way to treat Hitler as anything but an abstraction. So the humor is in attempting to humanize him, because it’s impossible.”
Soderbergh also described Katt as “absolutely fearless” in the performance.
Katt told the newspaper that the role presented an opportunity to take a step back from acting and pour the frustration he had experienced in pursuit of roles into one character. “There’s so much desperation in the air, in Los Angeles especially. You don’t notice it in New York as much,” he explained. “Everybody plays it a little cooler there and people have a lot more interaction with each other. I think Stanley Kubrick called the vibe in L.A. a ‘low-level malevolence.’ It eats away at you at some point.”
Katt joined the cast of “Boston Public” for the show’s first three seasons. His character, Harry Senate, was an unconventional geology teacher who takes over after a colleague quits due to the behavior of the students. Despite his questionable methods, Senate proved to be dedicated to the classroom and the students within.
The actor’s additional credits include “Boiler Room,” “Sin City,” and “Dazed and Confused.” The latter debuted in 1993 and featured Katt as Clint Bruno, a guy who basically loves smoking weed, taking care of his car, and beating people up. His character had a memorable fight with Adam Goldberg’s Mike, who managed to land one punch before regretting his choices.
Katt was born May 11, 1970, in South Dakota.
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