Modeling

Nolte was a model in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In a national magazine advertisement in 1972, he appeared in jeans and an open jean shirt for Clairol's "Summer Blonde" hair lightener sitting on a log next to a blonde Chris O'Connor;^[9] and they appeared on the packaging.

Acting

Nolte as Tom Jordache in Rich Man, Poor Man, 1976

Nolte first starred in the television miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man, based on Irwin Shaw's 1970 best-selling novel.^[10] Later, he appeared in over 40 films, playing a wide variety of characters. Diversity of character, trademark athleticism, and gravelly voice are signatures of his career. In 1973, he guest-starred in the Griff episode, "Who Framed Billy the Kid?", as Billy Randolph, a football player accused of murder. Nolte also made two guest appearances in the television series Barnaby Jones in 1974 and 1975. He co-starred with Andy Griffith in Winter Kill, a television film made as the pilot of a possible television series, and another one, Adams of Eagle Lake,^[11] but neither was picked up.

Nolte starred in The Deep (1977),^[12] Who'll Stop the Rain (1978),^[13] and North Dallas Forty (1979) which is based on Peter Gent's novel.^[14] In 1982, he starred in 48 Hrs. with Eddie Murphy^[15] and Cannery Row with Debra Winger. During the 1980s, he also starred in Under Fire (1983),^[16] Teachers (1984), Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986),^[17] Extreme Prejudice (1987)^[18] and New York Stories (1989).^[19] Nolte starred with Katharine Hepburn in her last leading film role in Grace Quigley (1985).^[20] Nolte and Murphy starred again in the sequel Another 48 Hrs..^[21] In 1991, Nolte starred in The Prince of Tides and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.^[22] Later, he starred in Martin Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear with Robert De Niro and Jessica Lange.^[23] Nolte also starred in Lorenzo's Oil (1992),^[24] Jefferson in Paris (1995),^[25] Mulholland Falls (1996)^[26] and Afterglow (1997).^[27] Nolte co-starred in I Love Trouble (1994) with Julia Roberts. Following its release, the Los Angeles Times reported that the two did not get along well and had multiple spats on-set.^[28] He received his second Academy Award nomination in 1997 for Affliction.^[29] Nolte starred with Sean Penn in three films, including Terrence Malick's war epic The Thin Red Line,^[30] U Turn,^[31] and Gangster Squad.^[32]

In 1992, Nolte was named the Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine. When asked about the selection he said "Are you sure you didn't make a mistake? My personal choice is Walter Cronkite."^[33]

Nolte in 2003

Nolte continued to work in the 2000s, taking smaller parts in Clean and Hotel Rwanda, both performances receiving positive reviews.^[34][35] He also played supporting roles in the 2006 drama Peaceful Warrior^[36] and the 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder.^[37] In 2011, Nolte played recovering alcoholic Paddy Conlon in Warrior, and was nominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.^[38] Beginning in 2011, Nolte starred with Dustin Hoffman in the HBO series Luck. At the start of production of the second season, however, HBO ended the series after the death of three horses during filming.^[39] In 2013, he was in the movie Parker which starred Jason Statham. In 2015, Nolte starred in the biopic comedy-drama A Walk in the Woods^[40] and in the revenge thriller Return to Sender.^[41]

From 2016 to 2017, Nolte starred in Graves on Epix about a volatile, hard-drinking former U.S. president who has been retired for 25 years and who has a political epiphany to right the wrongs of his past administration in very public and unpredictable ways.^[42]

For Nolte, acting is not a career but something he needs to do, he says, "a need in the sense that I can't find anything as complex and interesting to do, but I need it in a story," and "I don't want to do reality because reality never runs smooth". He likes to vanish into a role "if the story reaches up to where the great actor is, the great actor disappears, and the story becomes number one, that's as real as it gets".^[43] Nolte appeared as recurring character Kuiil in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian in 2019.^[44]

Legal troubles and substance abuse

Nolte is known for his "bad-boy reputation".^[53][54][46]

In 1961, he was arrested for selling counterfeit draft card documents and given a 45-year prison sentence and a $75,000 fine, but the sentence was suspended.^[55][56] However, the felony conviction left him ineligible for military service. He had felt obligated to serve in the Vietnam War, and says that he felt incomplete as a young man for not going to Vietnam.^[57]

On September 11, 2002, Nolte was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in Malibu, California. Tests later showed that he was under the influence of GHB. Nolte responded that he has "been taking it for four years and I've never been raped."^[58] Three days later, he checked himself into Silver Hill Hospital in Connecticut for counseling.^[59][60] On December 12, 2002, he pleaded no contest to charges of driving under the influence. He was given three years' probation, with orders to undergo alcohol and drug counseling with random testing required.^[61][62]

In 2005, The Independent reported that Nolte had struggled with substance abuse for "the majority of his adult life" and had begun abusing alcohol at an early age. After remaining sober for nearly 10 years, he resumed drinking in the late 1990s. Following his 2002 arrest, he again stopped drinking.^[60] In 2018, he told The Saturday Evening Post that he did not have a drug problem and that he had been "relatively clean outside of prescription stuff for years".^[63]

Film

Television

Other honors

• 1992 – People: Sexiest Man Alive
• Nolte received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on November 20, 2017.^[71][72]