Image Credit: Chuck Zlotnick
In Warrior, Nick Nolte plays a recovering alcoholic whose destructive addiction cost him his family, including his two sons, played by Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton. In his raging days, Paddy Conlon pushed his boys to be champions — one more than the other, perhaps — and when they enter the world of Mixed Martial Arts fighting, Nolte’s guilt-ridden pop seizes the opportunity to right past wrongs and salvage some sense of family. Characterized by a solemn bearing that masks a volcanic temper, Paddy fits Nolte almost too close for comfort, and it might be the best performance of his career. Last week, the SAG recognized him with a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
Warrior, which arrives on video tomorrow, is the beginning of a career renaissance for the 70-year-old Nolte, who previously earned Academy Awards nominations for The Prince of Tides (1991) and Affliction (1997). He’ll pop up in next year’s star-studded L.A. noir, Gangster Squad, opposite Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, and Josh Brolin. And he plays the mysterious old horse trainer in HBO’s Luck, David Milch’s new drama about life at the racetrack.
Famously garrulous and philosophical, Nolte talked to EW about his latest good fortune and reflected on a career that has had more than its share of ups and downs. READ FULL STORY »
