Nick Stahl

Nicolas Kent Stahl (born December 5, 1979) is an American actor. Starting out as a child actor, he gained recognition for his performance in the 1993 film The Man Without a Face, directed by and co-starring Mel Gibson. He later transitioned into his adult career with roles in the films Disturbing Behavior, The Thin Red Line, In the Bedroom, Bully, Sin City, and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines in the role of John Connor, as well as on the HBO series Carnivàle in the role of Ben Hawkins. He also starred as Jason Riley on the AMC television series Fear the Walking Dead. In April 2023, he starred as Lucas on the Hulu television series Tiny Beautiful Things. Early life Stahl was born in Harlingen, Texas, the son of Donna Lynn (née Reed), a brokerage assistant, and William Kent Stahl, a businessman. He was raised in Dallas along with his two sisters by his mother, who struggled to make ends meet. Career His first professional casting was in Stranger at My Door (1991), although he had been acting in children's plays since he was four years old. The 1993 film The Man Without a Face, co-starring Mel Gibson, helped boost his career at the age of 13. The following year, he had a supporting role in the ensemble film Safe Passage. In 1996, he played the role of Puck in Benjamin Britten's opera A Midsummer Night's Dream at The Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 1998 he played a doomed young soldier during the World War II Pacific War in The Thin Red Line. He scored critical and box office success again with his role in the 2001 movie In the Bedroom, which starred Sissy Spacek as his mother. He scored another box office hit in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) as John Connor (replacing Edward Furlong from Terminator 2: Judgment Day), co-starring with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Claire Danes. In 2003, he starred in the HBO series Carnivàle, which drew a loyal audience as well as rave reviews. The show lasted two seasons, ending in 2006.