Casey Nelson-People You Should Know-Applying the Principles of Athletics to His Career
People You Should Know, People You Should Know/Pg 2 — By Buddy Sampson on March 30, 2011 at 7:16 am
Casey Nelson
Applying the Principles of Athletics to His Career
Athletes have a specific regimen for success. To become a successful athlete, preparation, hard work, practice and dedication is an absolute must. Actor Casey Nelson has taken those ideals and applied them to his expanding and successful acting career, making a push to become a great actor in Hollywood.
Nelson, who was born in Atlanta, Georgia, has developed a fine acting career in a relatively short period of time. An athlete who excelled in track and cross country and still holds his high school mile record of 4:19, he has been featured in several film and television roles. He has had lead and supporting film roles in “Tumbling After,” “The Real Deal,” “Promenade,” a movie slated for release this year, “Black Gold” and “Transformers 2.” “It was really intimidating at first,” said Casey Nelson, of working with director Michael Bay on the film. “But once I got those nerves out of my system, I was able to free up and have fun.” He has graced the small screen as well, appearing in several television shows, including CBS’s “Criminal Minds,” “Navy NCIS,” “The O.C.,” “Finding Scott Baio,” and “American Dreams” among others. A veteran of theater stages, Nelson appeared in the productions “The Future of Being Trapped,” “Bar 5,” “Miss Margarida’s Way,” “Compression of a Casualty,” and a critically acclaimed production “What We Don’t Remember.” “It was incredible,” said Nelson about the production. “It was kind of a part that I would generally never be called in for and for whatever reason, the director gave me a chance. I played a mentally challenged guy whose brother may or may have not killed his father. I got great feedback on it. It was an amazing experience.” The production sold out its last four shows and received rave reviews.
While growing up, Casey focused on becoming an athlete, but realized that he had another passion. “I was pretty obsessed with movies growing up,” he said.”I would literally talk my parents into dropping me off at the theater on a Saturday afternoon and leaving me until 10:00 at night, not by myself, but with friends and stuff.” His athletic exploits garnered him a scholarship to the University of Georgia, but fate took him in another direction. “I got injured in my junior year in college,” he said, which led him to his true passion, acting. He changed his major from Business to Dramatic Arts, graduated and made a decision to move to Los Angeles to further his acting aspirations. He began to apply the principles of sports to working at being an actor. “At the risk of sounding cliche, you just get up every morning and you do whatever it takes to take it to the next level and to keep moving forward,” said Casey. His work ethic drove him to take several classes in acting. He studied the Meisner technique at 3rd Stage Theater in Burbank and studied under Brad Henke at Henke/Stella Adler.
Currently, Casey is working on a film he wrote, “Off They Go,” which is in post production and is slated to work on a Suzanne De Laurentiis project “How Sweet It Is.” However, once an athlete, always an athlete. Casey Nelson is a notorious gym rat and can often be found playing pick up basketball games in Hollywood.”They call me Steve Kerr (an ex NBA star) on the basketball court,” he laughed. “I’m a 5’9″ 155 pound Steve Kerr because I’ve been known to drain the three pointer.” Casey Nelson may not be a 7 footer on the basketball court, but his tireless work ethic makes him a giant off the court.
Casey Nelson’s dedication to his craft, drive for success and work ethic makes him a lock as one of the People You Should Know.