Nicky Katt reportedly died by suicide.
The actor, best known for his roles in ‘Dazed and Confused’, ‘Boston Public’ and ‘School of Rock’, was found dead on 8 April aged 54 at his LA home.
His cause of death has now been reported by TMZ, which cited law enforcement sources who said Nicky had been found hanging in his Los Angeles-area apartment by his landlord.
The outlet added his body had been there for more than a day, and no suicide note was left at the scene.
According to the report, the landlord first visited Nicky a week before he was found lifeless to remind him that rent was due.
When they returned five days later, Nicky’s apartment door was reportedly open and he was found deceased inside his bedroom.
News of Nicky’s death was first confirmed to TMZ by the late actor’s attorney, John Sloss, on Saturday (12.04.25.)
Born on 11 May 1970 in South Dakota ,Nicky began his acting career as a child, making his screen debut at the age of 10 with a role in an episode of ‘Fantasy Island’.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he appeared in a string of TV shows including ‘CHiPs’, ‘Father Murphy’, ‘Herbie, the Love Bug’, and ‘Law and Order’.
He gained wider recognition in 1993 with his portrayal of Clint Bruno in Richard Linklater’s coming-of-age film ‘Dazed and Confused’.
He would go on to play notable roles in ‘A Time to Kill’ (1996), ‘Boiler Room’ (2000), and ‘School of Rock’ (2003), in which he appeared alongside Jack Black.
Nicky worked with a range of high-profile actors and directors throughout his career, including George Clooney, Whoopi Goldberg, Meryl Streep and Christopher Nolan.
He also voiced Atton Rand in the 2004 video game ‘Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords’, and had a small role in Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’, released in 2008.
In a past interview with IGN, Nicky reflected on the nature of being typecast and the breadth of roles he had taken on.
He said: “So I’ve been really lucky… but it’s kind of worked against me because people will see me in stuff and I’ve had people say, ‘Gee, it’s too bad you got cut out of that movie,’ and I’m like, ‘No no no, I was that frat guy.’”
He added: “So it’s a double-edged thing, you know – at a certain point you can almost be too versatile, and that sounds lame, but I’ve always looked up to people like Gary Oldman and Lee Marvin and Warren Oates – these guys who don’t really fit into one thing.
“Everyone also says that the bad guys are the most fun, but I’ve definitely gone through streaks where that’s all that people wanted me to play – the bad guy, especially after ‘Dazed and Confused’. But I’ve been really lucky because I get to play all different types of guys.”
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