In just 17 years, Baton Rouge native and child actor Toby Nichols has worked with movie stars such as Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Finn Jones, Bryan Cranston and Diane Lane.
Nichols started his acting career by starring in his older brother’s YouTube videos. Once his brother suggested they take acting classes, Nichols discovered his natural niche for memorizing lines and getting into character.
“I did acting classes for a year and a half before I booked anything,” Nichols said.
Toby went to Nashville, Tennessee for his first lead role in the movie “Chasing Ghosts” in 2015, alongside Saturday Night Live actor Tim Meadows. The movie is based around a child, Lucas, whose brother died in a car crash forcing him to understand and accept death.
“You’ll see a theme in my movies – pretty much all of them have death or sadness,” Nichols said. “I don’t think I’ve been happy in any of my lead roles yet.”
After “Chasing Ghosts,” Nichols booked “Trumbo,” a film about Dalton Trumbo who was a top screenwriter in Hollywood until he became a part of the “Hollywood Ten” for opposing McCarthyism during the Red Scare. Nichols shared the screen with huge names like “Breaking Bad” star Cranston and Lane who have also appeared in “House of Cards” and “Man of Steel.”
“While on set for ‘Trumbo,’ I was also watching ‘Breaking Bad,’” Nichols said. “It was so cool to be in a film with an actor from one of my favorite shows.”
After “Trumbo,” Nichols appeared as a plantation owner’s son in “Underground,” which was produced by singer John Legend on WGN America.
Unfortunately, after two successful seasons, “Underground” was cancelled because WGN wanted to take its network in a different direction.
Following “Underground,” Nichols booked “Iron Fist.” The show is about Marvel Comics’ character Danny Rand, who is known as the Iron Fist. Nichols plays young Danny, which is an essential character to the show.
“When I auditioned, I had no idea it was going to be for a Marvel show. It was all kept completely secret,” Nichols said.
Since his first lead role, one of the only “happy” movies he’s been in is “22 Jump Street,” starring Hill and Tatum.
“I got to curse out Jonah Hill when I was 12, so that was pretty cool,” Nichols said.
Most recently, Nichols worked on a horror film called “Dark,” which was shot in Canada just last year. Toby Nichols’ acting skills are showcased in the film, which will be intensified by horrifying prosthetics, making him appear to have no eyeballs.
“It would take about two to three hours to make it look like someone burned out my eyes,” Nichols said.
“Dark” will be released in an independent film festival in 2018.
“The cool thing about acting in horror movies is that when you watch them at the premiere, you know when the jump scares are going to happen and it really isn’t scary,” Nichols said.
Being a young actor and taking online schooling isn’t traditional by any means, but Nichols continues to get the job done.
“Being a young actor is all I know. I have nothing to compare it to,” Nichols said. “It’s something I really enjoy doing.”
Nichols hopes to act in more comedies and wants to get into screenwriting. He wants to write cartoons similar to “The Amazing World of Gumball,” and already has a few in the works.
“I love acting, but I think I’d really enjoy writing, Nichols said. “But also, I am just happy to be where I am right now.”
