Dazed and Confused actor Nicky Katt dies aged 54

US character actor Nicky Katt, known for roles in films including Dazed and Confused, A Time to Kill and Boiler Room, has died at the age of 54.

Katt's death was confirmed to news outlet TMZ on Saturday by attorney John Sloss, whose law firm represented the actor.

No cause of death or further details have been disclosed.

Katt was known for portraying villains and tough guys, earning a reputation for playing intense and often criminal characters. His final credited role was a guest appearance in Hulu’s comedy series Casual in 2018.

Born in South Dakota in 1970, Katt began his career as a child actor at just ten years old, appearing in an episode of Fantasy Island in 1980. He went on to feature in several 1980s television shows, including CHiPs, Father Murphy and Herbie, The Love Bug.

He made a brief appearance in 1992’s Sister Act as a waiter, but it was his role as motorhead Clint Bueno in the 1993 coming-of-age classic Dazed and Confused that left a lasting impression.

Widely regarded as one of the best films of the 1990s, Dazed and Confused featured a large ensemble cast that included future stars such as Matthew McConaughey, Renée Zellweger, Ben Affleck and Milla Jovovich.

Katt later played Mark in The Babysitter (1995) alongside Alicia Silverstone and Jeremy London, and appeared in other films such as SubUrbia (1996) and Batman & Robin (1997).

One of his most challenging roles came in A Time to Kill (1996), in which he portrayed child rapist Billy Ray Cobb, opposite McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Kevin Spacey and Samuel L. Jackson.

He also starred in the 2000 crime drama Boiler Room as a cynical banker, appearing alongside Ben Affleck, Giovanni Ribisi, Nia Long and Vin Diesel.

Speaking to IGN in a past interview, Katt reflected on the range of characters he’d played: "I've been really lucky because I get to play all different types of guys.

"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.'

"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.

"I mean, 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."

In a 2002 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Katt discussed the contrasting experiences of living in Los Angeles and New York as an actor.

"There's so much desperation in the air, in Los Angeles especially. You don't notice it in New York as much. Everybody plays it a little cooler there and people have a lot more interaction with each other.

"I think Stanley Kubrick called the vibe in L.A. a 'low-level malevolence.' It eats away at you at some point."

Katt continued working steadily through the 2000s, with TV appearances in Law & Order, Monk and Friends. However, his screen work began to slow in the latter part of the decade.

He had an uncredited role as a shotgun SWAT member in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight (2008) and appeared as a police officer in the 2011 black comedy The Sitter.

His final screen credits include the television film Behind the Candelabra (2013), a biopic of pianist Liberace starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, and a 2018 guest spot in the series Casual.