Born and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Ian Nelson began his career at a young age making his screen debut in Lionsgate’s global phenomenon THE HUNGER GAMES, and has since built a diverse body of work across studio features, independent films, and television.

 

On the feature side, Nelson has acted in Universal/Blumhouse’s thriller THE BOY NEXT DOOR opposite Jennifer Lopez, David Dobkin’s THE JUDGE (Warner Bros.) with Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall, the romantic drama THE BEST OF ME (Relativity) alongside James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan. and Andrea Pallaoro’s MEDEAS opposite Catalina Sandino Moreno, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.

 

Nelson continued to explore bold, character-driven work in projects such as LIKE ME (SXSW) opposite Addison Timlin, Trudie Styler’s FREAK SHOW (IFC/Berlin Film Festival) with Bette Midler, SUMMER NIGHT (Netflix) with Victoria Justice and Lana Condor, CAMP opposite Joey King, PAPER SPIDERS with Lili Taylor and Stefania LaVie Owen, and the acclaimed short film, IT WAS ENGLISH opposite Charlotte Hope.

 

On television, Nelson is known for his recurring role as young Derek Hale on MTV’s TEEN WOLF, and he has also appeared in CRIMINAL MINDS (CBS), LAW & ORDER: SVU (NBC), LEGENDS (TNT), COMEDY BANG BANG (IFC), THE DELETED (Fullscreen) directed by Bret Easton Ellis, and the pilot LESS THAN ZERO (HULU). Additionally, Nelson starred in THERE'S JOHNNY (PEACOCK) opposite Jane Levy and Tony Danza, directed by David Gordon Green, and produced by Paul Reiser.

 

Up next, Nelson will be in the noir thriller AFTER, opposite Kevin Pollak and Karren Karagulian (Anora).

 

In addition to his acting, Nelson is currently in production on FLUID, a short animated comedy series he co-created and stars in, and he is also developing an original musical film called FAR FROM ME.