Nick Stahl

Stahl later transitioned into adult roles in the films Disturbing Behavior, The Thin Red Line, In the Bedroom, Bully, Sin City, and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines in the role of John Connor.

On television, he starred as Ben Hawkins in the HBO series Carnivàle, Jason Riley in the AMC television series Fear the Walking Dead, and Lucas in the Hulu television miniseries Tiny Beautiful Things.

Stahl was born in Harlingen, Texas, the son of Donna Lynn (née Reed), a brokerage assistant, and William Kent Stahl, a businessman who abandoned his family before Nick was born. Stahl stated in a 2021 interview, "I don’t know my dad. I never met him." He was raised in Dallas along with his two sisters by his divorced mother, who struggled to make ends meet.

Stahl's first professional castings were small roles in Stranger at My Door (1991) and Woman With a Past (1992), although he had been acting in children's plays since he was four years old. The 1993 film The Man Without a Face, directed by and co-starring Mel Gibson, helped boost Stahl's career at the age of 13. The following year, he had a supporting role in the ensemble film Safe Passage. In 1996, he played the role of Puck in Benjamin Britten's opera A Midsummer Night's Dream at The Metropolitan Opera in New York.

In 1998, he played a doomed young soldier during the World War II Pacific War in The Thin Red Line. He scored critical and box office success again with his role in the 2001 movie In the Bedroom, which starred Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson as his parents. Stahl achieved box office success again in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) as John Connor (replacing Edward Furlong from Terminator 2: Judgment Day), co-starring with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Claire Danes. Also in the same year, he starred in the HBO series Carnivàle, which drew a loyal audience as well as rave reviews. The show lasted two seasons, ending in 2005.

Stahl has played two villains to good reviews: Bobby Kent in the film Bully (2001) and Roark Junior / Yellow Bastard in Sin City (2005). Stahl did not reprise his role as John Connor in Terminator Salvation, with Christian Bale taking over instead. Stahl noted the film's concept as "a jump to the future, so John Connor will be quite a bit older."

Stahl's other film roles included How to Rob a Bank (2007), Sleepwalking and Quid Pro Quo (both in 2008), Mirrors 2, the sequel to Mirrors, and On the Inside (both in 2010), Afghan Luke (2011), and Away from Here (2014).

In 2019, Stahl portrayed serial killer Glen Edward Rogers in The Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson. Filming commenced over the summer in 2018 and the film was released in the UK on December 9, 2019. Also in the same year, Stahl appeared in The Lumineers’ short film, III, which is based on their album of the same name. Stahl played the character Jimmy Sparks, who is a father and gambling addict.

In November 2021, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Stahl would star alongside Sean Bean, Mark Dacascos, and Famke Janssen in the film Knights of the Zodiac, a live-action adaptation of the Saint Seiya manga series. The film was released on May 12, 2023. In April 2023, he appeared in a recurring role as Lucas on the Hulu television miniseries Tiny Beautiful Things, opposite Kathryn Hahn. In May 2024, Stahl starred in the suspense horror film What You Wish For, written and directed by Nicholas Tomnay and distributed by Magnolia Pictures.

Stahl married actress and singer Rose Murphy in June 2009. They have a daughter, Marlo, born in 2010. The couple separated in 2012 and finalized their divorce in 2019.

Stahl struggled with alcoholism for decades. He spent time in rehabilitation facilities in 2007 and 2009. In May 2012, Stahl's wife reported him missing. It was later reported that Stahl had checked into a rehabilitation facility. On December 27, 2012, Stahl was arrested at an adult film store in Hollywood, California, on suspicion of committing a lewd act. No charges were filed due to insufficient evidence. On June 28, 2013, Stahl was arrested in Hollywood for alleged possession of methamphetamine.

In a 2017 interview at the Dallas Comic Show, Stahl stated he had moved to Texas and was taking a leave of absence from acting to concentrate on family and sobriety. Stahl returned to acting in 2019 with the filming of The Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson. In 2021, Stahl said in an interview that he had been sober for four years.