Fun fact: Austin’s father was a fan of Austin after going to college at the University of Texas, but Austin wasn’t named after the capital city. Rather, the Austin, Nichols & Co, a distilling company that produced Wild Turkey Bourbon and was originally located in New York City!
Austin was born in Michigan, but his dad brought the family back to his college town when Austin was a young child. He spent 22 years here before leaving for LA to pursue acting. He returned to his hometown in 2020 and says, “I love the magical waters here. I believe that the springs and all the different beautiful places to swim are the reason Austin happened, because not everywhere in Texas has that and it gets really hot.” He adds, “I think that's part of the reason why people are so nice here and people care about each other, and they're not cranky. I think there's something magical about these waterways and these springs and that's a huge, huge draw for me.” Austin’s mother Kay was a national champion water skier and Austin began competitive water skiing from the age of two! Although, he says these days he prefers surfing (he recently swam the longest wave break in the world in Peru) and TKFoiling – which you can find him doing on Lake Travis.
While the actor, who you may know from Friday Night Lights or One Tree Hill is certain to spend a copious amount of time in the water this summer, he’s also going to be celebrating the big screen release of the latest in the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise. “I feel like a kid again who got their first movie and it’s coming out in theaters,” he shares. “The business has changed so much and there are so few big movies that have a guaranteed a theatrical release, so to have a big summer movie, I'm so excited.”
This sequel will be the fourth film in the slasher franchise. Austin was a fan of the original film, saying, “I watched it when it came out in 1997. I remember when Scream came out in 1996 and then I Know What You Did Last Summer came out and Kevin Williamson (the writer) was the guy who got credited with bringing the Thrasher flick back in the 90s and kind of gave it new life. I remember loving the first one.” He admits, “I probably didn't pay too much attention when the sequels came out, but I loved the first one and when I heard about this, I remember getting a call basically telling me ‘They really like you for a role in this movie, and it looks like you’re getting it.’
He didn’t even have to audition for the role! “No, I didn't audition,” he tells Austin Lifestyle, adding, “Those things happen sometimes, but I'm not Tom Cruise, and it's not every movie, so when it does happen, it's just such a gift. And the next part was that I was going to film in Australia, which is a place I've wanted to go to since I was eight years old and had never been. It was ticking boxes and getting blessings hitting me left and right. So, I flew down to Australia in November and was there a month and had the time. It was fantastic.”
While he’s previously directed a few episodes of Walker, Austin recently directed his first feature film, The Salamander King, which he says, “is really a love letter to Austin. It’s a group of funny people who work at a golf course who are endangered in trying to protect their way of life and everything is about how it's changed and their favorite places are getting demolished and turned into condos and just protecting your identity in your home in a vastly changing world.” The film is currently on the festival circuit and hopes to have a home and a release date soon.
We’ll keep you updated on that. In the meantime, check out the I Know What You Did Last Summer in theaters everywhere July 18 – and check back here for more Austin Nichols in a future issue…