Brad Pitt Glory Days co-star Nicholas Kallsen dead at 48
Nicholas Kallsen, who was featured opposite Brad Pitt in the short-lived television series Glory Days, has died at age 48 in Thailand according to online reports. Their source is one of Rupert Murdoch’s rags, citing a Facebook posting by one of the actor’s friends. The cause of death was purportedly – no specific source was provided – a drug overdose.*
Aired on Fox in July 1990, Glory Days told the story of four high-school friends whose paths take different directions after graduation. Besides Nicholas Kallsen and Brad Pitt, the show also featured Spike Alexander and Evan Mirand. Glory Days lasted a mere six episodes – two of which directed by former Happy Days actor Anson Williams – before its cancellation.
Roommates vying for same ‘Thelma & Louise’ role
The Murdoch tabloid also claims – citing some vague “Hollywood Legend” – that Kallsen and Pitt were roommates at one point, and that both were vying for the role of the handsome hitchhiker picked up by Geena Davis in Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise (1991), co-starring Susan Sarandon. According to this “legend,” Kallsen overslept and missed his audition. Pitt did show up for his, got the role, became a star.
Not that things would have necessarily turned out any differently – in case the story isn’t totally made up – had Nicholas Kallsen slept a little less. Thelma & Louise or no, Brad Pitt just happens to have been – and to remain – a lucky exception to the rule of dead-ended Hollywood careers.
Nicholas Kallsen movies
As found on the IMDb, Nicholas Kallsen was seen in small roles in a mere two films:
- The comedy-drama …Say Anything (1989).
Director: Cameron Crowe.
Cast: John Cusack. Ione Skye. John Mahoney. Lili Taylor. Jeremy Piven. Bebe Neuwirth. Eric Stoltz. - The low-budget adventure drama The Seventh Coin (1993).
Director: Dror Soref.
Cast: Alexandra Powers. Navin Chowdhry. Peter O’Toole. John Rhys-Davies.
Kallsen’s only other TV credit is the 1998 episode “Gambler” or the anthology series CBS Schoolbreak Special.
* The IMDb lists the date of Nicholas Kallsen’s death as April 27.
Nicholas Kallsen Glory Days image: Fox TV.