Get to Know (and Meet) Actor, Producer and Musician Thomas Nicholas

[Seth Stohs]

This weekend, Thomas Nicholas who played Henry Rowengartner in the 1993 baseball movie Rookie of the Year (and Kevin Myers in the American Pie movies) will be performing in Minnesota and you can see him and even meet him. I had the chance to chat with the actor, producer and musician about his career. (ticket information near the bottom)Thomas Nicholas has quite the crazy schedule. Last weekend he was in Detroit for an event. This coming weekend, he will be performing at Outtakes Bar and Grill in New Hope on Saturday night and at the Heavy on Wrestling event on Sunday in Duluth. He’s had an acting career that has now spanned over three decades, and he is doing more and more behind the camera as well. He is heading to Portugal later this month for a film festival and while he’s there he’ll join some of his American Pie cast mates at Comic Con in Liverpool. He is currently working on his seventh musical album.

 

In addition to all that, he and his wife are the parents of a second-grade son and a three-year old daughter who is just about to start preschool.

 

Life is busy, but Nicholas is really happy about his life and his career.

 

 

Rookie of the Year came out in 1993. He was not even a teenager when he became a star. The movie did well at the box office. It was referred to as a “Sleeper Hit.” It was never the top-billed movie at theaters, but it ended up making around $50 million in the box office. Maybe even more impressive, it is still a movie that people watch and enjoy. It has aged well.

 

It may surprise many to learn that Nicholas wasn’t a baseball player as a child. He was busy running from audition to audition, something he had been doing that since before he was five.

 

“I was kind of like Henry in that I grew up in a single-parent household. So, no. I wasn’t really into sports. In fact, I didn’t play baseball until after I shot Rookie of the Year. Then because of my audition schedule, I spent the majority of the season riding the bench because the coach said that if you miss practice during the week, then you ride the bench the next game. I was going on anywhere from three to 15 auditions a week at that time. So, I always rode the bench.”

 

Rookie of the Year is now nearly 30 years old. As Nicholas notes, “The coolest part about that film... I never would have thought that it would have transcended through generations, and now parents are showing it to their kids. And it’s living on, so that’s pretty cool.”

 

It strikes close to him now. “My kids have both seen the film, and they both enjoy it. Even my son at the early age of three saw a clip of the 12-year-old version of me and instantly recognized that that was his dad, which is pretty odd.”

 

In movies, actors can go to some pretty cool locations to shoot scenes. For this movie, they got to spend time at Wrigley Field.

 

“Being at Wrigley Field was pretty awesome. I didn’t have to be a baseball fan to realize the value of that time and that place.”

 

In fact, the Cubs have him come back to Wrigley Field every year to throw out a first pitch and sometimes even sing during the 7th Inning Stretch.

 

“I embrace it. I feel like if it was the only feather under my cap, I might be a bit more against the idea. But because there have been other successful moments in my career, I’ve really embraced some of the stuff like Rookie of the Year or even A Kid in King Arthur’s court. For the last ten, eleven years, I’ve been going back every year and throwing out a ceremonial first pitch for the Cubs. It’s always really cool to be back there and on the field and hanging with all the Cubs fans who loved that film. We had a good eight-year run where Henry Rowengartner was the last hope of the Cubs. It still goes beyond that even though they have now won a World Series.”

 

He is bringing that “Rowengartner” Cubs jersey that he wore when throwing out the first pitch at a game in August in Chicago (seen in the photo above) with him to Minnesota this weekend, hoping to sell it and present the funds to charity.

 

 

Following Rookie of the Year, he stayed quite busy. Then in 1999, American Pie came out. It may not have been a blockbuster hit, but it gained popularity over time and became incredibly successful. Two years later, he was in American Pie 2. Next came American Wedding. In 2012, he and much of the cast returned for American Reunion.

 

The group still stays in contact despite separate careers and their own families. Early next month, he’ll be at Comic Con Liverpool with Chris Klein and Shannon Elizabeth and Tara Reid.

 

 

He has played a variety of roles in his career. He was Walt Disney in the movie Walt Before Mickey. He starred in, and produced, Living Among Us. He has been a regular on TV shows such as Party of Five and had many guest appearances as well.

 

 

He will be traveling to Portugal later this month for the Fantasporto Film Festival where his newest movie, Adverse, will open the festival, which is a huge honor. He’s very proud of the work he did acting but also producing. And, check out the trailer below. The movie looks intense, and what an impressive cast!

 

 

He has already produced six feature films and some music videos and will be doing more behind the camera in the near future. In recent years, he’s been trying to be the producer on one film every other year. In 2020, he may be producing two movies.

 

“I love being behind the camera while also being in front. It basically means I have less down time. As an actor, you’ll come in and do your scene, and then you’re just sort of on a break until the next set up or the next scene. So there’s a lot of down time. That’s actually why I started playing music, just because I was so bored during those middle moments. You don’t have any responsibilities during that time. So, as a producer, as soon as the cameras cut, I switch hats, and I don’t get that down time which is a lot more fun and exciting, I think.”

 

 

Thomas Nicholas is also quite the musician. He noted that he is currently working on his seventh album. In fact, he has a single called “iWant” which will be released on Friday, Valentine’s Day.

 

• Actor
• Producer
• Director
• Musician

Twitter: TINBand

 

Instagram: TINBand

 

 

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On Saturday night at Outtakes Bar and Grill in New Hope, MN, (map) you can hang out with Henry Rowengartner… or Kevin from American Pie. Along with acting and producing films, Thomas Nicholas has a strong passion for music and performing as well.

 

Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. with food and drinks available. At 7:00 p.m. Rebel Queens will play. Then at 7:30, Thomas Nicholas will play an acoustic set for about 30 minutes. At about 8:00, there will be a Meet & Greet with Thomas for Meet & Greet ticket holders.

 

Tickets are available here. According to Fan HQ, General Admission tickets are available for $10. Meet & Greet tickets are available for $29.99 and include a photo with Thomas and an autograph on the item of your choice.

On Sunday, he will be in Duluth as a celebrity musician at the Heavy on Wrestling “No Love Lost 3” event. You can order tickets here.

 

 

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[woolywoolhouse]

Thank you for the article. Rookie of the Year is/was on Disney+, and my kids (both baseball fans because of my love of the game) both loved the movie.