Nicholas Downs grew up in the small Midwest town of Bondurant, Iowa as the second youngest of ten brothers and sisters. By high school, Nicholas found acting as a way to create a voice of his own. His English teacher, Mrs. Sandoval, helped him by guiding him into the fine arts. With guidance from Director, Arthur Allan Seidelman, who cast him in his first feature film, Nicholas ventured to Los Angeles to start his acting career. He found an agent and a manager and soon started building a foundation of work. After booking several independent films, commercials, and guest spots on television, he soon started landing more prominent roles in major motion pictures, including Pearl Harbor (2001), The Girl Next Door (2004), Constantine (2005), and The Holiday (2006). Nicholas has used the experience he has found as an actor to start producing his own projects. Most recently he has partnered up with Illumination Pictures and has just completed Anderson's Cross (2010), their first joint venture. Nicholas is already at work on Illumination Pictures' next project, Prep School (2011). As with Anderson's Cross (2010), Nicholas will not only produce but will also have a lead acting role.