The Walking Dead: World Beyond
Nico Tortorella
Actor Nico Tortorella is a renaissance human for the modern day. An actor, seeker, and dedicated champion of the LGBTQIA+ community, they are using their voice to help break down stereotypes and educate in the process. Nico is perhaps best known as fan favorite heartthrob Josh on Darren Star’s hit dramedy series Younger. Season 6 premiered in June and was the highest-rated season ever with a 23% increase in viewers. It has consistently been TV Land’s most-watched title. They will shoot their seventh and final season starting mid-March 2020. A longtime lover of theater, Nico sang and tap-danced opposite their Younger co-star Sutton Foster for four of her tour dates with The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 2016 and made their theater debut in Jordan Jaffe’s play CRUDE which earned rave reviews for their portrayal of Jaime, most notably from The New York Times. Other television credits include The Beautiful life, Menendez: Blood Brothers and a series regular role opposite Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy on Fox’s hugely successful series The Following. Nico just wrapped shooting the lead role on AMC’s The Walking Dead: World Beyond, a continuation of the hugely popular franchise that will focus on the first generation of kids to come of age during the zombie apocalypse. Nico will star as Felix, an honorable man of his word who isn’t afraid to fight for others’ safety and acceptance and is gay. Nico is also developing an ever-expanding non-scripted business, as both a host and a producer. They recently finished shooting the second season of the new series How Far is Tattoo Far for MTV. Tortorella began their journey with activism with the debut of their podcast in the Summer of 2016. Titled The Love Bomb it’s comprised of their original spoken word pieces as well as in depth interviews exploring the all encompassing topic of love and the labels associated with them. Nico’s intimate conversations with personalities from all walks of life found an immediate audience and became a breeding ground for in-depth, lively explorations on topics that ranged from intimacy, humanity, gender, sexuality, intersectionality, love, race, religion, queer identities and identity politics. Nico opened up about their own path that led them to the decision to identify as sexually fluid and, as a working actor in Hollywood, everything that came with that revelation. Having conducted 50 interviews over the course of 2 seasons – including a live podcast at Entertainment Weekly’s PopFest – the podcast ranked #1 in the “Personal Journals” category in 2017 and sits in the Top 50 iTunes Top 200 with over 3 million downloads. An accomplished author, Nico has a two-book deal with Penguin Random House. A collection of poetry, all of it is you, was released in 2018 to wide acclaim followed by Space Between in 2019. The memoir recounts their investigation of love, sex, gender, addiction, family, fame and fluidity through the lens of their non-binary identity. Last year, the City of Los Angeles honored Nico by naming them Pride Month’s ambassador based on their advocacy in the LGBTQIA+ community. Friday, May 31st was officially dedicated as Nico Tortorella Day in LA. Nico married their longtime partner, Bethany Meyers, in 2018 and they reside in NY with their two dogs.
