Nicholas Braun Bio
Nicholas Joseph Braun, born on May 1, 1988, in Bethpage, New York, is an American actor whose commanding height and understated comic timing have made him one of the most recognizable character actors of his generation. He is best known for playing the awkward and perpetually underdog Greg Hirsch on the HBO drama series Succession, a role that earned him three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Across a career that began in the early 2000s, Braun has built a versatile resume that includes studio comedies, independent dramas, and prestige television.
Standing roughly six feet seven inches tall, Braun has turned what could have been a casting limitation into a signature presence on screen. Beyond acting, he has ventured into music, releasing a charity single in 2020, and has invested in bars and restaurants in New York City.
Early Life and Background
Nicholas Joseph Braun was born and raised on Long Island, New York. His father, Craig Braun, is an actor and a former graphic designer who co-designed the famous tongue and lips logo for the rock band the Rolling Stones. Braun’s parents divorced when he was five years old, and he spent the rest of his childhood dividing his time between his mother’s home in Connecticut and his father’s home in Manhattan.
Encouraged by his father, Braun began taking acting classes at a very young age. As a teenager, he attended boarding school and continued to act during his summer breaks, treating each holiday as an opportunity to refine his craft and gain stage experience.
After completing high school, Braun enrolled at Occidental College in Los Angeles as a math major. After two years of balancing academics with his growing passion for acting, he chose to leave the program and pursue performing full-time.
Path to Acting
Braun’s earliest screen credits came in the form of small television appearances beginning in 2001, when he was a teenager. His film debut followed in the Disney superhero comedy Sky High in 2005, a project that introduced his lanky frame and dry humor to a wide audience for the first time.
He built on that early momentum with appearances in Disney Channel Original Movies such as Minutemen in 2008 and Princess Protection Program in 2009, and he played a recurring role as Cameron on the ABC Family series based on 10 Things I Hate About You, which ran until 2010. These family-friendly projects gave Braun steady on-set training and a chance to develop range across comedy and drama.
By the early 2010s, Braun was moving into more mature work, including Billy Ray in Kevin Smith’s Red State in 2011, Lloyd Taylor in the Disney comedy Prom in 2011, and a supporting turn in the Stephen King adaptation The Perks of Being a Wallflower in 2012. These roles marked his transition from teen performer to working actor in studio and independent productions.
Nicholas Braun Career
Early Career (2001–2009)
Braun began his professional acting career with small television roles in 2001, gradually working his way through guest spots and family-oriented projects. His feature film debut arrived with Sky High in 2005, a Disney release that paired him with established actors and gave him early exposure to a large audience.
During this period, he also appeared in Disney Channel Original Movies including Minutemen in 2008 and Princess Protection Program in 2009, and he took on the regular role of Cameron on the ABC Family series 10 Things I Hate About You, which aired its final episode on May 24, 2010. He additionally appeared in The Secret Life of the American Teenager and portrayed the character Cole Waters on the web series The LXD, building a varied early resume.
Breakthrough (2018–2023)
In 2018, Braun joined the main cast of the HBO drama series Succession, taking on the role of Greg Hirsch, the bumbling yet ambitious cousin who works his way inside the inner circle of the Roy family. The performance drew widespread critical acclaim and is widely considered his defining role.
For Succession, Braun received three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, in 2020, 2022, and 2023. The series ran from 2018 to 2023 and cemented his reputation as a serious dramatic actor.
During and after Succession, Braun expanded into independent cinema. He played Derrek in the A24 drama Zola in 2021, directed by Janicza Bravo and written by Jeremy O. Harris, and starred as the lead in the Susanna Fogel drama Cat Person in 2023, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. He also appeared in the fantasy film Dream Scenario, directed by Kristoffer Borgli, and was cast as both filmmaker Jim Henson and entertainer Andy Kaufman for the 2024 biographical dramedy Saturday Night. In 2025, he made his professional stage debut as Doug in the off-Broadway revival of Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.
Notable Works and Milestones
Braun’s signature work remains Succession, where his portrayal of Greg Hirsch became a fan favorite and a critical talking point across all four seasons. His three Emmy nominations for the role stand as his highest-profile honors to date, and his performances in Sky High, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Zola, and Cat Person showcase a career built on a willingness to move between studio family films, indie dramas, and prestige television with equal ease.
Nicholas Braun Award Nominations
Nicholas Joseph Braun has earned three nominations from the Primetime Emmy Awards across his career. All three nominations came for his role as Greg Hirsch in the HBO drama series Succession, and all were for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He was recognized in 2020, again in 2022, and a third time in 2023, reflecting sustained critical attention to his work on the series.
Nicholas Braun Awards Won
There are no verified major award wins recorded in the available sources for Nicholas Joseph Braun. His three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Succession remain his most prominent formal honors, and at this time no wins have been confirmed.
Nicholas Braun Family
Braun was born to a creative family with strong ties to the arts and design. His father, Craig Braun, is an actor and a former graphic designer who co-designed the iconic tongue and lips logo for the Rolling Stones.
Braun’s parents divorced when he was five years old, after which he divided his childhood between his mother’s home in Connecticut and his father’s home in Manhattan. The influence of his father’s acting and design career played a central role in shaping Braun’s early interest in performing.
Personal Life
Beyond acting, Braun has pursued a handful of side projects outside of film and television. In 2020, he released the music video for his single Antibodies (Do You Have The), a track created in partnership with Partners In Health and the COPE Program to encourage donations for those most at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, in 2015, he contributed vocals to two tracks on the Phantoms debut EP Broken Halo, including the title track and Voyeur.
Braun has also invested in various bars and restaurants in New York City, adding hospitality entrepreneurship to his creative work. Known for his height of about six feet seven inches, he has spoken openly about how his stature has influenced casting decisions throughout his career.