Who is Will Estes? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: William Estes Nipper

Age: 45 Years, 45 Year Old Males

Family:

father: Bill Nipper

mother: Mary Lu Nipper

Actors American Men

Height: 5'9" (175 cm), 5'9" Males

U.S. State: California

City: Los Angeles

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Childhood & Early Life

William Estes Nipper was born on October 21, 1978, in Los Angeles, California, to Bill Nipper, a projectionist, and Mary Lu Estes, an office administrator. He continues to use the surnames of both of his parents. The family held the same permanent address all through Estes’s childhood, and he continues to live there.

Estes graduated with a major in English literature from ‘Santa Monica College’ in California.

He got his first major breakthrough in his acting career quite early in life. Estes was only 11 when he was selected to play the role of ‘Timmy’ in the series ‘New Lassie.’ More than 700 children auditioned for the role, and Estes finally made it to the top. He later earned multiple award nominations for his wonderful execution of the role.

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Career

Estes’s career began with ‘New Lassie,’ the American family drama with children as the target audience, which ran from 1989 to 1992. It featured Estes in the role of ‘Will McCullough’ (or ‘Timmy’). Estes was a permanent member of the cast. His performance on the show grabbed the attention of a few industry stalwarts, and soon, he had offers to work in music videos with popular artists. Estes was featured in Meat Loaf’s ‘Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer than They Are.’

Estes starred in Jon Bon Jovi's iconic music video ‘It’s My Life,’ in which he performed most of his stunts by himself. He was picked by Jon Bon Jovi after they worked together in the French–American film ‘U-571,’ another significant project of Estes’s career.

While he was still a newbie in the industry, Estes worked in a few commercials. One such commercial was for the apparel brand ‘Fruit of the Loom.’

Estes has acted in many films over a span of almost 2 decades. Some of his most noteworthy movies are ‘Terror Tract’ (2000), ‘Mimic 2’ (2001), ‘New Port South’ (2001), ‘The Drive’ (2005), ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012), and ‘Dangerous Attraction’ (2015).

Estes’s reputation as an actor has been strengthened through his TV roles. He has been part of the regular cast and has also made guest appearances in many TV programs. His TV performances have mostly been credited to “Will Nipper.”

Some of the TV projects that propelled him toward success and fame were ‘The New Lassie’ (1989–1992), ‘Baywatch’ (1991), ‘Boy Meets World’ (1994–1996), ‘Kirk’ (1995–1996), ‘Meego’ (1997), ‘Kelly Kelly’ (1998), ‘7th heaven’ (1999–2000), ‘American Dreams’ (2002–2005), ‘Reunion’ (2004), ‘Eleventh Hour’ (2008), and ‘Blue Bloods’ (2010–present).

Estes was cast in the role of ‘Jack Kerouac’ in the 2007 short film ‘Luz Del Mundo.’ He also worked in a handful of other TV movies and short films such as ‘Miracle Landing’ (1990), ‘The Familiar Stranger’ (2001), ‘Charity’ (2004), ‘The Dive from Clausen’s Pier’ (2005), and ‘Shadow of Fear’ (2012).

He has lent his voice to the film ‘Once Upon a Forest,’ the TV film ‘Jonny's Golden Quest,’ and the series ‘The Legend of Prince Valiant.’

Major Works

‘New Lassie’ and ‘Kirk’ were two of the most remarkable ventures of Estes’s early acting career. He received as many as four ‘Young Artist Award’ nominations for the ‘Best Young Actor’ for his roles in these two TV shows of the 1990s.

However, if there is one project that is single-handedly responsible for catapulting Estes to fame, it is undoubtedly the popular ‘CBS’ primetime police drama ‘Blue Bloods.’ The show, running since 2010, is set in New York and revolves around the ‘Reagan family,’ a family of police officers. Estes plays the role of ‘Jameson "Jamie" Reagan,’ the youngest son of ‘Commissioner Francis Xavier Reagan.’

Awards & Achievement

Between 1990 and 1992, Estes was nominated for the ‘Young Artist Award’ in the ‘Best Young Actor’ category three times in a row, for his critically acclaimed performance in ‘New Lassie.’

Estes was nominated for the ‘Young Artist Award’ for a fourth time, in the ‘Best Performance by a Young Actor – TV Comedy Series’ category, in 1996, this time, for his portrayal of ‘Cory Hartman’ in ‘Kirk.’

In 2014, he won the ‘Prism Award – Performance in a Drama Series Episode’ for ‘Blue Bloods.’ The following year, he won the ‘Golden Honu Award – Actor of the Year’ for the same show.

Family & Personal Life

Estes prefers to keep his personal life to himself. Thus, his relationship status continues to remain a matter of speculation. Sometime in 2014, he disclosed he was single, but there is a possibility that his status might have changed by now.

He is a vegetarian and a motorcycle enthusiast. He loved swimming as a child and was gravely disappointed when a rainstorm in Los Angeles once contaminated the ocean terribly, making it unfit for swimming.

Trivia

Estes is dedicated to social activism and is associated with human welfare, animal rights, and climate change. He has worked with organizations such as the ‘World Wildlife Fund,’ the ’Natural Resources Defense Council,’ ‘Vote Solar,’ ‘Heal the Bay,’ and the ‘Best Friends Animal Society,’ which work toward wildlife conservation, promotion of sustainable sources of energy, and humane treatment of animals.

Will Estes Biography