From the Badge to the Big Screen

I go by Nicole Butler Vegas. Nicole Vegas for showbiz, and Nicole Butler is my legal name. I got into showbiz five years ago, in 2021. Before that, the short version: I was a police officer here in North Las Vegas, I'm a military veteran, I worked for the post office, and I did a lot of nonprofit work before I decided to try acting to connect with more people.

My first gig was through Julie Goldman for The Cleaning Lady pilot, and I got my first Taft-Hartley on that set. It was a 12-hour shoot, freezing cold, on top of Drai's Nightclub. I didn't know anything about showbiz! They had me as background and then bumped me up. You have to learn your marks and your eye line fast. It's a real learning curve when you jump into the deep end.

The Air Force. I deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base for four months as an M60 specialist. I thought I was pretty tough running around with my M60 on top of my Humvee.

It was a big flip! It's nothing like anything else I've done. I used to volunteer a lot with nonprofits like The Shade Tree, The Just One Project, Gift 61, Three Square, and Helping Hands. I love community, helping people, and meeting other helpers. I realized acting could give me a bigger platform to reach and help even more people.

I had Nicole Vegas on my Facebook profile and people just started calling me that. When I joined SAG, I registered Nicole Vegas as my performer name. When I produce, I use Nicole Butler. Putting them together as Nicole Butler Vegas makes it easy for everyone to recognize me.

Always check credentials. Look people up and see if they've actually finished feature films with real distribution. My verified credits are on my IMDb page. Be careful who you commit to, and do your homework before you sign on to anything.

About 20 years. I came out from Buffalo, New York, by way of Pennsylvania. My favorite restaurant is Osaka Japanese Bistro. I've been going there for 20 years, and my order is the Roppongi roll.

A lot of horror lately! We just wrapped a feature called Lost Media, where a clone of my character takes over her talk show. I'm also working with Noel G from Fast and the Furious and Training Day in A Widow's Oath.

Community. Lifting people up, staying active in local service, and building relationships that last all across our city.