Nick

"The name’s Nick... but don't worry about learning it, ’cause I ain’t stickin’ around long."

- Introducing himself

"I have not... come this far... to die now."

- Convincing himself to continue on in "The Parish"

Nicolas, or Nick (/nɪk/, /ˈnɪkələs/) is one of the four playable Survivors in Left 4 Dead 2. He is a gambler with a shady―even violent―past. He seems reluctant to be a part of the group at all and takes the role of "the complainer," finding fault in other people's plans, the increasingly sorry state of his once-fine suit and his teammates' character flaws, as he judges them. This makes him difficult for the others to get along with at first, but that changes as time goes by, as he learns to trust them and proves himself a valuable part of the team.

Nick wears a white suit and blue shirt he claims is worth $3,000. He has multiple rings on his fingers, one of which bears a symbol belonging to a gang that Francis possibly was a part of (given the fact that Francis has the gang symbol tattooed on his arm). It can be gathered from his appearance that he is a ladies' man as he has lipstick smudged on his collar as well as a love bite, or hickey, on his neck.

It is mentioned on multiple occasions that he was previously married; if Nick hears a Witch, he may say "I think I hear my ex-wife", and in "Hard Rain", he may say "The last time I saw this many crying women was at my wedding." He appears to have some trouble with the law as during the "Dead Center" campaign, upon finding a Tier 2 gun, Nick may say that he is not legally allowed to own a gun. Given that Nick appears to be an American citizen and thus covered by the Second Amendment, this likely means that he is a convicted felon, who are not legally allowed to own or carry guns.

Nick's facial features are based on Taymour Ghazi and he is voiced by Hugh Dillon.

Personality
Nick's sarcasm, pessimism, and self-centered cynicism arguably make him the most antagonistic character in the series. Almost everyone he meets quickly picks up on these attributes and takes a wary or active dislike to him.

Nick's autonomous personality makes him reluctant to integrate fully with the group. In "Dead Center", he either tells the others not to bother remembering his name as he does not intend to stay with them long, or forgoes mentioning his name when asked. Nick is also quite abrasive when talking and is not hesitant to insult others, especially if they cause misdemeanor on him. This is most likely a result from his past as a con artist.

Strong hints of a violent, criminal past surface when, for example, he says it is illegal for him to have a firearm; is an expert with first aid kits; and when badly hurt, he blurts out, "Man, man... It has been a long time since I have felt this bad." Nick also possesses a body of gruesome knowledge that he hints at from time to time—including the relative ease and difficulty of getting brains out of suits and blood out of wedding dresses—both of which he suffixes with the line "Don't ask me how I know that."

Nevertheless, as the game progresses and Nick comes to experience his teammates' abilities and to share their common dangers and dire circumstances, his stance towards them seems to thaw. Although he never quite loses his self-contained and me-first attitude, there are clues that he is not as callous as he appears on first impression.

Nick appears to be very high-maintenance when it comes to his appearance, wearing a suit that he claims is worth $3,000. He often complains about his suit getting ruined, and balks at having to travel through dirty or unsanitary places. Nick believes that the Green Flu outbreak could have been prevented if the world used some more hand sanitizer and gripes about going through the Rayford Historic Underground Tour or the sewers in "The Parish", something which Coach and even Rochelle tease him about. When the Survivors go through the sewers beyond the tour, Nick may complain about the unsanitary conditions of the sewers or will offer the other Survivors $1,000 to piggyback ride him over the sewer water, making the other Survivors mock him for it.

Relationships with other Survivors

 * Coach
 * Nick and Coach seem to like to trade jabs with one another (much like Francis and Bill). Nick is not afraid to insult Coach and make fun of his weight, but will also not hesitate to compliment him when he succeeds in killing a Special Infected. He seems to respect Coach's status as the group leader, even though he's often the first to voice doubts about any of Coach's proposed courses of action (although this is probably just Nick's propensity to complain about everything; when the Concert finale ends and the helicopter arrives, Nick may express his gratitude liberally to Coach ).
 * Nick recoils quickly when he has clearly annoyed Coach, and Coach is quick to shut Nick down if his complaints get close to the line. Their antagonism stops at words, as neither one ever looks likely to abandon the other. When Nick mourns for Coach, he will sadly say "Shit, Coach, I'll miss you." Another mourning line—"Goddamn it, Coach, what'd you leave me with?"—shows that, despite their attitude, Nick acknowledges Coach's leadership in the group.
 * In the safe room at the beginning of the Fairgrounds, when Coach mentions The Midnight Riders, Nick may respond asking if they were any good. This is one of the first rare instances of Nick seemingly attempting to get to know his teammates.


 * Ellis
 * In earlier campaigns, Nick looks down on Ellis and shows his contempt by constantly mocking everything about him, often implying that Ellis is a stereotypical hillbilly. He might say Ellis's name in an exaggerated Southern accent, and sometimes calls Ellis "Overalls", a name he's also known to give the Charger. At an extreme, in "The Passing", his displeasure at Ellis's obsession with the Jimmy Gibbs stock car flares and Nick outright threatens to leave him behind.
 * However, as the campaigns progress and Ellis proves himself, his respect for the boy does increase and he becomes less caustic. For example, at the start of "Dark Carnival", Nick will either give Ellis a rare compliment or poke fun at him in a more harmless manner by deliberately cursing his idol.
 * Ellis, on his part, does not seem too fazed by Nick's ribbing and takes it mostly in his stride. Nick may tend to capitalize on their age gap when speaking to Ellis (his nicknames include "kid", "sport", "champ", "little man", "fireball", and "killer" ), but there are times he treats him like a peer (e.g. a Nick player can vocalize varying tones of "Dude" at Ellis.) Nick also humors Ellis almost despite himself, most notably in "Dark Carnival". Ellis's excitement about rides in Whispering Oaks may prompt him to say "Now I wanna ride one" (although this is likely sarcasm) and Nick joins in with the "of love" gag in the Tunnel of Love. They also find common ground with hating the Infected — one case being the Mudmen from "Swamp Fever".


 * Rochelle
 * Initially, Nick would address Rochelle in a patronizing way, sarcastically using endearments like "sweetie", "sweetheart", and "honey". However, Rochelle's sensible attitude, level-headed view of their situation, and her own brand of sarcasm right back at him earns her Nick's respect and liking almost immediately. Along with the others, Nick will threaten her when shot. Like with Coach, Nick's interaction with Rochelle consists of trading banter. After Francis takes a liking to Rochelle and she seems to show signs of reciprocating, Nick is quick to tease her.  Despite his vocal dislike of Francis, he tells her not to play hard to get and encourages her to go for it, seeing as she "isn't getting any younger".
 * Generally, Nick and Rochelle get along. Sometimes, when Nick mourns for Rochelle, he will say, "I can think of two other people I would have rather seen go first" or "There goes repopulating the earth". If Rochelle dies before boarding the elevator in "Dead Center", he omits the "It (her name) doesn't matter now," unlike for Ellis and Coach. They share similar realistic perspectives of the apocalypse situation, which will result in certain conversations in which Rochelle takes Nick's side, such as defending his shooting the Infected helicopter pilot in "Swamp Fever". But her patience with him does wear thin at times; in "The Passing", she goes as far as saying that she hates him when Nick mocks Ellis's crush on Zoey one too many times. Still, the two seem to have more in common than with the others; they are both not from Georgia (Rochelle is from Cleveland, Ohio; Nick never says where he's from but his accent and the places he mentions imply he is from somewhere in the North), they use sarcasm freely, and as Survivor Bots they have similar taste in weaponry (Assault Rifle variants). They stand next to each other in all of the campaign posters.


 * Francis
 * Nick and Francis instantly dislike each other. At the start of The Riverbank, if Francis is present, he refers to him as a "greasy vest-wearing monkey" while Francis calls him "Suit" or "Colonel Sanders". Notably, in one statement, Nick will "articulate" and slowly speak while cursing as if he was insulting him.
 * During "The Passing", Nick will refer to their mission as to "lower the bridge and kick the biker dude's ass". He sometimes tries to get Ellis to help him by telling him that "he probably took the Jimmy Gibbs Jr. and is driving away right now." Nick also shows a great distrust of Francis, believing he will not keep his word to lower the bridge. Later on, they may exchange more insults when they meet again. However, during their alliance against the horde of infected at the finale, when Francis throws pain pills / adrenaline shots like the other original Survivors do and Nick happens to be the one who grabs it, Nick may thank Francis for it. If Francis mentions losing a man, Nick may apologize for their loss. There are times however that Francis may refer to Nick as a "brother," a hint of a common affiliation in a gang due to them sharing the same symbols (in the Ring for Nick, a tattoo for Francis), and when this is brought up (especially in the beginning of The Riverbank), their hostilities instantly drop.


 * Zoey
 * Like Francis, Nick and Zoey dislike each other from their very first meeting. Nick is dismissive of her, calling her "cupcake" and asking if there is a "man" up on the bridge they can talk to. Not surprisingly, Zoey responds in kind to Nick's uncalled-for boorishness and even threatens to hurt or kill him. This causes Nick to back down and say that he was merely joking. Zoey, like Francis, disparagingly refers to Nick as "Colonel Sanders", on account of his white suit.
 * Like with Rochelle about Francis, Nick teases Ellis mercilessly for his crush on Zoey. He may tell Ellis that Zoey is out of his league, that he has a better chance with the Bride Witch, and may even go so far as to suggest that Ellis should get Zoey's name tattooed on his butt in the tattoo parlor. When they meet up again in the finale of The Port, Zoey is the most reluctant to help Nick, but supports him along with the others once the finale commences.


 * Louis
 * Nick seems to have a dismissive attitude about Louis, which the latter notices. Because of this, Nick is the only Survivor Louis dislikes and the latter will occasionally agree with Francis, saying he is right the cold shoulder and thinks Bill would've shot [Nick] by that time. Nick is also the only Survivor Louis does not wish good luck to at the end of "The Passing". However, Nick seems to appreciate Louis' shooting skills, and offers to leave Ellis behind so that Louis can come along to New Orleans. At the end, Louis moderates his dislike for Nick, even if he still does not remember his name.

Nick will eventually apologize to the original Survivors for his rude behavior, which they acknowledge by warning him about incoming Infected, helping him and the other Survivors out, and bidding them all farewell when they depart for New Orleans. At one point, he'll even give his condolences to the other three survivors for their loss over Bill.

Behind the Scenes

 * In the commentary for Left 4 Dead 2, the developers state that Nick's character was originally an escaped prisoner that stole a nice suit, but he was eventually adapted into his current con-man persona. It is probable that he is still a convicted felon, as Nick can make a remark to the effect that he's not legally allowed to own firearms ― a constitutional right Americans only lose if convicted of a felony or some misdemeanors involving a weapon.
 * This is supported by the fact that when entering water in The Swamp, Nick (in response to Rochelle describing his suit having zombie brains all over it) may sometimes state that brains come out of a suit but swamp water doesn't, and then tells the others to not ask him how he knows that, implying his involvement in certain brutal crimes.
 * Also supporting this is when approaching the wedding area on The Riverbank, he may state "This brings back some bad memories," or that "it's not easy to get blood out of a wedding dress", which hints at some violent incident on his wedding day.
 * This may be a reference to Kill Bill: Volume 1, in which the opening scene shows the Bride covered in blood.
 * In The Hotel, he also says sometimes when healing another Survivor "Hold still, I've done this before", suggesting he was involved in a fight, and likely had to heal someone afterwards.
 * Other quotes such as when he revives Survivors in a non-chaotic time he may say "Relax, I've seen worse.", supporting the above quote.
 * Sometimes when Nick picks up a baseball bat, he will state it brings back some good memories. When asked by Coach if he played ball, Nick will respond with "bouncer at a nightclub", indicating he beat on a bouncer at a nightclub with a bat (which may have resulted in a felony charge that lost him his right to carry a firearm), or was a bouncer himself.
 * A similar event occurs if he picks up a crowbar, stating "This feels good.", suggesting that he might have committed burglary.
 * Nick is the only current Survivor who retained his appearance from either beta screenshots or trailers out of all the playable Survivors in Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2.
 * The only difference between the stages is his clothes were given some dirt and hints of blood.
 * After hearing the sound of a Witch crying, Nick will sometimes say "sounds like my Ex-Wife." implying he was once married.