Dragan Nikolic graduated from the Academy of Film, Theatre, Radio and Television in Belgrade. His on-screen appearance began with When I"m Dead and White (Kad budem mrtva i beo, dir. Zivoin Pavlovic), for which he received a diploma at the Pula Film Festival in 1968. In 1985 he won the Belgrade October Award for his performance in Life is Beautiful (Život je lep). He also received a Golden Arena in Pula for his role of Alija in Banovic Strahinja.