These actors went on to accept roles as normal workers. For this list, we’ll be looking at performers who stepped outside of Hollywood to find success.
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00:00 10.
00:25 Eric Von Detten
00:27 After Eric Von Detten's career began on the popular soap opera Days of Our Lives, it only
00:32 took off from there.
00:33 The budding young actor nabbed roles in pretty high-profile fan favorites.
00:43 Not only did he play the villainous Sid in the first Toy Story, but he also starred in
00:48 Princess Diaries.
00:57 Throughout the mid-90s and early 2000s, Von Detten kept fairly busy with live-action and
01:03 animated roles, but he eventually chose to retire from acting in 2010.
01:16 The Princess Diaries star is now married with children and currently works for a brokerage
01:20 firm.
01:21 As of 2023, his last role was a grown-up Sid in Toy Story 3.
01:27 9.
01:28 Jeff Cohen
01:29 For 80s kids, the Goonies was peak cinema.
01:34 The action-adventure comedy featured a young cast of future superstars.
01:38 Jeff Cohen stood out by playing the role of Lawrence "Chunk" Cohen.
01:42 During the classic film, the character was definitely a scene-stealer.
01:50 After the film put him on the map, he made a number of small appearances on TV.
02:03 But Cohen later found himself truly drawn to legal pursuits and earned a law degree
02:07 from UCLA.
02:09 After deciding to pursue entertainment law, Cohen became a big player in the industry.
02:15 In fact, he even helped his Goonies co-star, Kee Hwee Kwan, appear in Everything Everywhere
02:20 all at once.
02:21 8.
02:22 Phoebe Cates
02:23 Long before Phoebe Cates was lighting up the silver screen in the 1980s, she was already
02:38 destined for showbiz.
02:40 The daughter of a Broadway and television producer, Cates began her career modeling
02:44 and dancing.
02:45 But after an injury, Cates focused on modeling before eventually finding her way to acting.
02:55 From Fast Times at Ridgemont High to Gremlins, Cates created a big name for herself.
03:01 She also married actor Kevin Kline in the 80s before the two started a family in the
03:06 90s.
03:07 Years later, Cates drifted away from the camera and in 2005, she opened a boutique in New
03:13 York City called Blue Tree.
03:15 As of 2023, it still operates on Madison Avenue.
03:19 7.
03:20 Jennifer Stone
03:21 As a child star, Jennifer Stone acted in projects like Secondhand Lions and Without a Trace.
03:27 However, she is best known for portraying Harper Finkel on Disney Channel's hit series
03:32 Wizards of Waverly Place.
03:43 At age 20, Stone was diagnosed with diabetes.
03:53 This medical knowledge changed her personal and professional life.
03:57 Stone stepped back from acting and ultimately decided to pursue a nursing degree.
04:02 She currently works as an ER nurse in California.
04:08 However, she still keeps a foot in the door of showbiz.
04:13 In 2019, she starred and co-wrote the film The Inbetween.
04:18 6.
04:19 Jamie Walters
04:21 In the 90s, Beverly Hills 90210 was one of the hottest series on television.
04:27 Jamie Walters was just one of the strong members of the ensemble.
04:37 In season 6, he joined the series and portrayed Ray Pruitt, a bad boy musician with anger
04:42 issues.
04:47 Like his on-screen counterpart, Walters also played music and released three studio albums
04:52 between 1994 and 2002.
04:55 Eventually, he parted ways with the music and television industry and became a firefighter
05:01 paramedic.
05:02 His former co-stars persuaded him to make an appearance on BH90210 in 2019, where he
05:08 played himself.
05:10 5.
05:11 Stacey Keenan
05:12 Throughout the 80s and 90s, Stacey Keenan was a fixture of the television sitcom genre.
05:22 Working on My Two Dads and Step by Step, she was building quite the career for herself.
05:28 After Step by Step ended, she focused on her academic career, earning a BA in Art History
05:33 in 2002.
05:35 Over a decade later, she set her sights on law school and afterwards became a deputy
05:40 district attorney in Los Angeles.
05:43 In 2021, she also added educator to her resume by returning to her law school as an associate
05:49 professor.
05:50 4.
05:51 Danielle Spencer
05:52 As a former child actor, Danielle Spencer began her journey into show business back
06:04 in the 1970s when she took acting classes.
06:08 Her studies paid off when she was offered the role of Dee Thomas on the ABC comedy What's
06:13 Happening.
06:14 The series was eventually cancelled after three
06:20 seasons.
06:21 After leaving the country for a while, she returned to the States to attend college.
06:26 Spencer then decided to pursue veterinary medicine.
06:29 However, her career as a vet didn't stop her from continuing to act.
06:34 She appeared in the 80s reboot What's Happening Now.
06:37 She also played a vet in the Oscar-winning 1997 rom-com As Good As It Gets.
06:43 3.
06:44 Eric Estrada
06:45 Best known for playing Officer Francis "Ponch" Poncherello on the television series Chips,
06:50 Eric Estrada took his role to the next level.
06:57 The New York City-born actor became a police officer and an investigator.
07:02 He even relocated to the state of Virginia to pursue his crime-fighting passion.
07:07 However, Estrada fans know that he did not totally give up his showbiz pursuits.
07:15 He continues to act, having worked on shows including My Name is Earl and Adventure Time.
07:23 He also enjoys participating in reality television.
07:26 Most recently, the actor-turned-officer made a quick appearance on Fox's The Masked Singer.
07:32 2.
07:33 Mara Wilson
07:34 For 90s kids, Mara Wilson was a staple of childhood cinematic classics.
07:42 From Matilda to Mrs. Doubtfire, she was one of the biggest child actors of the time.
07:49 Although she cultivated a healthy filmography, she pivoted away from acting in the 2000s.
07:55 Instead, she focused on other artistic avenues in theater and more.
08:07 As a writer, she has written for various outlets.
08:16 In 2016, she published a book called Where Am I Now?
08:20 True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame.
08:23 Luckily for fans, she has gotten steady work in voice acting and has made the occasional
08:28 cameo on shows like Broad City.
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08:50 1.
08:52 Dylan Sprouse
08:53 Although he is widely known as an actor, Dylan Sprouse is no one-trick pony.
09:06 The former The Suite Life of Zack and Cody star happens to be an entrepreneur.
09:11 Sometime after earning a degree in video game design from New York University, Sprouse started
09:16 working at a brewery.
09:18 This job fueled his desire to open one of his own, and thus All Wise Meadery was born.
09:29 Sprouse also co-founded Thor's Skier, a dairy product with Icelandic roots.
09:34 Whether he's on set or brewing up his next venture, for Dylan Sprouse, life is definitely
09:40 sweet.
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