Acclaimed actors like Cameron Diaz and Jack Nicholson, as well as numerous child stars, have not released a film for years or decades. Some give up acting for reasons of age, others build a new career away from the camera.
We show you 11 Hollywood greats and child stars and what they’re up to today.
Cameron Diaz: The superstar took 9 years off
Last seen in: Anna (2014)
Her acting career: In the 1990s she was a big name in Hollywood and was admired not least because of her style of dress. For example, Cameron Diaz starred in The Mask, The Losers, and Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York. After the musical Annie, 2014 was over.
20th Century Fox
Cameron Diaz in The Counselor
Why we haven’t heard from you since then: Four years later, Cameron Diaz announced the end of her Hollywood career, among other things, to be able to take care of her children more. Her career continued off the screen. Among other things, she writes popular self-help books * and continues to be involved in environmental protection.
However, a few months ago Netflix comedy Back in Action starring her and James Fox was announced and her acting end was turned into an overly long hiatus.
Sources: Newsweek, Dailymail
Eva Mendes doesn’t miss Hollywood
Last seen in: Lost River (2014)
Her acting career: Active as an actress since the 1990s, Eva Mendes has appeared in films such as Hitch, modeled for Calvin Klein and worked as a fashion designer. But we haven’t seen her in a movie since Lost River. She was only heard as a voice in the children’s show Bluey.
universe
Eva Mendes in Out of Time
Why we haven’t heard from you since then: In an interview, Eva Mendes revealed that it used to be difficult for her to get suitable roles for Latin American women. She doesn’t miss Hollywood at all. Today she finds her creativity and fulfillment elsewhere, namely in her children with Ryan Gosling.
Sources: Variety, Eva Mendes on Instagram, Today
Danny Lloyd: The boy from The Shining is now a professor
Last seen in:
Nixon’s Right Hand – The G. Gordon Liddy Case (1982)
His acting career: Danny Lloyd played the then 8-year-old Danny Torrance as Jack Nicholson’s son in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining in 1980.
warner
Danny Lloyd in The Shining
Why we haven’t heard from you since then: Danny Lloyd decided against an acting career and became a professor of biology. He is father of four children. Sometimes the 49-year-old is also recognized by his students at his university in Elizabethtown in Kentucky.
Around 37 years after the Shining, however, he had a cameo appearance in 2019 in the acclaimed Shining sequel Doctor Sleeps Awakening.
Sources: Screenrant, The Hollywood Reporter, IMDb
Ariana Richards: The girl from Jurassic Park is a painter
Last seen in: Battle Dogs (2013)
Her acting career: As a kid, who doesn’t dream of starring in a super blockbuster like Jurassic Park? Ariana Richards, then 14, starred as Lex Murpher in 1990. She made a brief cameo appearance in the 1997 sequel The Lost World – Jurassic Park. In 2013 things got quiet around her.
Warner Bros.
Ariana Richards in Jurassic Park
Why we haven’t heard from you since then: Today, the 43-year-old is primarily concentrating on a career as a painter in Oregon, for which she has already won awards. In June 2022, however, she showed up again on the red carpet for the premiere of Jurassic World 3: A New Age.
Sources: Today, Gallery Ariana, T-Online
Gene Hackman is enjoying retirement with his wife
Last seen in: Welcome to Mooseport (2004)
His acting career: He was the bohemian and grumpy cop. Gene Hackman got his big break with The French Connection in 1971. After a long career, however, he made his last film in 2004 with Welcome to Mooseport.
studio canal
Gene Hackman in Heartbreakers
Why we haven’t heard from you since then: Since then there have been rumors about the sudden end of his career. In 2008 he announced his retirement, later adding his advanced age as a reason. Since then, the 92-year-old has written several novels and is enjoying retirement with his wife. For example, they watch DVD movies together.
Sources: Empire Online, Reuters
Mara Wilson: When she was six, everyone knew her face
Last seen in: Broad City (2015)
Her acting career:
Mara Wilson was also a child star of the 1990s. We know her as Matilda in the film of the same name or as Miranda, Robbie Williams’ film daughter, in Mrs. Doubtfire.
Columbia Tri Star
Mara Wilson in Matilda
Why we haven’t heard from you since then: From time to time she took on roles, for example in Billie Bob Joe or Broad City. But the great passion of the now 35-year-old New Yorker became writing books and plays. She has also written an autobiography about her career as a child star*.
Sources: Novelodge, US Magazine, Stylebook
Daniel Day-Lewis: An Oscar guarantor who has often withdrawn
Last seen in: The Silk Thread (2017)
His acting career:
Rarely has anyone had such a steep career: Daniel Day-Lewis won the Oscar for best actor three times, played in films such as Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, My Left Foot or the Spielberg drama Lincoln. In 2017, however, the British-Irish master of method acting announced his retirement from Hollywood.
Universal
Daniel Day-Lewis in Hanging by a Thread
Why we haven’t heard from you since then: The withdrawal came as no surprise. He has often taken time out from the limelight. After the film The Boxer, he took a five-year hiatus to work as a shoemaker. At the moment it’s quiet again around Day-Lewis. He’s enjoying the quiet of County Wicklow, Ireland, with his family.
Sources: Mirror, Ireland, Variety,
Angus T. Jones: Jake from Two and a Half Men is doing something completely different today
Last seen in: Horace and Pete (2016)
His acting career:
From 2003 to 2013, Angus T. Jones was an integral part of the Harper family as Jake in Two and a Half Men. He played the son of chiropractor Alan and nephew of jingle composer Charlie.
CBS
Charlie Sheen, Angus T. Jones and Jon Cryer in Two and a Half Men
Why we haven’t heard from you since: The reason for his exit from the popular sitcom was probably religious in nature. He was last seen in a series in 2016. He reportedly studied at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
He also worked in an events company owned by Justin Combs, son of Sean Combs, and posted on Instagram in 2020 that he makes music. Last seen with a long beard in Los Angeles in July 2022.
Sources: People, YouTube, ABC News, Daily Mail, People, Angus T. Jones on Instagram
Jack Nicholson made his last film in 2010
Last seen in: How do you know it’s love (2010)
His acting career: He’s a Hollywood veteran: Jack Nicholson. You know him from gangster movies like Chinatown, comedies like It Can’t Get Better and of course the horror thriller The Shining. But after How Do You Know It’s Love, he quit his acting career.
Sony
Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets
Why we haven’t heard from you since then: Probably for reasons of age, Jack Nicholson has not yet accepted any further roles. Reports of dementia are piling up, but have not yet been officially confirmed. The 84-year-old is said to be spending his retirement at his home near Los Angeles with his children.
Sources: EN Newsner, Express
Carrie Henn: Acclaimed child star with only one role
Last seen in:
Aliens: The Return (1986)
Her acting career:
Carrie Henn even won the Saturn Award for her role. She played the little girl Newt in Aliens when she was 9 years old. But that was not a reason for her to pursue her career further.
20th Century Fox
Carrie Henn in Aliens
Why we haven’t heard from her since: Among other things, Carrie Henn studied art at the California State University in Stanislaus and became a teacher, which she sees as her great passion. In 2020, however, her voice was heard in the animated series Thunder Island. Incidentally, her daughter looks very similar to her, which she particularly notices when watching the Aliens film.
Sources: Wired , Tulsaworld , People , IMDb Rick Moranis: Not on camera since the 1990s
Last seen in: Honey Now We Shrunk (1997)
His acting career: Rick Moranis is best known to Ghostbusters fans. As tax advisor Louis Tully, he starred in two Ghostbusters films alongside Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd and Harold Ramis. He has been in front of the camera since darling, we shrunk in the same year no longer.
Disney
Rick Moranis in Honey I Shrunk the Kids
Why we haven’t heard from you since then: After his wife died of cancer in 1997, he retired to raise his children. He is very picky when it comes to film roles, but he can sometimes be heard dubbing today. In 2013 he released a comedy album. He made the headlines in 2020 when he suffered minor injuries when a passer-by attacked him in Manhattan.
Also in 2020, a sequel to Darling, We Shrunk Ourselves starring him and Josh Gad was announced, but with no further release details as of yet.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, NBC News, The Hollywood Reporter
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