The spotlight just isn't for everyone! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most notable small screen superstars who turned away from television to pursue other interests.
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00:00Does she feel the same way about you?
00:03I don't know, I've never talked to her.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most
00:09notable small screen superstars who turned away from television to pursue other interests.
00:15She is no longer yours to torment.
00:18Everyone is mine to torment.
00:22Number 20. Bridget Mendler.
00:24From a career in entertainment to a career in the space industry,
00:28former Disney Channel star Bridget Mendler has launched a new startup.
00:32Bridget Mendler first rose to prominence at a young age as a child actress in several
00:37Hollywood films before gaining even wider fame for her starring role in Good Luck Charlie.
00:42As she grew older, however, Mendler traded her Disney Channel stardom for a chance to
00:47research the stars up in the sky. In early 2024, she announced the launch of her satellite data
00:53startup, Northwood Space, where she took the helm as CEO.
00:57Expect the unexpected, Mendler tweeted after the news broke,
01:01but perhaps we never should have been surprised. After all, she's already proved herself as a
01:06multi-talented actor and singer. Who's to say what else she can do as she follows her passions?
01:11Good, because I'm all about the learning.
01:15Number 19. Jamie Walters.
01:18So how many years have you been doing this?
01:19I've been three years on this department, and it's been about five years since I first
01:25came into the team and started doing all that.
01:26Nineties heartthrob Jamie Walters made a name for himself on the hit teen drama Beverly Hills
01:3290210. Around the same time, he made a memorable guest appearance on the cult sci-fi series
01:38Quantum Leap. His list of credits also includes the short-lived and less popular musical series
01:44which certainly proved he was as good a singer as he was an actor. But in 2002,
01:50Walters made a quantum leap of his own when he left being a Hollywood hunk behind for a more
01:54ordinary life as a firefighter and paramedic. We can't help but wonder if he ever serenades
01:59his fellow firefighters during downtime.
02:02Has your celebrity ever kind of gotten in the way of your work?
02:06Aren't you that guy? Aren't you that guy? You know the guy.
02:09Every once in a while, somebody just flat out, you know, you were on 90210.
02:12Number 18. Andrew Hsu.
02:15You might remember him. He was a star on the hit 90s TV show Melrose Place,
02:21but now his career has taken a really interesting turn.
02:25Most famous for his role as Billy Campbell in the 90s soap opera Melrose Place,
02:30Andrew Hsu is an example of a star who turned away from celebrity life for a noble cause.
02:35Hsu's global nonprofit organization Do Something was founded with the stated goal of making it
02:40cool for young people to carry out acts of community service. Additionally, he co-founded
02:46Cafe Mom, a social networking site for mothers, which was once valued at around $100 million.
02:53In 2010, Hsu wed ABC News correspondent Amy Robach. But their marriage came to an end
03:00after her affair with fellow Good Morning America co-anchor T.J. Holmes was revealed.
03:05Their divorce was finalized in 2023.
03:07GMA's Amy Robach was back on the air today. She missed her show yesterday,
03:11which was the same day that reports broke claiming she was having an affair
03:15with her co-host T.J. Holmes.
03:17Number 17. Stacey Keenan.
03:20This is Nicole Bradford.
03:22Congratulations. It's a girl.
03:25Stacey Keenan began her career at the tender age of five and eventually rose to fame as a
03:30child actress in the TV shows My Two Dads and Step by Step. She later went MIA to pursue a
03:36law degree, and the career change seems to have turned out well for the former actress.
03:41Keenan currently works as a full-time attorney in Los Angeles under her birth name,
03:46Anastasia Sigorski. Additionally, she holds down a side gig as an adjunct professor at
03:52Southwestern Law School, where she taught a course about correctly prosecuting and
03:56defending DUI cases in 2022. Hollywood may be behind her, but it seems she's still got
04:02that dramatic flair.
04:03I never watched it at the time. I was way too self-conscious,
04:07especially as a teenager, to see myself on television.
04:10Number 16. John Gosselin.
04:12Yes, less than three weeks after the breakup of his 10-year marriage on national TV,
04:16the father of eight says he wants to move forward.
04:19John and Kate Gosselin might have scored eight adorable children and their own hit reality show
04:25on TLC with John and Kate Plus 8. But what did they lose along the way? Well, for starters,
04:31their marriage. The series began as an innocent glimpse into the lives of the couple and their
04:36twins, Maddie and Kara, along with their sextuplets Alexis, Aiden, Colin, Hannah,
04:41Leah, and Joel. But it took some dramatic turns over the course of its run,
04:46including John and Kate's separation and a battle over custody. After leaving the series,
04:51John returned to the IT profession, where he worked before the show. He also took up DJing,
04:58which we're certain isn't a sign of a midlife crisis.
05:01To be an empty nester, I was 46, now I'm 47. It's just different.
05:06Number 15. Karen Parsons.
05:09Everybody keeps talking about this heat wave. Maybe I should mention it in today's weather report.
05:14The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was one of the most popular sitcoms of the 90s,
05:18helping to launch the acting career of rapper Will Smith. While Smith grabbed the spotlight
05:23as the titular character, the series also featured several other standouts,
05:28including Karen Parsons, who portrayed the ditzy Hilary Banks, her most notable role to date.
05:34After the hit comedy finished its run, Parsons took an intentional step back from acting to
05:39focus on a more meaningful pursuit, founding Sweet Blackberry, a non-profit dedicated to
05:45teaching kids about Black history. It's admirable to see someone use their fame and success
05:50to make a real difference in society.
05:53Our mission at Sweet Blackberry is to bring little-known stories of African-American
05:57achievement to kids.
05:58Number 14. Eric Estrada.
06:00Back in 1984, actor Chris Robinson, best known for his role on General Hospital,
06:06dropped the now iconic line,
06:08I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV, in a cough syrup ad.
06:12I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV. And when many adults get a cough, they play doctor at home.
06:17If such an ad were made with Chips actor Eric Estrada instead,
06:21that line may have to be written a little differently,
06:24because Estrada didn't just portray a cop on TV, he became one in real life.
06:29In 2008, the actor joined the Muncie, Indiana Police Department, working as a reserve officer.
06:36Since then, he's also worn the badge in the states of Virginia and Idaho,
06:40living out his childhood dream. Although he has largely stepped back from Hollywood,
06:45Estrada still occasionally returns to the screen.
06:48And to the best of my ability, so help me God. Congratulations.
06:56Number 13. Portia de Rossi.
06:59I had to get ready for the bachelorette auction.
07:01The bachelorette auction? You know you're married.
07:03We just go to dinner with you guys for charity.
07:06That's what you said about posing for the ladies of literacy calendar.
07:09Portia de Rossi might not outshine Nicole Kidman as the most famous blonde Aussie,
07:14but she could easily claim the title of the funniest.
07:17De Rossi was a natural in her role as Lindsay Bluth-Funke in the cult comedy series Arrested
07:23Development. The show brought her more fame, leading to a recurring part in ABC's hit series
07:29Scandal. While we'd have loved to see more of her in both comedic and dramatic roles,
07:34de Rossi surprised everyone in 2018 by announcing her retirement on her wife Ellen DeGeneres' talk
07:40show. Apparently, the only thing that can bring her back to the screen is another season of Arrested
07:45Development, so here's hoping we get a comeback soon.
07:48I was approaching 45 and I just kind of-
07:51Aging out.
07:52Aging out. Thank you.
07:55Yes.
07:55Number 12. Eric Per Sullivan.
07:58Maybe you could come home with me.
08:00Dewey, you're not allowed to have a dog, remember? We want you to be miserable.
08:04As one of the younger brothers of the titular character in Fox's Malcolm in the Middle,
08:09Dewey quickly became a fan favorite. This was actor Eric Per Sullivan's breakout role,
08:14and it essentially remains the only major one throughout his career. Sullivan's filmography
08:19is surprisingly limited, with his most notable role outside the show being Sheldon the Seahorse
08:25in Finding Nemo. After Malcolm in the Middle wrapped up, Sullivan made a quiet exit from
08:30Hollywood and later studied at the University of Southern California. We can't help but respect
08:35his choice to opt for a more peaceful, low-key life. After all, as Dewey would say,
08:41Future's now, old man.
08:44Number 11. Danielle Fischel.
08:46Give me your hand.
08:51Why?
08:52I want to see if our energies converge.
08:54We can certainly understand why an actor might be disappointed to be forever tied to just one role.
09:00After all, range is important, but sometimes a character is so iconic that it's not necessarily
09:05a bad thing. That was the case with Danielle Fischel's portrayal of Topanga Lawrence in
09:10ABC's Boy Meets World. Following the show's conclusion, Fischel focused on pursuing her
09:15education and earned a degree in psychology from California State University Fullerton.
09:20She also transitioned into becoming a host, working on The Dish for the Style Network and
09:25a series of other pop culture programs. Though she reprised her role as Topanga in the spinoff
09:30series Girl Meets World, Fischel has built a life that goes well beyond Hollywood's spotlight.
09:36Whatever this is, do not put me in the middle of the two people that I love
09:39equally. Just kidding. Come here, honey.
09:40Number 10. Cal Penn.
09:42You, I mentioned earlier, you work at the White House, which is, I'm sure you'll probably get
09:46tired of talking about it, but it's such a novelty for an actor to have had a real job.
09:50Forget Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. How about Harold and Kumar go to the White House?
09:56It might sound hard to believe that anyone from the Harold and Kumar movies would ever dabble
10:00in politics, but believe it or not, one of the franchise's stars, Cal Penn, actually joined
10:06Barack Obama's administration after aiding in his 2008 presidential campaign. This meant Penn,
10:13who was starring in the medical series House, stepped back from acting and transitioned to
10:18another house, the White House. Penn also served as a co-chair of Obama's re-election campaign,
10:24which ultimately proved successful. He resigned from his position on the President's Committee
10:29on the Arts and Humanities in 2017 and has since returned to acting.
10:34Sitting at a desk for, you know, 18 hours a day as opposed to being in your trailer with
10:38people bringing you coffee is very different.
10:40Number 9. Danica McKellar.
10:42She's not my girlfriend.
10:44This was true. Winnie Cooper was not my girlfriend.
10:48Some people just love to learn, and Danica McKellar is a prime example. On The Wonder Years,
10:54she gave us a glimpse into suburban life in the 1960s through her character Winnie Cooper.
10:59The show didn't just entertain. It also shed light on serious topics,
11:03such as the impact the Vietnam War had on families. McKellar's drive to acquire knowledge
11:09and educate people clearly expanded beyond the run of the show. Impressively,
11:14she earned a degree in mathematics from UCLA summa cum laude. Not only that,
11:19she has also authored several books designed to make math a little less intimidating
11:24and a lot more fun for young readers.
11:27For me, um, math actually sort of saved me from the whole child star thing.
11:32Number 8. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
11:35These famous twins have been working since they were nine months old. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
11:41began their career as infants, sharing the role of Michelle Tanner on the ABC sitcom Full House.
11:49Even while the show aired, they appeared in other films and TV shows,
11:53eventually founding their own production company, Dual Star, in 1993. However,
11:58as the 2000s rolled around, they set their sights on a much different path, fashion.
12:03The Row started as kind of a little side project for Mary-Kate and I, and it started with a t-shirt.
12:10In 2006, they launched their luxury fashion brand, The Row, and soon left Hollywood entirely
12:17to concentrate on it. Although they still occasionally make the news, Mary-Kate and
12:22Ashley no longer command the kind of media attention they once did, which suits them just fine.
12:28Number 7. Nikki Blonsky.
12:30Many struggling actors in Hollywood dream of the kind of opportunity Nikki Blonsky had.
12:36As a high school student, Blonsky auditioned for Hairspray,
12:39beating out over a thousand aspirants for the role of Tracy Turnblad.
12:47She couldn't have asked for a better screen debut,
12:49as it earned her two Critics' Choice Awards and a Golden Globe nomination.
12:54However, maintaining that momentum proved challenging. Despite playing the lead on ABC
12:59Family's Huge, the show only lasted one season, and the roles dried up soon after.
13:04I take the most horrifying situation to make it worse. It's like this twisted gift.
13:12The New York native later obtained a cosmetology license and began working as a hairstylist and
13:17makeup artist in her hometown. While she still appears sporadically in films,
13:22Blonsky hasn't reclaimed the level of fame she once enjoyed.
13:25I wish I could just jump through the window and be with you. You know what I mean?
13:36If you jump, I'll catch you.
13:38Number 6. Angus T. Jones.
13:41Angus T. Jones became a household name in the 2000s,
13:44thanks to his role in the popular CBS sitcom, Two and a Half Men.
13:48I'm hungry.
13:49Is this gonna be a problem?
13:57I guess not.
13:59During this period, he was the highest-paid child actor on TV,
14:03reportedly earning $300,000 per episode. In late 2012, at the peak of his fame,
14:09Jones suddenly announced that he was done appearing on the show.
14:12This was because he had been baptized and was turned off by the sitcom's mature content,
14:18which he later described as, quote,
14:20filth.
14:20Please stop filling your head with filth.
14:24Jones ultimately left Two and a Half Men after ten seasons and largely retreated from the
14:29spotlight. He has since worked as an executive in a multimedia company,
14:33but now expresses a desire to return to acting someday.
14:37Number 5. Amanda Bynes.
14:40This former child star first rose to prominence on the Nickelodeon sketch series,
14:44All That, before landing her own program, The Amanda Show.
14:48Thanks! My name's Amanda and welcome to my show!
14:51Bynes then progressed to teen idol,
14:54with roles in successful comedies like Big Fat Liar and What a Girl Wants.
14:58In 2010, after a prominent part in Easy A, Bynes announced she was taking an
15:03indefinite break from acting.
15:05There's a higher power that will judge you for your indecency.
15:08Tom Cruise?
15:10I hope for your sake that God has a sense of humor.
15:13Subsequently, she faced a slew of legal troubles and grappled with substance use disorder,
15:18which led to her being placed under a conservatorship. Despite overcoming these
15:22challenges and ending the conservatorship, Bynes doesn't seem ready to return to the screen.
15:27Instead, in 2023, she decided to pursue a new career as a manicurist.
15:32She added,
15:33In the last several years, I've been working hard to improve my health
15:36so that I can live and work independently,
15:38and I will continue to prioritize my well-being in this next chapter.
15:42Number 4. Jonathan Taylor Thomas
15:45Jonathan Taylor Thomas soared to immense fame in the 90s,
15:48gracing the covers of countless magazines and adorning the bedroom walls of many teenage girls.
15:54We're past the nod stage.
15:56What?
15:57She gave me a kiss.
15:59Thomas gained popularity thanks to his role as Randy Taylor on the ABC sitcom Home Improvement.
16:05He earned further recognition for voicing young Simba in The Lion King,
16:09and the titular character in the 1996 film The Adventures of Pinocchio.
16:13You're a puppet. You're not a real boy, Pinocchio.
16:16Real boy.
16:17In 1998, Thomas decided to exit Home Improvement,
16:21directing his attention towards getting a degree from Harvard.
16:24Call when you get there. Call before you get there.
16:28Or I could open the emergency door and just yell out the plane.
16:31While his presence in the limelight has significantly waned since then,
16:35Thomas stands by his decision wholeheartedly.
16:37These days, he's more focused on working behind the camera,
16:41taking on directing and screenwriting roles.
16:43Man, you look familiar.
16:50Well, you know, I used to work with Kristen.
16:54That's not it.
16:55Number 3. Dylan Sprouse
16:57One half of the Sprouse twins,
16:58the child actors famous for their roles in Big Daddy and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody,
17:03Dylan and his brother Cole have enjoyed steady acting work nearly their entire lives.
17:08Why can't you drive us to the playground?
17:09Because I have to rehearse new choreography for my next show.
17:13Mr. Mosby thinks I need some younger moves.
17:15But while Cole landed the role of Jughead on Riverdale and starred in the 2019 film
17:20Five Feet Apart, Dylan has taken a radically different path in life.
17:23It's been a quiet few months in Riverdale.
17:26Spring slid into summer, and some semblance of normal life resumed.
17:31In 2011, Dylan began studying video game design at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study,
17:37graduating in 2015.
17:39Three years later, he opened the AllWise Meadery in Brooklyn.
17:42I started having to convince everybody that mead was a thing,
17:46and then Matt tried the mead that I was making,
17:50and now we are convincing everybody mead is a thing pretty much.
17:54He's also dabbled in acting throughout the years, albeit in smaller,
17:58intimate projects, nothing like the big mainstream work he used to do.
18:02Number two, Jack Gleeson.
18:04You may not know Jack Gleeson by name, but you certainly know his face.
18:07His oh-so-once punchable face.
18:10Don't you think we ought to do something about it?
18:13That's right, Joffrey Baratheon.
18:15Gleeson earned renown and acclaim for playing the slimy Baratheon, uh, Lannister child?
18:20But it seems like acting wasn't for him.
18:22Killed a few puppies today?
18:26Show him.
18:28Show him!
18:28Gleeson announced his retirement after wrapping up Game of Thrones,
18:32telling Entertainment Weekly that he had stopped enjoying it,
18:35and didn't want to turn it into a lifelong career.
18:37He subsequently studied theology and philosophy at Dublin's Trinity College,
18:42where he graduated in 2015.
18:44Five years later, Gleeson returned to the screen,
18:47albeit in much more muted roles than the one he gained popularity for.
18:51Killing you would send your brother a message.
18:57But my mother insists on keeping you alive.
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19:16Number 1.
19:16Frankie Muniz
19:18My name is Malcolm.
19:19You want to know what the best thing about childhood is?
19:22At some point it stops.
19:23Muniz earned incredible popularity throughout the 2000s for his titular role on Malcolm in the Middle,
19:28while also venturing into film with movies like Big Fat Liar and Agent Cody Banks.
19:43Shortly after Malcolm wrapped in 2006,
19:45Muniz announced his retirement from acting and subsequently ventured in race car driving,
19:50performing music, and managing a band called Astro Lasso.
19:54And aside from a recent stint on Dancing with the Stars,
19:56Muniz is taking it easy with his partner Paige Prince.
19:59They currently co-manage a specialty olive oil shop in Arizona called
20:03Outrageous Olive Oils and Vinegars.
20:10Did we miss your favorite star who hasn't spent as much time on the air lately?
20:15Let us know in the comments!
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