Does becoming a dietician sound more appealing than being famous? Getting cast in a big Hollywood movie seems like the goal for any actor, but these child performers decided to call it quits after their big break.
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00:00Does becoming a dietician sound more appealing than being famous? Getting cast in a big Hollywood
00:05movie seems like the goal for any actor, but these child performers decided to call it
00:09quits after their big break.
00:12Joey Gatos Jr. joined the cast of School of Rock with several years of guitar experience
00:16under his belt. As Gatos told MLive,
00:19"...my father played with the who's who of Detroit rock royalty throughout the years.
00:23I remember a home video of myself leaning against the baby gate downstairs, listening
00:27to my dad play and just bobbing my head, getting into the music. I always loved it."
00:32He was gifted his own guitar at age 9 and was starring in School of Rock three years
00:36later.
00:37But landing the role of Zach Mooneyham wasn't easy. According to Gatos, it was a lengthy
00:41process that involved three callbacks in Los Angeles before he was told he had the role.
00:46Gatos was offered more movie roles after School of Rock, but he turned them down to pursue
00:51music. He taught guitar at Ann Arbor Music Center, and he's played in several bands over
00:55the years, even touring with Uncle Cracker at one stage. Sadly, he's been on the wrong
00:59side of the law on a couple of occasions, including for DUI and for shoplifting, and
01:04was arrested for stealing guitars in 2019.
01:08Robert Sy is great as the keyboard player Lawrence in School of Rock, but despite his
01:13hilariously dry and touching performance, it remains his only acting credit. According
01:17to reports, Sy actually tried to drop out of the film after landing the role because
01:21he didn't feel like he was hip enough. Per the Express, director Richard Linklater had
01:25to sit Sy down for a candid chat and explain to him that his reluctance was actually perfect
01:30for the character. In fact, following this conversation, the filmmaker tweaked the script,
01:34making Lawrence even more timid.
01:36I don't think I should be in the band.
01:38Why not?
01:39I'm not cool enough. People who are in bands are cool. I'm not cool.
01:43After the film, Sy attended the prestigious Ivy League University Dartmouth College, even
01:47playing piano in official Dartmouth concerts while a student there.
01:51Aaron Wolfe was 15 when he played Jewish teen Danny Gopnik in Joel and Ethan Coen's A Serious
01:57Man. The role was distinctive, and Wolfe could have parlayed it into a promising career in
02:02acting, but his real love is music. The one-time actor is an accomplished cellist who the Chicago
02:07Tribune described as, quote, a musician of quicksilver brilliance. He received a Bachelor
02:11of Arts degree in comparative literature and a Bachelor of Music in cello performance from
02:16the Oberlin College and Observatory in Ohio. After that, he earned a master's degree from
02:21Juilliard. And as if that wasn't impressive enough, Wolfe is continuing his education
02:25as he pursues his doctorate of musical arts at CUNY, the Graduate Center in New York.
02:30He's also received numerous awards for his musical performances and has traveled the
02:34world playing the cello.
02:36In the 2004 film Finding Neverland, Johnny Depp's Sir James Matthew Barry interacts with
02:41a family that inspired him to create Peter Pan. Luke Spill plays Michael Llewellyn Davies,
02:47one of the children who Barry becomes close with. Instead of pursuing acting after the
02:51film, Spill attended University College London, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics.
02:56After graduating in 2018, he worked for Headbox as a business development executive. He went
03:01on to work for Universal Media Group and then Virgin Music UK, where he was an artist campaign
03:06manager for a little over a year, though his time with Virgin seems to have come to an
03:10end in January 2024.
03:13The Witches has been adapted into a feature film twice. The first came in 1990, starring
03:18Angelica Huston as the film's big bad. It follows a young boy named Luke who is transformed
03:23into a mouse by Huston's evil Grand High Witch. He fights to defeat the witches and regain
03:28his humanity. Along the way, he meets Bruno, played by Charlie Potter, another child who's
03:33turned into a mouse.
03:34He has not been turned into a mouse!
03:37Yes, I have! Hello, Dad!
03:41Potter never appeared in another film. Instead, he completed school and went on to become
03:45a barrister, practicing administrative, public, and commercial law for Blackstone Chambers
03:50in London. He later became a senior corporate communications advisor and partner at Brunswick
03:55Group, focusing on broadcasting and media regulation. Potter now works as a co-lead
04:00for the firm's global litigation practice.
04:03Sarah Magdalene appeared in the 1996 film Matilda, portraying a younger version of the
04:08titular character. She takes care of herself by making breakfast, walking to the library,
04:13and checking out books, showing how independent and intelligent the character was before Mara
04:17Wilson took over the role for the rest of the film.
04:20These days, according to her website, Magdalene works in Los Angeles as a registered dietician-nutritionist
04:25and goes by the name of Sarah Camo. She has a Master's of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics
04:30from California State University, Northridge, which led to her working as a dietician for
04:34the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, UCLA Health, and Nutrition Masters, LLC.
04:40There were plenty of doors open to Peter Ostrom after he starred in the beloved classic Willy
04:44Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The creators of Willy Wonka actually offered him a three-picture
04:49deal when he was still only 13, but he wasn't interested. Speaking to NPR in 2021, he said
04:55that committing to making a bunch of movies without knowing what they were unnerved him,
05:00didn't like giving up that freedom of signing on the dotted line,
05:02not knowing what I was going to be asked to do.
05:05So my parents, they were supportive at the beginning,
05:07but they were also extremely supportive when I said no.
05:11The child star went on to work with animals after being inspired by a vet who came out
05:15to treat his family's horse. Now a vet himself, he's glad that he left Hollywood behind after
05:20just one movie, but he doesn't regret Willy Wonka. When Gene Wilder passed away in 2016,
05:25Ostrom spoke to Variety about working with him on the hit film, saying,
05:29To have made one film and to be associated with Jack Albertson,
05:33who played his grandfather, and Gene, I feel like I really found the golden ticket.
05:38Rishi Bhatt played the role of Patrick in 1995's The Indian in the Cupboard in his one and only
05:44film appearance. He was opened more roles after that, but he was too busy getting into software
05:49development to waste time with auditions. Favoring tech over acting would prove to be a wise move.
05:54Bhatt developed some internet privacy software with a friend that caught the eye of a software
05:58company. Just a few months after creating it at age 15, Bhatt sold his software, SiegeSoft.com,
06:04for over a million dollars. According to his father, he didn't actually take the money up
06:08front, instead agreeing to $40,000 in cash and 1.5 million shares of the purchasing company
06:14Roca Resources. The value of the company's shares rocketed after Bhatt went on Good Morning America
06:19to talk about his software and his remarkable story.
06:23Zachary Mabry played Porky in 1994's The Little Rascals, his one and only role.
06:28Granted, he was only four at the time, so he had a lot of growing to do before settling on a career.
06:33He opted to study accounting, earning a master's degree in the subject from the University of
06:37Oklahoma in 2013. On top of working as a CPA, Mabry was a contributing editor for The Catholic
06:44Herald for over four years. He's also known for his work as a co-host on the Roman Circus podcast,
06:49which focuses on the traditions and history of Catholicism. These days,
06:53he runs his own accounting firm, Zach Mabry Advisory, and works as a CPA. He also has a
06:58cameo account where fans can get a personalized video from the grown-up Porky.
07:03Roy Snart played Paul, the youngest of the three children who acted in the film
07:07Bedknobs and Broomsticks. The former actor was enrolled in classes at a drama and modeling
07:12agency at age three by his mother and soon began booking commercials. He hit the big time when he
07:17was five, impressing casting directors for Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
07:20How do you know that?
07:22Easy. Says so right here in me book.
07:26Snart went on to work in recruitment. He was head of First Choice Software,
07:29an IT company that makes and manages recruitment software in the United Kingdom.
07:34He's semi-retired these days, though he still remains involved in a number of business ventures.
07:391968's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a family classic, but the musical wasn't exactly beloved
07:45for the young actor Heather Ripley, who played Jemima. Speaking to The Scottish Sun about the
07:50experience, she said,
07:51"...it's 14 months of my childhood which will never be replaced. My mother and father broke
07:55up, which I've always blamed on the film. I honestly don't have fond memories of it,
07:59and because that's clouded my view of it, I haven't quite understood why so many people
08:03love it so much."
08:05Ripley quickly discovered that she didn't enjoy being famous. The film thrust her into the
08:09limelight, and it all became too much. She went on to become a photographer and videographer,
08:14as well as a passionate activist. Ripley flew to Greece to help with the refugee crisis caused by
08:19the Syrian civil war in 2016, and she has been described as, quote, an eco-warrior,
08:24peace campaigner, and anti-roads protester by the Daily Mail. The publication also noted
08:29that the former actor has even been arrested during protests.
08:33The critically acclaimed 1963 film adaptation of The Lord of the Flies features an ensemble cast
08:39that includes Hugh Edwards as Piggy. In the film, Piggy is bullied relentlessly, and he
08:43meets an unfortunate and violent end. Edwards landed the role after sending a letter to
08:48director Peter Brook. In it, he wrote, quote,
08:50"'Dear Sir, I am fat and wear spectacles.'"
08:53According to The New York Times, he also included a photograph, and upon seeing it,
08:57Brook thought,
08:58"'It was Piggy come to life.'"
08:59Not long after receiving the letter, Brook cast Edwards in the role, one of the most
09:03important in the film. The scenes involving Piggy were praised by The Observer in a review
09:08of the film published in 1964. However, when the shoot ended, Edwards didn't pursue acting
09:13as a profession. Instead, seemingly living up to his character's name,
09:17he made a living managing pet food factories.