Whatever Happened To These Child Actors?

Looper

Child actors have one thing in common – eventually, they all grow up. And sometimes, that means you pretty much never hear from them again. These are the stories of some big names you may have forgotten about.

Transcript

00:00:00Child actors have one thing in common — eventually, they all grow up, and sometimes that means

00:00:05you pretty much never hear from them again. These are the stories of some big names you

00:00:10may have forgotten about.

00:00:12Since Iron Man 3, many MCU fans have wondered what Harley actor Ty Simpkins has been up

00:00:17to since he lent a hand to Tony Stark. Luckily for them, we've got answers.

00:00:23Just two years after the release of Iron Man 3, Ty Simpkins found himself co-starring in

00:00:28another huge Hollywood blockbuster, Jurassic World. A 2015 revival of the film series that

00:00:34began in 1993 with Jurassic Park, Jurassic World follows the employees of an enormous

00:00:39dinosaur-themed amusement park that fills an entire island. The park is packed to the

00:00:44brim with cloned dinosaurs and excited tourists, and everything is overseen by a no-nonsense

00:00:50type named Claire, played by Bryce Dallas Howard. Simpkins and Nick Robinson play brothers

00:00:55Grey and Zack Mitchell, Claire's visiting nephews. The audience gets to experience

00:01:09the park through their eyes most of all, and when everything starts falling apart thanks

00:01:13to the chaos incited by the escape of the park's newest attraction, it's their fear

00:01:17with which the audience most identifies. Grey and Zack spend most of the movie terrified

00:01:22in attempting to reach safety, and Simpkins even told Collider that they had him scream

00:01:27as a part of his audition.

00:01:29Closely following his role in Jurassic World, Ty Simpkins made a cameo in Shane Black's

00:01:33retro-detective film, The Nice Guys, in 2016. Black knew Simpkins from directing him in

00:01:39Iron Man 3, and the young actor must have made a good impression to be featured in the

00:01:43opening scene of one of Black's most critically lauded films. Speaking with Collider in 2015,

00:01:50Simpkins revealed that Black actually offered him the role at a party. Simpkins said,

00:01:54He's talking about this movie that he's doing, and he's like, yeah, it's called

00:01:58The Nice Guys. It's about these two guys who have to solve a murder mystery about

00:02:02a porn star. And then he was like, there's actually a part in the beginning for someone

00:02:07like you, Ty.

00:02:08A few months later, Simpkins was in Atlanta shooting the scene. Simpkins played an unnamed,

00:02:13rambunctious kid who sneaks into his parents' room late at night while they're asleep

00:02:17and steals an X-rated magazine from under the bed. The character immediately opens the

00:02:22magazine to its centerfold and finds a photo of an adult actor named Misty Mountains. Suddenly,

00:02:27a blue convertible crashes through the kid's house and lands in a nearby ditch. Upon investigation,

00:02:33Simpkins' character finds that the car's passenger is none other than Misty Mountains

00:02:37herself, who delivers an essential clue to solving her murder right before succumbing

00:02:41to her injuries.

00:02:43Even though many industry outlets reported on Ty Simpkins' alleged casting in Avengers

00:02:48Endgame well before the movie had an official title, many viewers were still surprised to

00:02:52see him reprise his role as Harley Keener during Tony Stark's funeral at the end of

00:02:56the movie. When asked by HuffPost about people's perplexed and occasionally confused reactions

00:03:02to his appearance in the film, Simpkins said,

00:03:04I definitely thought that a couple people would get it. I wasn't really sure people

00:03:08would remember me or not, but I was kind of more focused on the fact that I was in the

00:03:12movie. Simpkins was mostly just excited to be on set with the long list of talented actors

00:03:18who were also present the day they filmed Tony's funeral. In the same interview with

00:03:22HuffPost, he said that he and Robert Downey Jr. still text and check in with each other

00:03:27from time to time. As of now, there are no official plans to bring Harley back again

00:03:31in the MCU.

00:03:39In 2020, Ty Simpkins stepped back in front of the camera to co-star in an indie horror

00:03:44movie called Where's Rose? The actor, who also served as a producer on the film, plays

00:03:50Eric Daniels, whose younger sister Rose goes missing in the woods one day, much to the

00:03:54horror of her family. All seems lost until she turns up again the next day. Eric is the

00:03:59only person who seems to realize that the Rose who comes back isn't the same one who

00:04:04went missing, and the evil forces inhabiting her make themselves known throughout the course

00:04:08of the film. Where's Rose was actually filmed near the height of the COVID-19 pandemic,

00:04:13but thanks to a good team and a crowdfunding campaign, it debuted at the Raindance Film

00:04:18Festival in November 2021 and is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime, among

00:04:23other digital platforms.

00:04:25When The Whale came out in 2022, most of the attention was focused on Brendan Fraser's

00:04:30triumphant performance. While the film's directing and writing went largely unrecognized

00:04:35during awards season, Fraser won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He wouldn't have been

00:04:39able to do it in a vacuum, though, and it's largely thanks to the film's supporting

00:04:43players like Sadie Senk, Hong Chao, and Ty Simpkins that he was able to do his best work.

00:04:49Simpkins co-stars in the film as Thomas, the Christian missionary who continually dogs

00:04:54Fraser's Charlie, hoping that he can convince him to embrace the will of God. The Whale

00:04:59marks Simpkins' return to significant parts in big-time Hollywood pictures. Director Darren

00:05:04Aronofsky told Vanity Fair about the process for casting Simpkins as Thomas in 2023. He

00:05:10explained,

00:05:11Right before we were about to start to rehearse, Mary Verneu, our casting director, was like,

00:05:16oh, there's this one guy, Ty Simpkins. He was a child actor, but he hadn't acted in

00:05:20a while. He was kinda taking a break from it for a while. But he got on tape, and the

00:05:25next day he got on a plane and joined us in New York, where we shot the film, and he was

00:05:29great."

00:05:31In 2011, Ty Simpkins had appeared in Insidious, and Insidious Chapter 2, two years later.

00:05:37After ten years away from the franchise, he returned to it in 2023, this time as a co-lead.

00:05:43He originally played the role of Dalton Lambert when the character was just a young boy who

00:05:47got caught up fighting evil forces and demons alongside his equally terrified parents.

00:05:52In 2023's Insidious The Red Door, Dalton's parents, played by Rose Byrne and Patrick

00:05:57Wilson, are now divorced, and he's just starting his first year of college.

00:06:02Looper interviewed Simpkins alongside one of his co-stars, Sinclair Daniel, who plays

00:06:06Dalton's college roommate. When asked about his own experience growing up and how it parallels

00:06:11Dalton's, Simpkins explained,

00:06:13"'When I first got the script for this, I was a freshman in college at the time. A

00:06:16lot of what I was going through, minus the demonic stuff, Dalton was going through it

00:06:20in this movie."

00:06:22It makes sense that Simpkins' first real starring role as an adult would be in the Insidious

00:06:26franchise, as that's really what put him on the Hollywood map when he was a child actor.

00:06:31For over a decade, Johnny Galecki was a weekly presence on our screens as lovable geek Leonard

00:06:37on The Big Bang Theory. But when the show ended in 2019, the star seemingly disappeared.

00:06:41So what has he been up to?

00:06:44On May 3rd, 2019, Johnny Galecki took to Instagram to share some exciting news. He and his then-girlfriend

00:06:49Elena Meyer, who he privately began dating the year prior, were expecting a baby. He

00:06:54wrote in the post,

00:06:55We are absolutely over the moon to announce that we will soon be welcoming a little one

00:06:58into this crazy and wonderful world. We ask that you please respect our privacy during

00:07:03this celebratory time for us and our families."

00:07:06Later that month, during a paint-filled gender-reveal party, Galecki and Meyer learned that they'd

00:07:10be welcoming a son. Orbison was born in early December 2019, with Galecki posting a sweet

00:07:16photo of himself and Meyer, each holding one of their baby's little hands. However, by

00:07:20November 2020, Galecki and Meyer had broken up and were co-parenting Orbison.

00:07:25Meyer wrote on Instagram that month,

00:07:26This has been the gnarliest year of my life with the highest highs and the lowest lows."

00:07:31Ever private about his relationships, Galecki has not publicly commented on why things ended.

00:07:37After his relationship with Meyer came to a close, Galecki turned to a friend to help

00:07:40get his mind off things — country musician Randy Houser. In January 2020, Galecki and

00:07:45his mother Mary Lou introduced Houser on stage at the Fonda Theater in Los Angeles. In October

00:07:50of that year, as the world still reeled from the COVID-19 pandemic, Galecki shared an adorable

00:07:55photo of the two dads and their kids enjoying a sunny autumn day at a pumpkin patch.

00:08:00Additionally, Houser helped Galecki tap into his musical side. A talented drummer, Galecki

00:08:04learned to set aside his shyness on stage and occasionally join Houser on a few tour

00:08:09stops. In fact, his drumming skills can be heard in the demo version of No Stone Unturned,

00:08:13the first song off Houser's 2019 album, Magnolia.

00:08:17That spur-of-the-moment opportunity came when Galecki stayed with Houser and his wife

00:08:20in Nashville for a weekend. When his guest asked what he was working on, Houser played

00:08:25No Stone Unturned with just a click track, and Galecki asked for some drumsticks.

00:08:29I didn't even know he played drums.

00:08:32After filming for The Big Bang Theory wrapped up, Galecki returned to the world of Lanford,

00:08:36Illinois for brief appearances as David Healy on The Conners.

00:08:39Yeah, the characters resurfaced really quickly. It was odd.

00:08:43In Season 2, which aired in the fall of 2019, David is featured in two episodes. These episodes

00:08:49show Darlene, played by Sarah Gilbert, grappling with a difficult decision. Does she get back

00:08:53with David, her teenage love and the father of her kids? Or does she finally leave him

00:08:57in the past? For Gilbert, it was a joy to once again work alongside Galecki, who she

00:09:01said on Live with Kelly and Ryan stood by her side years prior as she began to understand

00:09:06her sexuality.

00:09:07He's the best. He's such a good guy. He's such a good actor.

00:09:11In 2024, the show was renewed for its seventh and final season. Regarding a possible Galecki

00:09:16return, it's not out of the realm of possibility. Executive producer Bruce Helford told TVLine,

00:09:22"...the door is always open to Johnny. I'm sure we'll be talking to him."

00:09:25Aside from his limited appearances on The Conners, Galecki hasn't set foot in front

00:09:29of a camera since the end of The Big Bang Theory, essentially disappearing from Hollywood.

00:09:34That's because after 12 years, Leonard's mannerisms were so ingrained in Galecki's acting performance

00:09:39that it would have been impossible for him to immediately take on a new role and not

00:09:43carry over some of the character. He said in Jessica Radloff's The Big Bang Theory,

00:09:47the definitive inside story of the epic hit series,

00:09:49"...one of the reasons I kind of have been staying out from in front of the camera is

00:09:53I'm still kind of bleeding Leonard out of my system, because these characters, they

00:09:57stay with you for a while."

00:09:59Plus, Galecki truly enjoyed his 12 years as Leonard, which would have made a quick transition

00:10:03into another character even harder. In an interview with Larry King, he revealed that

00:10:07the show's co-creators, Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, initially envisioned him as Sheldon.

00:10:12However, upon reading the first few pages of the script, he felt drawn to Leonard.

00:10:16"...hadn't had a lot of opportunities to play, not to Leonard's love interest, but someone

00:10:21struggling with that territory of the heart."

00:10:24Upon landing his first major sitcom role on Roseanne in the early 90s, a teenage Galecki

00:10:29moved from his childhood home in Illinois to Los Angeles, where he remained for the

00:10:33next three decades. For the majority of that time, however, he never felt like he belonged

00:10:37in the City of Angels permanently. He told Architectural Digest,

00:10:40"...I never felt like much of an Angeleno, and I did try. I say that with sadness, not

00:10:45with snobbery. Thirty years is just a very long time to live in a city that you're not

00:10:49all that comfortable in."

00:10:50When the Big Bang Theory wrapped up and Galecki no longer had any commitments tying him to

00:10:54the West Coast, he began pondering where he'd like to move to. A few places came to mind,

00:10:59including Austin and New York. But one place attracted him the most — Nashville. He told

00:11:04Architectural Digest,

00:11:05"...everywhere I looked around here felt like the scene of a future memory."

00:11:09In 2019, shortly before the shutdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic, Galecki finally said goodbye

00:11:14to California and moved to the Music City. Once there, his sole focus was on his family

00:11:19and getting his new house decorated to his liking, rather than what was next in his career.

00:11:24In fact, he admitted that the 2024 interview with Architectural Digest was the first he

00:11:28agreed to in nearly four years.

00:11:31Although Galecki's relocation to Los Angeles as a teenager was a solo endeavor, this wasn't

00:11:36the case for his Nashville move. By his side was Morgan Galecki, whom he privately married

00:11:40on an undisclosed date. He first posted images of Morgan on his Instagram in January 2023

00:11:46as part of a series of photos from their trip with Orbison to Walt Disney World. Galecki

00:11:50wrote in the caption,

00:11:51"...thank you to Mickey and gang for a magical post-holiday holiday."

00:11:55A little over a year later, the Galeckis welcomed a daughter together. Similar to how he handled

00:11:59his relationship with Meyer and the birth of Orbison, Galecki has worked to keep his

00:12:03home life with Morgan and his daughter out of the public spotlight. However, he does

00:12:07share the occasional glimpse into his life and happiness as a husband and father, whether

00:12:12it be cute Instagram posts like the Disney one or the rare interview.

00:12:16Without the stress of a weekly sitcom on his plate, Galecki is able to dedicate his full

00:12:20focus to something else — being a good father. Though he shields Orbison from the public

00:12:25eye, even hiding his face in social media posts, Galecki shares occasional updates about

00:12:30their father-son adventures, which range from typical outings to spending time with one

00:12:33of the top rock bands in the world.

00:12:35In December 2021, Galecki took Orbison to see some holiday lights in a post of the two

00:12:40standing under a lit-up canopy. Galecki wrote in the caption,

00:12:43"...let it snow with my best friend Orbison Galecki."

00:12:46In a March 2022 post, Orbison can be seen taking in the world of art, as he stands in

00:12:51front of a Vincent van Gogh piece. Then, in August 2022, this duo got an opportunity that

00:12:56every emo kid of the early 2000s would pay top dollar for — attending My Chemical Romance's

00:13:01soundcheck at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. Galecki wrote in the caption,

00:13:05"...an extra heartfelt thank you to Gerard Way for the shout-out to both Orby and I during

00:13:10last night's absolutely incredible show."

00:13:13Galecki and My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way actually go way back, with Way once interviewing

00:13:17Galecki for YRB magazine.

00:13:21Galecki has a great way of maintaining friendships with his ex-girlfriends. The first was Sarah

00:13:25Gilbert, who went through a tragic depression while dating him as a teenager. At the time,

00:13:29she was questioning her sexuality, but after she came out to him, he was nothing but supportive

00:13:33and kept her secret until she was ready to do so publicly years later. Then came Kaley

00:13:38Cuoco, whom he dated from 2008 to 2010.

00:13:41"...we got together and just fell mad for each other for about two years."

00:13:45Though things became strained as Galecki held fast to their self-imposed rule to keep their

00:13:49relationship away from the public eye, there were no hard feelings when it ended. The two

00:13:54stayed close friends throughout the remainder of filming and in the years that followed

00:13:57the finale.

00:13:58Galecki still posts annual birthday wishes for Cuoco that are filled with love and sarcasm.

00:14:03In November 2020, he wrote,

00:14:04"...the happiest 74th birthday to my fake wife, Kaley Cuoco. You know how much I adore

00:14:09you and respect you. I'm so proud of all you are doing and so happy with your happiness.

00:14:14Congratulations on 82 years of age."

00:14:16Additionally, for the 2022 book The Big Bang Theory, the definitive inside story of the

00:14:20epic hit series, they conducted most of their interviews with author Jessica Radloff as

00:14:25a duo. In her acknowledgments, Radloff thanked Cuoco for taking charge of Galecki's schedule.

00:14:30Since the emotional finale of The Big Bang Theory, many fans have wondered if, at some

00:14:34point down the line, they'll see this cast together again on screen. It's not completely

00:14:38out of the question. Just look at the 2021 Max reunion of the Friends cast. It brought

00:14:43together Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow,

00:14:47and Courteney Cox at the Warner Bros. lot, where Friends, as well as The Big Bang Theory,

00:14:51was filmed for the first time in 17 years. Galecki has hinted that he's not opposed to

00:14:56doing something similar for The Big Bang Theory, just not anytime soon. He said in Radloff's

00:15:00book,

00:15:01"...maybe after the amount of time that the Friends cast had."

00:15:04In the meantime, he credits Radloff's book as being an emotional reunion of sorts. It

00:15:08was one that allowed him to reminisce on those 12 years and all of the highs and lows that

00:15:12changed his life forever.

00:15:15Modern Family made her famous, but could Sarah Hyland's legacy be in vitamin-infused chocolates?

00:15:20It's a side project the former sitcom star is passionate about for an unexpected reason.

00:15:25Although Sarah Hyland has previously said she has almost nothing in common with Hayley,

00:15:29her Modern Family character, they do share an affinity for fashion. As Hyland told Vanity

00:15:34Fair,

00:15:35"...as I get older, I'm becoming more like Hayley, where I really am starting to appreciate

00:15:39fashion."

00:15:40Over a brief period of her career, Hyland had the opportunity to design clothing herself.

00:15:45In 2016, Hyland was not only asked to join the list of celebrities modeling and promoting

00:15:50Kandi's clothing line, she also became the first celebrity to hold a leadership role

00:15:54in the company when she was appointed creative director of the junior brand.

00:15:58Hi, this is Sarah Hyland taking you behind the scenes at my Kandi's photo shoot available

00:16:02at Kohl's.

00:16:03Katie Reeves, a representative of Kandi's parent company, told Women's Wear Daily,

00:16:07We've normally just had a face for the brand, but we've evolved Sarah's role into a more

00:16:12integrated one because she's a fashion authority in her own right and we're excited that she

00:16:17can lend that to Kandi's."

00:16:19Hyland was featured in Kandi's ad campaigns from 2016 to 2018, and she also helped design

00:16:24various items for Kandi's clothing line, an experience that has been surreal for her.

00:16:29She told the Daily Mail,

00:16:30"...it's so crazy to see something go from a sketch to actually in Kohl's."

00:16:35In an interview with Self, Hyland opened up about her history with medical problems.

00:16:39"...I've always had health issues, and it's a really helpless feeling."

00:16:44The actor estimates that she has gotten at least 16 surgeries in her lifetime.

00:16:49Ever since birth, Hyland has experienced kidney dysplasia, and her kidney problems were present

00:16:55even as she was working on early seasons of Modern Family.

00:16:58In fact, she was so exhausted during certain episodes that she doesn't even remember filming

00:17:03them.

00:17:04In 2012, she started to experience kidney failure, so her father donated a kidney to

00:17:08her.

00:17:09For a while, it seemed like Hyland was recovering, yet in 2016, her body's immune system began

00:17:14attacking the kidney her father had donated.

00:17:16The actor spent several months on dialysis, and when she needed another kidney transplant,

00:17:21her younger brother stepped forward to donate.

00:17:23However, complications required her to get two more surgeries in 2018 to treat her endometriosis

00:17:30and an abdominal hernia.

00:17:31Thankfully, Hyland's second kidney transplant was successful, and she is now able to go

00:17:36horseback riding and resume other physical activities that she couldn't do while she

00:17:40was recovering.

00:17:41But her health journey is far from over.

00:17:43Hyland's endometriosis is still an ongoing condition, and the scars on her abdomen will

00:17:47be with her for the rest of her life.

00:17:49She told Refinery29,

00:17:50"...having scars and going through a lot of medical issues has only made me stronger."

00:17:55Unfortunately, Hyland's health concerns mean that she has endured constant public scrutiny.

00:18:01For instance, when she was seen with curly hair, as opposed to the straighter style Hailey

00:18:05usually wore on Modern Family, some fans immediately jumped to the conclusion that she had gotten

00:18:10a perm.

00:18:11Hyland needed to explain that it was her natural hair, and the real reason it looked different

00:18:15in Modern Family was because she wore extensions to hide potential side effects of her medications.

00:18:20Hyland has also faced more toxic comments.

00:18:23When it appeared as if she had lost weight, some internet trolls accused her of promoting

00:18:27anorexia.

00:18:28Hyland responded that it was just where her body was at, due to her long-term health issues.

00:18:33She wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter,

00:18:35"...my circumstances have put me in a place where I am not in control of what my body

00:18:39looks like, so I strive to be as healthy as possible, as everyone should."

00:18:43She even needed to address baseless rumors that she had gotten plastic surgery.

00:18:47In reality, Hyland's moon phase was the result of her taking prednisone, a medication that

00:18:52causes facial swelling.

00:18:53Yet for every fan that makes hurtful comments, there are twice as many that support her.

00:18:58As Hyland proclaimed to Refinery29, many of her fans are quick to shut down the hate,

00:19:04while others share their own stories of dealing with health issues.

00:19:07Speaking with Self, she said of her supporters,

00:19:09"...they're lovely, amazing human beings.

00:19:11If someone says a remark that's mean or ignorant or something that shouldn't be asked because

00:19:16it's already been answered in the past, my fans go to town.

00:19:19They're my warriors."

00:19:20Impressively, Hyland managed to find love on a reality dating show, and she wasn't even

00:19:26a contestant.

00:19:27Instead, she was just an audience member tuning in to The Bachelorette.

00:19:30Watching from home, Hyland was smitten with contestant Wells Adams, and said she could

00:19:35tell right away that she and Adams were on the same wavelength.

00:19:38Although he was eliminated before the end of the season, Adams still commented on the

00:19:41show via social media.

00:19:43This gave Hyland a chance to introduce herself.

00:19:45The pair exchanged flirty comments online, until pretty soon they were sending each other

00:19:50DMs.

00:19:51In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Hyland recalled some of Adams' very forward correspondences.

00:19:56"...like, next time I'm in L.A. I'm taking her out for, like, drinks and tacos.

00:19:59And, like, that's, like, I love tacos."

00:20:02Although Hyland was in Los Angeles and Adams was in Tennessee at the time, the two stayed

00:20:07in touch via DMs and FaceTime.

00:20:09When Hyland started dating Adams, she had been preparing for her second kidney transplant.

00:20:13As her crucial surgery approached, Hyland debated how soon she should share this deeply

00:20:18personal part of her life.

00:20:20Ultimately, she decided to trust Adams, who immediately flew to Los Angeles to support

00:20:24her.

00:20:25However, last year only confirmed for Hyland that Adams was the one, and the pair got engaged

00:20:29less than two years later.

00:20:31Sarah Hyland has done her share of celebrity endorsements.

00:20:34Before she landed her big role in Modern Family, she appeared in an Olive Garden commercial,

00:20:38and she continued to do TV spots for companies like Domino's Pizza and Nintendo during the

00:20:43show's run.

00:20:44Even after the series ended, Hyland has been using her celebrity status to promote various

00:20:48companies and events.

00:20:49She shot two commercials for Afterpay in 2020, and has also frequently participated in the

00:20:54InStyle elevator shorts to promote the Golden Globes.

00:20:58In what is perhaps her most memorable short, the elevator doors open to reveal Hyland as

00:21:02she plays a very claustrophobic game of Twister with her fiancé on the elevator floor.

00:21:07Of course, we would be remiss not to mention that Hyland is featured in a Taco Bell commercial.

00:21:12Hilariously shot like a horror movie, the ad allowed Hyland the opportunity to work

00:21:16alongside Stranger Things star Joe Keery.

00:21:19He can't escape the Kraven.

00:21:21As an actor, Hyland hasn't limited herself to just TV and movies.

00:21:25She also lent her voice to the fiction podcast Bone, Marry, Bury.

00:21:29In this mock true crime story with a healthy helping of dark comedy, Hyland narrates alongside

00:21:34what we do in The Shadow Star, Harvey Guillen.

00:21:37The premise for the podcast is that Hyland's character, Allie, attends a New Year's Eve

00:21:41party, and the narrator, Guillen, warns listeners that within a single month, Allie will sleep

00:21:46with one person, marry another, and kill a third.

00:21:50What's more, each of these characters is attending the same party.

00:21:53What follows is a delightful screwball whodunit story that Hyland told the Not Skinny Not

00:21:58Fat podcast broke her out of her comfort zone.

00:22:01I never really saw myself as having a podcast.

00:22:06I think there are people that are better at it than I."

00:22:11Hyland explained that she was fascinated by the format.

00:22:13She had a lot of fun playing off her co-star despite the fact that she was recording her

00:22:17part in L.A. and he was tracking his in Canada.

00:22:20She reflected that the two still had plenty of room to improvise, but somehow always managed

00:22:24to bring their tangents back to the script.

00:22:27Selling vitamin-infused chocolates is far from Hyland's first side hustle, but it's

00:22:31arguably her sweetest.

00:22:33Hyland's company, Source, makes snacks that also double as nutritional supplements.

00:22:37For example, these chocolate treats are a good source of vitamin B12 and biotin, among

00:22:43other things.

00:22:44Hyland approached the company in 2021 and proposed two new product ideas, Beauty Bites

00:22:49and Mood Bites.

00:22:50The company's founders liked her contributions so much that they soon made Hyland a co-founder

00:22:55and Source's creative director.

00:22:57Good health is an especially important topic to Hyland, since she has dealt with such a

00:23:01myriad of other health concerns.

00:23:03As she told Refinery29,

00:23:04"...being a two-time kidney transplant recipient, you want to treat your body as well as you

00:23:09can."

00:23:11These vitamin-infused chocolates were a refreshing change of pace.

00:23:14As she explained to The Hollywood Reporter,

00:23:16"...because of all of my health issues, I probably take 30 pills a day, inclusive of

00:23:21supplements I have to take.

00:23:22I've actually been able to cut back on some of the pills because now I'm able to take

00:23:27them with Source.

00:23:28Now I can just have a treat before going to bed."

00:23:30Hyland is no stranger to celebrity endorsements, but she was still thrilled when the products

00:23:34that she helped design finally arrived on the shelves.

00:23:37In one Instagram post, she gleefully showcased a display of Source chocolates with her face

00:23:41on it.

00:23:43Since Modern Family ended in 2020, Hyland's schedule hasn't exactly been booked with movie

00:23:48and TV projects.

00:23:49In fact, she has only done a couple of movies and TV shows since the beloved sitcom ended.

00:23:54In 2022, Hyland appeared in the Amazon original My Fake Boyfriend and starred as Heidi in

00:24:00the TV show Bumper in Berlin.

00:24:02This pitch-perfect spinoff turned out to be a Modern Family reunion, because Hyland was

00:24:07working alongside Adam Devine, who played Andy for Modern Family.

00:24:11The two played a couple yet again in the series, with Devine's character, Bumper, falling in

00:24:15love with Hyland's Heidi.

00:24:17Bumper in Berlin also gave Hyland a chance to show off her singing chops, something she

00:24:21hadn't really had a chance to do since she was on Broadway in the 2000s.

00:24:25Speaking with ScreenRant, she said,

00:24:26"'It was just such a joy to be singing again.

00:24:29That's not just in my shower.'"

00:24:31For Hyland, playing this pitch-perfect character was surprisingly personal for her.

00:24:35As she told PureWow,

00:24:36"'Heidi is afraid to sing because she is a perfectionist, and I very much relate to that.'"

00:24:41In 2022, Hyland was invited to host the reality TV show Love Island, a fitting choice, seeing

00:24:47as she met her husband thanks to another reality dating show.

00:24:51While she was host, Hyland tried to maintain a professional, amicable environment.

00:24:55Discussing her approach, she told The Wrap,

00:24:57"'I think it's really important to be able to build a strong foundation and relationship

00:25:01with your girls and really be there for each other.

00:25:04Nothing can be pitted against each other, and what I really love about our show is what

00:25:08you saw last season.

00:25:10The girls, they're still friends.'"

00:25:11Her tenure on Love Island was not without controversy.

00:25:14After Season 5 contestant Kenan Anuneh was eliminated from the game, his partner, KK

00:25:20Gray, volunteered to leave the show with him.

00:25:22When Hyland asked Gray a question to confirm that she understood this decision was final,

00:25:27a third contestant interrupted, accusing Hyland of questioning Gray's choice.

00:25:31"'Yeah, that sounded mad disrespectful.'"

00:25:33However, fans on social media were quick to defend Hyland.

00:25:36Even so, after two seasons, Hyland needed to pass the torch to a new host.

00:25:40The shooting schedule for the next season of Love Island conflicted with another project

00:25:44Hyland was working on, so she had to bow out.

00:25:47It took years, but Sarah Hyland finally married Wells Adams.

00:25:51When the pair were ready to commit, Adams not only asked Hyland's parents for their

00:25:55blessing to marry her, he also asked her TV parents, Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell.

00:26:00When the pandemic hit, Hyland and Adams realized that their wedding wouldn't happen that year.

00:26:05COVID-19 pushed back their ceremony, though the couple did at least take some fake wedding

00:26:09photos on their would-be wedding day.

00:26:11The pair rescheduled the nuptials to 2021, but it got postponed again.

00:26:16Hyland shared that she had considered skipping the ceremony and just tying the knot.

00:26:19Ultimately, though, she and Adams decided they were in no hurry, and they could wait

00:26:23until they had the chance to celebrate with their families.

00:26:26Hyland and Adams finally got to have their wedding in August 2022.

00:26:30Ty Burrell was originally going to be the one to read the couple their vows, but due

00:26:33to a last-minute situation, he couldn't attend the wedding.

00:26:36Luckily, they found another Modern Family member, Jessie Tyler Ferguson, to step in

00:26:41instead.

00:26:42Early in her career, Hyland performed in several musicals.

00:26:45As a child, she played a supporting character in the 1999 TV movie Annie, and she later

00:26:50starred as Annie in a regional theater production of the show as well.

00:26:53From there, she went on to perform in the Broadway musical Grey Gardens.

00:26:57Once she joined Modern Family, however, Hyland didn't have much time for this particular

00:27:01passion.

00:27:02Outside of a TV movie remake of Dirty Dancing, she didn't appear in any movie musicals, and

00:27:07she certainly didn't perform on stage.

00:27:10Even so, she told Refinery29 in 2017,

00:27:13"...I'm such a music theater junkie, unfortunately, I actually had to turn down a movie musical

00:27:19this summer for personal reasons, but I would love to do something like that again."

00:27:22Luckily, Hyland found another opportunity to return to musical theater.

00:27:27After Modern Family ended, she landed the role of Audrey in an off-Broadway revival

00:27:31of Little Shop of Horrors, bringing to life a childhood aspiration in the process.

00:27:36As she told Today,

00:27:37"...Audrey's been a dream role of mine since I was a little girl."

00:27:40Hyland added that she loves the experience of performing live on stage for a new audience

00:27:44each night.

00:27:45And now that she gets to be swallowed by a man-eating plant on a daily basis, she must

00:27:50truly be living the dream.

00:27:52Gossip Girl made her famous, but Taylor Momsen was more interested in being on stage than

00:27:57behind the camera.

00:27:58And while she may be away from Hollywood now, the star has managed to bring a little piece

00:28:01of Jenny Humphrey with her.

00:28:04Taylor Momsen entered the entertainment industry at a very young age — well, before she was

00:28:08old enough to make a decision about it for herself.

00:28:11Throughout her career, Momsen has expressed mixed feelings about her upbringing.

00:28:14She said becoming an actor was her choice and that her parents simply helped her find

00:28:18opportunities.

00:28:19But later, comments reveal a very different picture.

00:28:22In an interview with Revolver, Momsen explained,

00:28:24My parents signed me up with Ford Modeling at the age of two.

00:28:27No two-year-old wants to be working, but I had no choice.

00:28:30My whole life, I was in and out of school.

00:28:32I didn't have friends, I was working constantly, and I didn't have a real life.

00:28:36But after finishing high school early and moving to New York to film Gossip Girl, Momsen

00:28:40became legally responsible for herself and enjoyed more freedom and independence.

00:28:46Momsen got her big break when she landed the role of Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl.

00:28:50But some of her co-stars weren't impressed.

00:28:52In later seasons, Momsen appeared on screen less and less, and Tim Gunn hinted as to why

00:28:56after guest-starring on the show as Jenny's mentor.

00:28:59In an interview with E! News, Gunn didn't hold back, saying,

00:29:02What a diva.

00:29:03She was pathetic.

00:29:04She couldn't remember her lines, and she didn't even have that many.

00:29:07I thought to myself, why are we being held hostage by this brat?

00:29:10I never actually watched the show, and maybe fans are going to yell at me about this, but

00:29:13I'm pretty sure they had me dealing drugs at one point.

00:29:16After working on the series for a few years, Momsen seemed frustrated with acting and was

00:29:20ready to move on.

00:29:22Although Taylor Momsen was a successful actor, she secretly dreamed of making music.

00:29:27She'd been writing her own songs since she was a child, and wanted to start her own band.

00:29:31Then she had a lightbulb moment — she didn't have to act anymore if she didn't want to.

00:29:35She told Cosmopolitan,

00:29:36It was like, if I don't have to do this thing that I don't enjoy doing anymore, or I don't

00:29:41know if I ever really did, then I'm not going to do it anymore.

00:29:45Because this is my life, and I want to live it and enjoy it if I can.

00:29:48Goodbye, good riddance, and good luck.

00:29:51Working with the logistics of retiring from acting was complicated, especially because

00:29:55she made the decision while still appearing on Gossip Girl, but she knew she made the

00:29:58right choice.

00:30:00In her early years with her band, The Pretty Reckless, Momsen faced some obstacles.

00:30:05As a young woman in a male-dominated genre, she wasn't always taken seriously.

00:30:09She was branded as a wild child for her onstage antics, and there were doubts about her authenticity

00:30:14as an artist.

00:30:15Later, she realized that some of this criticism was aimed at her simply for being a teenage

00:30:19girl.

00:30:20In an interview with Louder, she said,

00:30:21"...there is a boys' club when it comes to rock and roll, and it is a struggle to break

00:30:25into that and be accepted and treated with the same respect as if you were a man."

00:30:29Today, she's more comfortable and confident in her own skin, and she credits other female

00:30:33artists like Amy Lee of Evanescence for helping her navigate the industry.

00:30:38Opening for Soundgarden in 2017 was one of the highlights of Momsen's career.

00:30:42She never imagined that she'd play the same concert as Chris Cornell, Soundgarden's lead

00:30:47vocalist and one of her musical heroes.

00:30:49But tragedy struck when Momsen learned Cornell had died by suicide.

00:30:53Speaking with Spin, she recalled,

00:30:54"...I was there that last night in Detroit.

00:30:56I talked to him at night.

00:30:57I gave him a hug and said goodbye.

00:30:59When I wake up to that news the next morning, it just went from the most elating experience

00:31:04to one of the most devastating."

00:31:05After a few more performances, Momsen decided to put her own band's tour on hold.

00:31:10She explained,

00:31:11"...I couldn't get on stage every night and pretend, put on this big rock show like everything

00:31:14was okay."

00:31:15She canceled all the Pretty Reckless' upcoming shows because she knew she couldn't give the

00:31:19fans what they'd come for.

00:31:21Months after Chris Cornell's death, Momsen and her bandmates were finally ready to start

00:31:25recording again.

00:31:26But shortly after they decided to begin working on a new album, Momsen learned that their

00:31:30producer and her close friend, Kato Kondwala, had been killed in a motorcycle accident.

00:31:36She was devastated.

00:31:37Momsen told Metro,

00:31:38"...It was the nail in the coffin for me, for lack of a better term.

00:31:41He was so much more than a producer, he was a fifth member of the band and my best friend

00:31:45in the world."

00:31:46With Kondwala gone, Momsen had no idea how to move forward, and she felt like there was

00:31:50no point in trying anymore.

00:31:53After losing two people who meant so much to her, Momsen tried to numb her pain.

00:31:57She explained to The Daily Beast,

00:31:59"...I wouldn't say rock bottom, but I was getting close to that.

00:32:02I was in this hole of depression, substance abuse, and was not well mentally."

00:32:06Momsen didn't want to engage with the outside world and spent most of her time at home.

00:32:10Rather than turning to others for help, she isolated herself.

00:32:14And in the midst of her grief, she found that even listening to music made her feel worse,

00:32:19telling Illinois Entertainer,

00:32:20"...If I put on any music, which has always brought me such solace and hope and light,

00:32:26it would bring back some sort of memory which was too much for me to handle or too painful,

00:32:30so I didn't have my outlet which had always been there for me."

00:32:33Momsen couldn't bear the thought of listening to her favorite artists, let alone write new

00:32:37songs.

00:32:38Eventually, she began to pull herself out of her depression by returning to her favorite

00:32:42band, The Beatles.

00:32:44Then she revisited albums from her other inspirations, including bands like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd,

00:32:49and The Who.

00:32:50When she was finally able to listen to Soundgarden again, she knew it was time to pick up her

00:32:54guitar.

00:32:56There was a time when Taylor Momsen would reliably pop up in the tabloids and gossip

00:33:00magazines.

00:33:01But today, she has no real interest in chasing fame for fame's sake.

00:33:04While she loves her music career, she doesn't want her personal life in the spotlight.

00:33:08In a People interview, she said,

00:33:10Fame is a fleeting thing, just something that you have to deal with.

00:33:12It's not real."

00:33:13She may not get as much media attention now that her days on Gossip Girl are behind her,

00:33:17but today, Momsen is happier with her career, so the tradeoff seems to have been worth it.

00:33:22The Pretty Reckless released their fourth album, Death by Rock and Roll, on February

00:33:2612, 2021.

00:33:28It was a tribute to their producer, Kato Kondwala, whose sudden death almost broke up the band

00:33:33when Momsen retreated into isolation.

00:33:35Well, I hate working with you, Kato, so I don't know what you're talking about.

00:33:38It's clear and obvious."

00:33:40Talking about the album with The Daily Beast, she revealed,

00:33:42"...we finished the album right before COVID and due to the insane world circumstances,

00:33:46we pushed it a little bit.

00:33:48The pandemic and the deaths of three loved ones combined to inspire Death by Rock and

00:33:52Roll.

00:33:53As Momsen explained to In Love magazine,

00:33:55"...we poured all of our heart and soul into saying goodbye and at the same time used it

00:33:59to move on.

00:34:00It was a major turning point in our lives."

00:34:03Although Momsen felt that making and promoting their first album without Kondwala was a cathartic

00:34:07and healing experience, not being able to perform it live was frustrating.

00:34:12She admitted to Elle,

00:34:13"...I was doing lots of Zoom interviews and everything, which is all good and fine, but

00:34:16doing that side of a record release and not getting to play feels very incomplete."

00:34:21Since The Pretty Reckless couldn't tour when Death by Rock and Roll came out, the band

00:34:25spent the pandemic rehearsing and playing together for fun.

00:34:28This re-established their bond, and the practice made them more flexible and polished as musicians

00:34:33for when they were able to return to the stage.

00:34:35And Momsen happens to love touring, telling Elle,

00:34:37"...it's breathing life into the band and myself, and I feel like we're in a very positive

00:34:41place, which is nice to be able to say as we started in a very negative one."

00:34:45"...you feed off an audience, and when they are psyched, you're psyched."

00:34:48Momsen credits their extensive backlist with keeping their performances fresh and exciting.

00:34:53As she explained to Untitled magazine,

00:34:56"...we're not playing the same set every night.

00:34:57There are certain songs that stay in every night because we love them, but we can switch

00:35:01the set list out at a moment's notice with old material and different things from different

00:35:04records depending on the audience or where we are."

00:35:08The Pretty Reckless released a new album, Otherworlds, on November 4, 2022.

00:35:12Articulating the musical influences that have shaped the band's sound, the record contained

00:35:17cover tunes along with acoustic versions of their original songs.

00:35:20Speaking with Elle, Momsen clarified,

00:35:23"...this is the other side of us.

00:35:24It's a bit more intimate and stripped back, but still very Pretty Reckless."

00:35:28Recording a cover of Soundgarden's Halfway There with drummer Matt Cameron as a tribute

00:35:32to late Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell catalyzed the album's concept for Momsen, but the record

00:35:37was created out of the boredom of the pandemic.

00:35:40As Momsen explained,

00:35:41"...I started making music at home and recording acoustic versions of our songs, working with

00:35:45some of my friends who are also artists and doing remote collaborations.

00:35:49By the end of lockdown, I looked at all the stuff I made and went, this is all really

00:35:52good.

00:35:53I'm really proud of all of this stuff."

00:35:55Otherworlds is a tribute to Momsen's love of demos and the songwriting process.

00:36:00The Pretty Reckless gives fans a taste of this process on the album.

00:36:03Momsen said,

00:36:04"...you can hear the song in its infancy without all the pop production.

00:36:08That's always been intriguing to me as an artist and a fan.

00:36:11So getting to share that side of ourselves with our fans was an interesting idea for

00:36:14me."

00:36:15Momsen may have left Gossip Girl to focus on her music career and live a more private

00:36:19life, but that doesn't mean she didn't take a little piece of Jenny Humphrey with her.

00:36:24Just like her alter ego, who became a designer for Blair Waldorf's family business in the

00:36:28last episode of the series, Momsen loves fashion.

00:36:31She elaborated to In Love magazine, saying,

00:36:33"...whether writing songs or creating a look, it's all about being creative and using that

00:36:38to express how I feel at any given time.

00:36:41Fashion is the outside appearance of my inner feeling, or I can use it to change my mood.

00:36:45It's fun for the imagination."

00:36:46Momsen occasionally attends fashion shows to support her favorite designers.

00:36:50During New York's Fall Fashion Week 2023, Momsen sat front row to support Frederick

00:36:55Anderson's Renaissance-inspired line, which she described to Life Minute TV.

00:36:59"...very glamorous, very gothy, which is very my vibe.

00:37:05I'm rocking the blonde Wednesday Addams situation."

00:37:08In the mid-2000s, Jessica Biel was one of the hottest stars in Hollywood, but lately

00:37:12she hasn't been popping up on screens as much.

00:37:15So where's she been?

00:37:16From producing podcasts to working with charities, the Seventh Heaven star has been very busy

00:37:19off-camera.

00:37:21Jessica Biel first captured the hearts of American TV audiences when she starred as

00:37:25Mary in the family drama Seventh Heaven, starting at age 14.

00:37:28Although that series lasted 11 seasons, from 1996 to 2006, she didn't stay for the entire

00:37:33run.

00:37:34Biel was famously written off during the fifth season after she started rebelling against

00:37:37the show's rules by cutting her hair and then appearing topless in Gear magazine.

00:37:42By the mid-2000s, however, her career started taking off in a big way.

00:37:45She was soon starring in high-profile movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Rules

00:37:49of Attraction, and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.

00:37:52At the height of her popularity in 2005, she was named Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive.

00:37:56But in recent years, it's been widely reported that Hollywood won't cast Biel anymore.

00:38:00Even in her heyday, she was considered something of a lightweight, playing love interests and

00:38:04scream queens without much substance.

00:38:06By the 2010s, however, Biel started appearing in smaller films, which really allowed her

00:38:10to show off her acting chops.

00:38:12She played a single mom in The Truth About Emmanuel, a Sundance Film Festival entry in

00:38:152013.

00:38:16In 2015, she played a yoga instructor who finds herself having to protect her long-lost

00:38:21sister from her pimp boyfriend in Bleeding Heart, which was shown at the Tribeca Film

00:38:25Festival.

00:38:26Then she moved on to projects such as A Kind of Murder and 2016's The Book of Love.

00:38:30They haven't all been big projects with box office appeal, but they've helped Biel grow

00:38:33as an actor.

00:38:34She told Marie Claire in 2017,

00:38:37They were great learning experiences.

00:38:39Biel and pop star Justin Timberlake started dating in 2007 and tied the knot in 2012.

00:38:45In 2022, the couple renewed their vows to mark their 10th wedding anniversary.

00:38:48The ceremony took place in Italy.

00:38:50On Instagram, Timberlake took a walk down memory lane by posting photos and videos of

00:38:54him and Biel over the course of their relationship.

00:38:56He wrote in the caption,

00:38:57"'Ten years ain't enough.

00:38:58You make me a better husband and father every day.

00:39:00I love you so much, you beautiful human.

00:39:03Run it back.'"

00:39:04You have to keep making time for each other, and you have to keep making each other a priority.

00:39:09And do the things that you love together."

00:39:11The pair have also been supportive of each other's creative endeavors, even making cameos

00:39:15on one another's projects.

00:39:16Biel can even be spotted dancing with Timberlake during the last half of his music video for

00:39:202018's Man of the Woods.

00:39:22Meanwhile, Timberlake made an appearance in Candy, playing an investigator in two episodes.

00:39:26Biel shared photos on Instagram of her and Timberlake preparing to film the series, with

00:39:30the caption,

00:39:31Watch out, Candy.

00:39:32There's a new sheriff in town.

00:39:34Biel and Timberlake became parents in April 2015, when Silas Randall Timberlake was born.

00:39:39They welcomed their second child, Phineas, in 2020.

00:39:41Biel said on the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast that keeping her second pregnancy

00:39:45a secret had been an accident.

00:39:47She revealed,

00:39:48"...I had, like, a secret COVID baby.

00:39:50It wasn't like it was supposed to be a secret.

00:39:51It was just, COVID happened, and then I went to Montana with my family and never left."

00:39:55Biel also noted that Timberlake was allowed to be in the hospital with her during the

00:39:58birth due to changing hospital restrictions.

00:40:01Biel has her own approach to celebrating holidays with her children, telling People magazine

00:40:04that she tries to slow things down for them.

00:40:07She said,

00:40:08"...I find that Christmas is kind of overwhelming for kids.

00:40:10It's a lot of pressure.

00:40:11There's a lot of eyeballs on them, and they've got a lot of stuff to do.

00:40:14So I like to slow roll it.

00:40:15Sure, open one thing.

00:40:16We don't have to open anything else until tonight, and that sometimes happens for us."

00:40:20She added that their holiday destination is pretty much different every year.

00:40:24As Biel continues to grow her titles in the entertainment industry amid other business

00:40:27ventures, she also makes time to advocate for the environment while pursuing other philanthropic

00:40:31endeavors.

00:40:32In January 2010, she joined a group of celebrities as they climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for the

00:40:37Summit on the Summit.

00:40:38"...That was so hard."

00:40:40The goal of the climb was to bring attention to global water shortages, particularly those

00:40:44in Ethiopia, and raise money for charities supporting clean water infrastructure.

00:40:48The group visited a refugee camp in Ethiopia, seeing firsthand how the shortage has affected

00:40:52people who have been forcibly displaced.

00:40:54Biel told the U.N. Refugee Agency,

00:40:56"...I'm really taken by the resilience of the Somali refugees.

00:40:59I want to ensure that all those kids I met in the camp school continue to get clean water."

00:41:03In 2012, Biel was recognized for her charity work, receiving an award at the Variety Power

00:41:08of Women Luncheon.

00:41:09She's also one of the many big names who participated in the 2023 Stand Up to Cancer special.

00:41:15Back in mid-2016, Jessica Biel and some investors put together a restaurant concept designed

00:41:20to appeal to busy upper-class moms in Los Angeles.

00:41:22O'Fudge was part eatery, part nursery.

00:41:25The restaurant had dedicated au pairs available by the hour for younger children so that parents

00:41:29were free to have a meal out.

00:41:30It seemed like a great idea, until a review started coming in.

00:41:33Some Yelpers said that the kids' area was dirty and unmaintained, and the food was overpriced

00:41:38and mediocre.

00:41:39In a January 2017 interview with Jimmy Kimmel, the actor said that the business was doing

00:41:43well, but went on to add,

00:41:44"...Honestly, the restaurant business is way harder than being a producer.

00:41:48We're not making money."

00:41:50As it turns out, making no money is not a sustainable business model.

00:41:53By 2018, the restaurant had closed.

00:41:56In a July 15th Instagram post, O'Fudge stated,

00:41:58"...today is our last day of regular business hours at O'Fudge the restaurant.

00:42:02Thanks for all the support."

00:42:04Increasing conversation surrounding women's reproductive health.

00:42:07That's the goal of the video series, If You Don't Tell Them, Then Who Will?, launched

00:42:10by Biel and Sandra Pelletier, the founding CEO of Woman Care Global.

00:42:14Biel told Good Morning America that she didn't know about all the changes that her body would

00:42:17undergo during pregnancy, and recalled receiving little information about women's health while

00:42:21attending middle school health class.

00:42:23In an interview with Glamour, Biel said she started thinking about a lot of questions

00:42:27when she stopped birth control two years before giving birth to her first child.

00:42:31She told the outlet,

00:42:32"...I've been on the pill for so long, how hard will it be to get pregnant?

00:42:35Suddenly, I realized I really didn't know what's going on inside my body.

00:42:38It was shocking."

00:42:40Biel started gaining producing credits with 2008's Hole in the Paper Sky, a short film

00:42:43about the friendship between a math genius and a dog.

00:42:46This project would plant the seed for Iron Ocean Productions, a production company built

00:42:50by Biel and Michelle Purple, whose husband directed Hole in the Paper Sky.

00:42:54Biel told The Washington Post that Purple encouraged her to try her hand at other parts

00:42:57of the filmmaking process while working on that project.

00:43:00She said,

00:43:01"...I did a lot of things behind the camera.

00:43:02I pushed a dolly.

00:43:03I did craft service."

00:43:04Biel and Purple first worked together on the set of 2005's Stealth, which Purple produced

00:43:08and Biel starred in.

00:43:09They started producing projects under Iron Ocean in the mid-2000s, bringing projects

00:43:13like The Book of Love and the TV series The Sinner to life.

00:43:16In February 2022, the company renewed its first look deal with Paramount Television

00:43:20Studios, which was originally signed in 2019.

00:43:24Biel has been bringing 1990s and 2000s nostalgia to the small screen with the popular anthology

00:43:29series Cruel Summer, which adds another executive producer credit to her long list of projects.

00:43:34Season one begins in 1993 with the disappearance of Kate Wallace, who was later rescued.

00:43:39Fellow teenager Jeanette Turner then finds herself in the middle of the case, as Kate

00:43:43accuses her of witnessing her abduction and not reporting it.

00:43:47Season two takes place in 1999 and 2000, following the friendship between Isabella LaRue and

00:43:50Megan Landry, which begins to crumble following the murder of mutual crush Luke Chambers.

00:43:55The 1990s and 2000s were big decades for Biel's career, and she told The Hollywood Reporter

00:43:59that working on the series brought back memories of her youth.

00:44:02She said,

00:44:03"...It brought me back to being a young woman in Hollywood and a young woman trying to work

00:44:06through this business and the world at this time when technology was changing so much.

00:44:11Fashion and music and everything.

00:44:12I think at the time, we didn't realize how cool it was."

00:44:15There's Sadie Stanley, who plays Megan Landry in Cruel Summer, called Biel a Y2K icon.

00:44:20She went on to add that Biel's work is giving young women the opportunity to play complex

00:44:23characters.

00:44:25Biel continues to make an impression on the small screen, appearing on popular streaming

00:44:28services and high-profile series.

00:44:31In 2016, she started playing an animated version of herself on Netflix's BoJack Horseman.

00:44:35In 2022, Biel played Candy Montgomery in the Hulu miniseries Candy, based on the true story

00:44:40of Montgomery, who was accused of killing her friend in the 1980s.

00:44:44The series premiered almost a full year before the Mac series Love & Death, starring Elizabeth

00:44:47Olsen as Montgomery.

00:44:48Olsen told The Wall Street Journal that she and Biel bonded over their shows, saying,

00:44:52"...It actually was something that connected us.

00:44:54I was terrified at first of having the same show seemingly come out around the same time,

00:44:58and she really made that feel like not such a big deal."

00:45:00In an interview with the Variety Awards' Circuit podcast, Biel spoke about her approach to

00:45:04Montgomery, saying,

00:45:05"...I wanted to create this person that you really, really were conflicted about.

00:45:08You connect on a human level in some way.

00:45:10You're still kind of with her at the end.

00:45:12That's what I hope to create.

00:45:13You just have to have empathy.

00:45:14I didn't play this character like she was the villain."

00:45:18Biel is using social media to show the world her personal adventures, turning herself into

00:45:21a celebrity to watch on platforms like Instagram.

00:45:24The actor recently made headlines with a Pilates workout that featured an appearance by Timberlake.

00:45:28The workout clip, posted in August 2023, begins with the actor doing floor exercises before

00:45:33Timberlake's foot appears on camera, gently testing out her abs of steel.

00:45:37She's also shared behind-the-scenes moments from some of her biggest projects, posted

00:45:40photos of her and her husband dressed up for Halloween, and shared plenty of big-life

00:45:44moments, including anniversaries, birthday messages, and Father's Day tributes.

00:45:48She's also using social media to throw back to some of her most well-known roles, including

00:45:52photos and videos of her playing Mary Camden on 7th Heaven.

00:45:55That included a clip that she shared in June 2023 of Mary talking to her sister Lucy and

00:45:59her mom Annie.

00:46:01Biel included the caption,

00:46:02"...Being 16 is hard.

00:46:03Being 16 with the same haircut as your mom and your sister is really hard."

00:46:08Biel's influence on social media goes way beyond Instagram.

00:46:11In 2019, she starred in Linetown.

00:46:13The Facebook Watch original series tells the story of public radio journalist Leah Haddock,

00:46:17who finds herself on a mission to find out what happened to more than 300 people who

00:46:20disappeared in Tennessee.

00:46:21The show was based on the 2015 podcast of the same name.

00:46:25Biel served as an executive producer on the series.

00:46:27The events chronicled by the podcast are pure fiction, a fact that surprised the actor.

00:46:32She told Variety,

00:46:33"...I just thought I missed it because our world is so insane that anything is possible

00:46:36really, right?

00:46:37It's definitely a swift learning curve of, okay, this is not real, but it's so fascinating."

00:46:41Zach Akers and Skip Bronke, who co-created the Linetown podcast, told The Hollywood Reporter

00:46:46that the show's core team dedicated two weeks to developing the character of Leah with Biel

00:46:50and the producers.

00:46:51Bronke said,

00:46:52"...The insights that Jess brought to the table made Leah so much more real and grounded and

00:46:55interesting."

00:46:56Akers added that the way Leah's story is experienced and how her character is portrayed are the

00:47:00biggest differences between the podcast and the TV series.

00:47:03Despite the podcast's success, the TV series was canceled by Facebook Watch in 2020, as

00:47:08the social media giant worked to scale back its scripted series offerings.

00:47:12Since Linetown, Biel has dived into the world of podcasts herself, executive producing The

00:47:16Lost Olympians.

00:47:18The podcast tells the story of swimmer Leslie Cairns, who was making a name for herself

00:47:21in the sport at just 12 years old in 1971, but her hopes of competing in the Olympics

00:47:26were dashed due to restrictions for those classified as colored under the apartheid

00:47:30regime.

00:47:31The series was made exclusively for Audible and was a collaboration between Iron Ocean

00:47:34Productions and Attention, a creative media company.

00:47:37In a December 2021 update released by Attention, Biel said,

00:47:40"...we are excited to continue creating female-driven content and to launch Iron Ocean into the

00:47:45podcast world with this incredible story."

00:47:47The series was released in full on July 27, 2023, and features Leslie Cairns-Falk as well

00:47:52as her brother Patrick Cairns, who also has an athletic background competing in track

00:47:56and field.

00:47:58In 2017, Biel played Cora Tenetti in Season 1 of The Sinner on the USA Network.

00:48:03Based on the novel written by Petra Hamzafar, the series follows Detective Harry Ambrose

00:48:07as he investigates murders while taking a deeper look at the suspects.

00:48:10The first season focuses on Cora, who kills a man at the beach, not knowing why she did

00:48:14it.

00:48:15While Biel only appears on camera during Season 1, she served as an executive producer on

00:48:18all four seasons of the show.

00:48:20She received a Primetime Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.

00:48:24During an Emmys event, Biel said she prepared for the role by researching PTSD and doing

00:48:28subconscious dream work.

00:48:30She and Michelle Purple's Iron Ocean productions were behind the series, and Purple told The

00:48:33Washington Post that this project was a big moment for them.

00:48:36She said to the newspaper,

00:48:37"...The Sinner was the game-changing moment for us in the sense that people looked at

00:48:40us different.

00:48:41The industry took us a little bit more seriously."

00:48:43As for why Biel only appears in Season 1, she told the Mirror that they wanted to further

00:48:47explore Cora, but just couldn't fit it into the anthology series' second outing.

00:48:51Season 1 was 2017's top new cable series, but the series was canceled after four seasons.

00:48:56The cancellation came as the USA Network started to step away from scripted series, but creator

00:49:01and executive producer Derek Simons noted that they had always planned for just four

00:49:04seasons.

00:49:06In 2019, Biel made headlines for something not related to her work or her relationship

00:49:11status, her stance on vaccines.

00:49:13She posted to Instagram an image of herself in front of California's Capitol Building,

00:49:16and stated that she went to testify about proposed Bill SB-276, which is designed to

00:49:22tighten the process for receiving medical exemptions for vaccinations.

00:49:24The idea of the bill was to reduce fraudulent exemptions through strengthening oversight.

00:49:28However, Biel said in the Instagram post that while she supports children getting vaccinations,

00:49:33her friends had a child with a medical condition that warrants an exemption to the rule.

00:49:37She wrote in the post,

00:49:38"...That's why I spoke to legislators and argued against this bill.

00:49:41Not because I don't believe in vaccinations, but because I believe in giving doctors and

00:49:44the families they treat the ability to decide what's best for their patients and the ability

00:49:48to provide that treatment."

00:49:49What you have to do for your kid, it's an amazing responsibility and the biggest joy."

00:49:55As part of her stance, she allowed herself to be photographed with anti-vaccination activist

00:49:59Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which raised many eyebrows.

00:50:02However, her foray into politics did not yield the results she wished, as Governor Gavin

00:50:06Newsom signed the bill into law a few months later.

00:50:10While Biel continues to act and run her own production company, she is also working to

00:50:13grow another business with families in mind.

00:50:15Kinder Farms was co-founded by Biel and entrepreneur Jeremy Adams.

00:50:20The business focuses on offering over-the-counter wellness products that contain plant-based

00:50:23ingredients.

00:50:24Items include electrolyte drinks, plant-based protein drinks, and various medicines, including

00:50:28those that target congestion and fever.

00:50:31Biel and Adams told Forbes that the idea stemmed from reading the ingredient labels on the

00:50:34medications they were giving to their children.

00:50:37Biel told the outlet,

00:50:38"...I couldn't read any of these ingredients.

00:50:39I couldn't even pronounce them."

00:50:41The actor then added that her company is meant to give families another option.

00:50:44Working to take unnecessary artificial ingredients out of children's medicine with the release

00:50:48of the Kinder Med line in 2022.

00:50:51She told Forbes,

00:50:52"...even if it only has five to seven ingredients I can read that make sense to me would be

00:50:55helpful."

00:50:56Basically, we're just two parents looking for a solution in the middle of the night,

00:50:59terrified, trying to make the best decision we possibly can for our family.

00:51:03The company has experienced rapid growth.

00:51:05According to PR Newswire, Kinder Farms is No. 45 on the 2023 Incorporated 5000 list,

00:51:11which recognizes fast-growing private companies in America.

00:51:15Nathan Kress isn't a nerdy kid behind a camera anymore.

00:51:18Now he's a nerdy man behind the camera.

00:51:21Wondering what's been going on with Fred Wood Benson ever since iCarly first ended?

00:51:24For him, the last decade has involved starships, a talking hot dog, and a brutal murder?

00:51:32Nathan Kress kept himself busy for years by playing Freddie Benson, the dorky camera guy

00:51:37in Nickelodeon's iCarly.

00:51:39The popular sitcom about teenagers Twitch-streaming before Twitch was a thing lasted from 2007

00:51:45to 2012, showing kids everywhere that all they had to do to get famous was random dancing

00:51:50on the internet.

00:51:51After six seasons of online drama, romantic tension, and gibberish, iCarly came to an

00:52:00end, and that meant it was time for the next stage of Kress' career as an actor.

00:52:04So what was his next move?

00:52:06He thought he'd stretch his acting chops and go right back to playing Freddie.

00:52:09Kress may have stayed in his comfort zone by bringing Freddie back for Sam and Cat,

00:52:18but he also branched out by moving to the big screen in the 2014 film Into the Storm.

00:52:24Instead of trying to outwit Neville Paperman, the actor was now facing off against something

00:52:28a bit more powerful — wind!

00:52:32Into the Storm didn't exactly blow the house down critically, but it brought in decent

00:52:36cash, and it completely changed the trajectory of Kress' life.

00:52:41Into the Storm didn't turn Kress into a movie star, but it did turn him into a married man.

00:52:46Kress and actress-slash-stuntwoman London Elise Moore met while they were both working

00:52:50on the film, and the pair hit it off like spaghetti and tacos.

00:52:53In February 2015, Kress posted a photo of Moore visiting him on the set of Henry Danger,

00:52:59captioning the post,

00:53:00when the lady comes to visit you at work.

00:53:02Kiss, kiss.

00:53:03Aww.

00:53:05Kress proposed to Moore in May 2015, and they tied the knot that November.

00:53:10Their wedding was attended by family and friends, including iCarly stars Miranda Cosgrove, Jeanette

00:53:15McCurdy, and Jerry Trena.

00:53:17According to Kress, some iCarly enthusiasts have struggled to accept the actor's real-life

00:53:22marriage.

00:53:23He told MTV News,

00:53:24Sometimes people have a little bit of trouble separating reality from a television show.

00:53:29No, I don't need this.

00:53:31After spending a ton of time directing a fake web show as Freddie Benson, Nathan Kress seemed

00:53:36to think that he had the necessary chops to do it for real.

00:53:39The actor became a director for the Nickelodeon superhero show Henry Danger, starting in the

00:53:4416th episode of season one, and he stuck with the channel that made him famous for quite

00:53:49a while.

00:53:50All in all, Kress has directed 11 Henry Danger episodes, six Game Shakers episodes, and five

00:53:56episodes of the iCarly reboot.

00:53:58Kress has a special place in his heart for Henry Danger.

00:54:01The show, which follows the misadventures of a teenage sidekick and the adult superhero

00:54:06that it's totally normal for him to hang out with, gave him the start as a director, so

00:54:10he was pretty broken up when the show ended in 2020.

00:54:13On Instagram, Kress posted side-by-side photos of his first day on set versus his last.

00:54:19And if you look closely, you'll spot some subtle differences between the two.

00:54:23He captioned the photo by writing,

00:54:25"...five years.

00:54:26A lot has changed.

00:54:27Not just the fact that I can't fit into those car keys anymore.

00:54:31I got the chance to cut my teeth as a director on this show, oblivious to how it would change

00:54:35my life going forward.

00:54:37I'm forever grateful for the opportunity and the grace that's required from a forgiving

00:54:42crew to let me learn this new path I'm on."

00:54:44That's a pretty sweet thing to say about a show that features a song about spanking.

00:54:48"'Spanky, spanky, spank your butt, doo-dah, doo-dah!"

00:54:52In iCarly, Freddy is obsessed with the space opera known as Galaxy Wars, but in real life,

00:54:58Nathan Kress actually made an appearance in the series it's based on.

00:55:01And by that, I mean his voice made an appearance.

00:55:03You can't actually see him.

00:55:05Are you serious?

00:55:06Welcome to the Rebellion.

00:55:08In 2016, Kress took on the role of Wedge Antilles in Star Wars Rebels and the video game Lego

00:55:13Star Wars The Force Awakens.

00:55:15He's the guy who took down an AT-AT during the Battle of Hearth and helped blow up both

00:55:19Death Stars.

00:55:21He's kind of a big deal.

00:55:22As you might expect, Kress was unbelievably excited to join the biggest sci-fi franchise

00:55:27in the world.

00:55:28In a social media post, he wrote,

00:55:29"'Ironically, Wedge was always one of my favorite characters to pretend to be as a kid, so this

00:55:34is the literal definition of a dream come true.'

00:55:36You're telling me a young Kress specifically decided to play as Wedge Antilles rather than

00:55:42Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, or my personal favorite, Nine-Nun?"

00:55:50Years before his fellow Nickelodeon stars Kiki Palmer and Alex Wolff gave it a shot,

00:55:55Nathan Kress made a pivot in his career when he took part in his first horror film.

00:55:59Up until 2016, the closest thing to a scary movie that Kress had ever been in was the

00:56:04Halloween episode of iCarly.

00:56:05With Tell Me How I Die, Kress became one of the potential victims of a serial killer under

00:56:18the influence of a powerful, memory-boosting drug.

00:56:21His character, then, is a kind-hearted soul who just wants to protect his friends.

00:56:25He's kind of like Freddie Benson if he had balls.

00:56:29Unlike his earlier endeavor Into the Storm, Tell Me How I Die received mixed reviews from

00:56:38fans and critics.

00:56:40The film didn't debut domestically or internationally except for in Turkey, apparently, but none

00:56:45of the actor's fans ended up booking a flight to Istanbul to see it.

00:56:49It was released for streaming everywhere else, where it languishes in obscurity.

00:56:53It's not a good movie by any means, but we can't fault Kress for wanting to make some

00:56:57cash.

00:56:58Most of us use YouTube primarily for cat clips and pop culture videos featuring a very handsome

00:57:07host with weird hair that everybody hates for some reason, so it's easy to forget that

00:57:13there are actual movies on there.

00:57:15Lots of them are entertaining films that were made with love and care, but Alexander IRL

00:57:20isn't one of them.

00:57:22This 2017 YouTube Red original features Nathan Kress as EJ, a wannabe Mark Zuckerberg who

00:57:27asks his coding expert little brother Alex to help him develop the next big app.

00:57:32In exchange, he'll use his social skills to help the awkward teenager throw a party and

00:57:37impress his crush.

00:57:38It's the social network meets risky business, except those movies are actually good.

00:57:44Instead of trying to win viewers with quality, the movie tried to make buzz for itself by

00:57:48starring YouTube and TikTok sensation Brent Rivera.

00:57:52Rivera, who's been accused of stealing content from other creators, doesn't seem to steal

00:57:56anything good for his performance.

00:57:58Ooh.

00:57:59At the very least, though, Kress does his best with what he's given.

00:58:02I wrote down, pick up Alex on my hand, but it's smudged, so I thought it said pick up

00:58:06a locks.

00:58:07Bought all this locks for nothing.

00:58:10Critics weren't impressed with Alexander IRL, and neither were general audiences, not even

00:58:16Brent Rivera fans.

00:58:17Brian Costello, a Common Sense Media reviewer, put it well when he said,

00:58:21"...this is amateur filmmaking at its absolute worst."

00:58:25Yikes.

00:58:27If you've read her book, you know that Jeanette McCurdy didn't enjoy her time working for

00:58:31Nickelodeon nearly as much as Nathan Kress probably did.

00:58:35But that doesn't mean that the two actors don't keep in touch.

00:58:38Even though McCurdy declined to return as Sam Puckard for the iCarly reboot, she reunited

00:58:42with the former Freddie Benson years earlier for the short film Eight Bodies.

00:58:46The killer comedy features McCurdy as half of a murderous couple, and Kress as a goofy

00:58:50cop who stops them at a checkpoint.

00:58:52Whooo!

00:58:53Sorry, my siren broke.

00:58:58For the iCarly fans who loved watching Sam inflict various traumas on Freddie, Eight

00:59:03Bodies is a must-see.

00:59:04Rather than pelt him with an apple or fake a trust fall, though, she goes for something

00:59:09a little simpler — a baseball bat to the brain.

00:59:13Apparently, the team only had a single take to get this right, and it's bloodier than

00:59:17iCarly ever was.

00:59:18Luckily for Kress, McCurdy, and the costume department, they managed to pull it off.

00:59:24While directing episodes of Henry Danger, Nathan Kress was involved in another Nickelodeon

00:59:28show as the voice of J.J.

00:59:30Jameson.

00:59:31No, this is wrong.

00:59:33I am a computer expert.

00:59:34I know so much!

00:59:36Not that one.

00:59:37Kress played J.J.

00:59:38Jameson in the show Pinky Malinky, a joint endeavor between Nickelodeon and Netflix.

00:59:44Despite being a mockumentary-style cartoon about a sentient hot dog, Kress' role is once

00:59:49again pretty similar to Freddie.

00:59:51When Nickelodeon announced the cartoon in 2018, Kress took to the website formerly known

00:59:55as Twitter to express his excitement.

00:59:58He posted,

00:59:59"'YESSS!

01:00:00It's been too many years.

01:00:02Cannot wait for everyone to see what we've been cooking up.

01:00:05It's madness.

01:00:06But there's also, like, good life lessons and friendship and stuff.

01:00:09It's gonna be a blast, you guys."

01:00:11"'Here's my boy, here's my boy, here's my boy, he's my boy, he's a hot dog buddy, he's

01:00:15my boy.'"

01:00:16Pinky Malinky was canceled after three seasons, but not before it was nominated for Outstanding

01:00:20Editing for an Animated Program at the 2020 Daytime Emmy Awards.

01:00:25Parents seemed to appreciate its positive messages, but mostly they enjoyed the more

01:00:30offbeat jokes that often came out of nowhere.

01:00:33"'Oh, mom.

01:00:34I love your mom.

01:00:35I love her.'"

01:00:40All good things must come to an end… until they're rebooted for three seasons nine years

01:00:45later.

01:00:46That's what Miranda Cosgrove, Nathan Kress, and Jerry Traynor learned when they were given

01:00:49the chance to bring back iCarly, but for grown-ups this time.

01:00:53"'Come on, Brooke is here!

01:00:55Let's get this party started.

01:00:57Oh, looks like the party already started.

01:01:00Grrr!''

01:01:01There were more adult topics than dirty jokes in the reboot, and that meant that there was

01:01:06more romance.

01:01:07Carly and Freddie finally started dating for real, and they were about to get married in

01:01:12the season three finale, only for the show to get canceled after a massive cliffhanger

01:01:17involving a character we've never seen before.

01:01:19"'Mom?

01:01:20You got a mom?''

01:01:25Kress had been excited to show the world what Freddie Benson looks like as an adult, which

01:01:29is why he was so devastated about the news.

01:01:31He posted a lengthy thank-you message to fans, writers, and crew members on social media,

01:01:36which concluded by saying,

01:01:38"'Obviously, this stings a bit.

01:01:40We had a lot of story left to tell, and we were excited to give you guys the ending you

01:01:44deserved.

01:01:45No one wanted this to end on a cliffhanger.

01:01:48Maybe somehow, someday, we'll find out how the story ends.

01:01:51Will iCarly return in 2032?

01:01:55Never say never, but shows aren't typically rebooted twice."

01:01:59Except for The Twilight Zone, Beverly Hills, 90210, and Futurama, and The Powerpuff Girls,

01:02:04The Odd Couple, The Fugitive, The Addams Family… yeah, you get the idea.

01:02:09It's too bad that Carly Shay and Freddie Benson never got to say, I do, or have, iKids, but

01:02:14as Kress himself said, some fans have a hard time coming to terms with the fact that iCarly

01:02:19is a work of fiction.

01:02:21Rather than get worked up over the failure of his on-screen marriage, Kress has focused

01:02:25on his real-life family, and that includes three children.

01:02:28On the 27th of that month, he posted photos of his newest bundle of joy, Lincoln William

01:02:34Kress, on Instagram with the caption,

01:02:36"'Little Link' is awesome.

01:02:38My wife is an absolute champ as always.

01:02:40Our girls are the big sis dynamic duo, and Penny, the dog, is very interested in the

01:02:46mesmerizing smells that emanate from this weird blob we brought home."

01:02:50Kress and his wife, London, also have daughters, Rosie Carolyn and Evie Elise.

01:02:55So far, Kress is enjoying being a father, a role that he told The Messenger helped him

01:02:59get through the SAG-Astra strike.

01:03:01Though he wasn't able to work or promote new projects, he was able to spend quality time

01:03:05with his little ones.

01:03:07He said of his family,

01:03:08"'These guys are my clan.

01:03:10They're my party people.

01:03:11I'll go anywhere with them.

01:03:13It doesn't matter how many snacks they need in the car.'"

01:03:15Now that the Hollywood actors are back to work, Kress is doing his acting thing once

01:03:19again, and thankfully, he has no intention of striking his dad.

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