17 Former Actors Who Left Hollywood To Work Totally "Normal" Jobs
Celebrities, they're just like us. 🧚 ✨
Acting isn't all glitz and glam. Sometimes, actors — especially those who started in the business as children — decide to leave the limelight for more traditional career paths.
Here are 17 former actors who went on to have "regular" jobs.
1. Danny Lloyd, who played Danny Torrance in The Shining, is now a biology professor at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
The Shining was Danny's film debut.
2. Erik Estrada, who played officer Francis Llewellyn "Ponch" Poncherello on CHiPs, became a real-life police officer in St. Anthony, Idaho.
He focuses on protecting children from predators online.
3. Kevin Jonas, who played Jason in Camp Rock, worked as a contractor before getting back into music.
He also co-owns Jonas Werner Fine Custom Homes.
4. Dylan Sprouse, who played Zack Martin on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, runs All-Wise Meadery, a mead brewery in Brooklyn.
His business partners are Matt Kwan, a friend he met while studying at NYU, and fellow Disney channel alum Doug Brochu, who played Grady on Sonny With a Chance.
5. Phoebe Cates Kline, who played Linda Barrett in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, runs a boutique called Blue Tree in Manhattan.
The boutique takes its name from a common motif in Fauvist paintings.
6. Nikki Blonsky, who played Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray, was a makeup artist at Superstar Salon in New York.
She earned her cosmetology license before taking up the job.
7. Rick Moranis, who played Louis Tully in Ghostbusters, became a stay-at-home dad.
He decided to leave Hollywood to raise his children a few years after his wife's death.
8. Jeff Cohen, who played Chunk in The Goonies, is now a lawyer.
He founded his own firm in 2002.
9. Jennifer Stone, who played Harper on Wizards of Waverly Place, is now a registered nurse.
She's been fighting on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
10. Lucas Babin, who played Spider in School of Rock, became the district attorney for Tyler County, Texas.
His term began in 2019.
11. Amanda Bynes, who starred on The Amanda Show, is a fashion student at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.
She's taking online classes to earn her bachelor's degree through the California-based school.
12. Peter Ostrum, who played Charlie in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, is now a dairy veterinarian.
He was featured in Pfizer Animal Health's YouTube reality series "Vets On Call."
13. Charlie Korsmo, who played Jackie in Hook, is a law professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
Then-president Barack Obama appointed him to the Board of Trustees for the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation in 2011.
14. Mara Wilson, who played the titular character in Matilda, is now a writer.
She still occasionally does theater.
15. Jerry Mathers, who played Beaver Cleaver on Leave It To Beaver, became a sergeant in the Air Force Reserve.
During the Vietnam War, he was mistakenly reported as killed in action, despite never being sent outside the US.
16. Bridgit Mendler, who played Teddy Duncan on Good Luck Charlie, is pursuing a degree at Harvard Law School.
She previously undertook a social media–focused graduate program at MIT.
17. And Reed Alexander, who played Nevel Papperman on iCarly, is a financial news reporter.
He also published a cookbook.