What The Kiddos Of 'Stand By Me' Cast Look Like Then And Now

Based on Stephen King’s 1982 novella The Body, the comedy-drama starred a talented young cast and went on to influence a generation of filmgoers — look no further than current Netflix hit Stranger Things for evidence of its reach. Thirty years on, we look at what’s happened to the young cast — including some then-unknown actors who went on to much bigger and better things. WIL WHEATON (Gordie LaChance) Image left via Supplied. Image right via News Limited. After Stand By Me, Wheaton went on to play a recurring role in Star Trek: The Next Generation for four seasons. Now 44, his film and TV roles have been numerous — he has a recurring guest role playing himself in Big Bang Theory. COREY FELDMAN (Teddy Duchamp) Image left via Supplied, Image right via Getty Images Now 45, Feldman’s transition from child star was a bumpy one. Drug addiction and a much-publicised friendship with Michael Jackson shifted the focus from his acting efforts. His most recent appearances have been in Sharknado 3 and Celebrity Wife Swap. What happened to Jerry O'Connell? Click "Next" to find out what he and more of the cast are up to these days. JERRY O’CONNELL (Vern Tessio) Image via Supplied O’Connell, who played the podgy Vern, surprised fans by blossoming into a bona fide Hollywood hunk in the 1990s. Now 42, he’s getting more work as a voice actor of late, with recent roles in Finding Dory and animated Justice League films. RIVER PHOENIX (Chris Chambers) Image left via Supplied, Image right via News Limited Phoenix’s career blossomed after Stand By Me, with acclaimed roles in films Running On Empty and My Own Private Idaho. In October 1993, he collapsed and died of a drug overdose outside LA’s Viper Room. He was just 23 years old. What happened to the bully, Kiefer Sutherland? Click "Next" to find out! KIEFER SUTHERLAND (John ‘Ace’ Merrill) Image left via Supplied, Image right via AFP Stand By Me’s most-hated character, Ace was Sutherland’s fourth-ever film role. Nowadays the British-born 49-year-old is more closely associated with his long-running role as Jack Bauer on the hit show 24. Last year he released his first studio album, Down In A Hole. JOHN CUSACK (Denny LeChance) Image left via Supplied, Image right via AFP Now 50 years old, Cusack — who played Gordie’s handsome older brother in Stand By Me — has enjoyed a varied film career, with roles in High Fidelity, Being John Malkovich and America’s Sweethearts. His box office prowess has waned in recent years, though: half of his last eight films were direct-to-DVD releases. RICHARD DREYFUSS (Adult Gordie LaChance) Image left via Supplied, image right via AP Dreyfuss’s role in Stand By Me came more than two decades into his career, with iconic roles in the likes of Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind already under his belt. Now 68, Dreyfuss most recently played disgraced stockbroker Bernie Madoff is a US miniseries about the financial crisis. Source: (News.com)

What The Kiddos Of ‘Stand By Me’ Cast Look Like Then And Now

by Brad Rosenberg
Published August 22, 2017

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