The grass is always greener on the other side. If you grew up idolizing the stars that played your favorite characters on TV, you might have assumed that their real lives were absolutely perfect. They’re rich, famous, and everyone loves them; it sounds like an absolute dream!

But in reality, being in the spotlight can be exhausting, and it certainly isn’t for everyone. That’s why some celebrities decide that they’d rather pursue traditional careers than be on the covers of magazines. Redditors have been discussing actors that either lost their careers in Hollywood or intentionally gave them up to follow their passions, so we’ve gathered their most fascinating replies below. Enjoy reading through this list, and be sure to upvote the answers that make you appreciate your own job a bit more!

#1

Mara Wilson (star of Matilda) retired from acting and became an online writer.

bomboclawt75:

She is also the cousin of Ben Shapiro- who she hates for his views.
Good for her!

Image credits: MindOverMedia

#2

Amanda Bynes is a nail tech.

mr_panzer:

She comes into my restaurant every once in a while. Reserved, but surrounded by the most flamboyant gaggle of gays I’ve ever seen.

Image credits: TD95x

#3

I don’t know if he was famous, per se, but Omri Katz (Hocus Pocus) became a hair stylist.

jfreebs:

He’s a legend in my house. Hocus Pocus is my wife and daughters favorite movie. We even went by his house from the movie in Salem this summer.

Image credits: anon

#4

Bridgit Mendler got a degree at MIT, a JD at Harvard and is now CEO of a space telecommunications startup.

taywil8:

Charlie Korsmo is right up there with her. Physics degree from MIT and a JD from Yale. Worked for Sullivan and Cromwell who is a huge NYC law firm. Also worked for the GOP in the House of Reps and the was a lawyer for the EPA. Got nominated by Obama to the board of trustees for a major scholarship program.
Funny thing is in Can’t Hardly Wait he played the nerdy guy in the movie and his “where are they now” at the end talked about how he went to MIT after high school and became majorly successful and wealthy. He was attending MIT when he shot that movie.

Image credits: NotMalaysiaRichard

#5

Rick Moranis didn’t ‘lose’ his career per se but when his wife died he stepped away from acting and focused on raising his children.

Image credits: kdavva74

#6

Peter Ostrum is a veterinarian now, he was Charlie Bucket opposite Gene Wilder’s W***y Wonka.

Not sure if it counts as “lost his acting career”, but isn’t acting anymore.

Image credits: soberonlife

#7

Bridget Fonda married Danny Elfman in 2003 and has since retired from acting.

Image credits: Inevitable_Bowl_9203

#8

Robert Maschio, the guy who played The Todd in Scrubs, is a realtor in Santa Monica.
He also does cameo and I got him to make a video for my brother’s 30th as the Todd.

Just a great dude.

Image credits: Informal-Term1138

#9

Chunk from The Goonies is the attorney for Key Huey Quan and was the first person to call him after he won the Academy Award.

AerHolder:

Chunk was student body president when I was at UC Berkeley. He ran on the slogan “Vote For Chunk!” and won in a landslide.

Image credits: Pirate_Lantern

#10

Mike Vitar from The Sandlot and The Mighty Ducks is a Firefighter now in LA.

Image credits: TouristOpentotravel

#11

Winnie from the ‘Wonder Years’ went in to become a successful mathematician. I think she’s a professor.

Image credits: spoonfullsugar

#12

Fred Grandy played Gopher on “The Love Boat”. He became a US congressman.

Al Franken from “SNL” became a senator.

Image credits: goosereddit

#13

Linda Blair (The exorcist) runs animal rescue foundations in California.

Image credits: Less_Campaign_6956

#14

Ashley Judd went to Harvard and was one of the leaders of the #MeToo movement.

Image credits: MikeLeachThePirate

#15

The actor Michael Schoeffling, who played the character Jake from 16 Candles (not super famous, but was well known) went on to have a normal life as a carpenter, I think.

Image credits: I-can-call-you-betty

#16

Not a “star”, but the boy, Tom T. Tran, that played opposite Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam is a Manager at my company. Based on his IMDB page he’s had a few acting gigs in the last 10 years.

Image credits: AdOk8555

#17

Kevyn Major Howard (who just passed away a few days ago) was known for Deathwish 2, Sudden Impact and especially for Rafterman in Full Metal Jacket. He stopped acting around 1999 and became a headshot photographer. A BBC show described him as the King of the Hollywood headshot.

Also, Michael Schoeffling (Jake Ryan in Sixteen Candles) quit acting in the early 90s and opened a woodworking shop where he builds handcrafted furniture.

Image credits: Ok_Fig7692

#18

Carrie Henn, Newt from Aliens, is a teacher.

Image credits: imadork1970

#19

That guy from *Hercules in New York* went into politics for a while. I heard he’s back and trying to make a go of it in acting again.

Image credits: TopicalBuilder

#20

I don’t think she lost her career but the woman who played the doctor in Saw 3 is now a real estate agent.

Image credits: 28DLdiditbetter

#21

Peter Weller (robocop, buckaroo bonzai) became a professor. I remember he taught a cool class on how the zero was such a radical invention for the Greeks it twisted their minds and made them navel gaze so much it made them weaker for conquest.

#22

Britney Spears. Sure she’s still super famous but her mind ain’t right and she doesn’t have her kids. To me that’s losing everything. A lot of people failed her and I’m not blaming her at all. I want to see her succeed but her path forward feels pretty bleak.

Image credits: BuildingBest5945

#23

Eliza Dushku is a therapist.

Several child/teen actors from the 80s are attorneys: the daughter in my 2 dads, Chunk from the Goonies, the best friend from the Wonder Years, the little boy from Hook.

Image credits: Guilty-Tie164

#24

Charlie Korsmo, the little kid from Hook and the nerdy guy from Can’t Hardly Wait became a lawyer and professor.

Image credits: dukeofsponge

#25

Jennifer Stone (Harper/ Selena Gomez’s best friend from wizards of Waverly place) works as a nurse in a emergency room now. It is kind of a stretch because she didn’t really lose her career. She just decided that she didn’t want to act for the rest of her life and went into her real passion of nursing.

Image credits: Donewiththisshit008

#26

Armie Hammer is a waiter in a cruise i think.

Image credits: lostbelmont

#27

Phoebe Cates has a boutique.

Doesn’t Nikki Blonsky do cosmetology?

Gene Hackman retired from acting and is now quite the accomplished writer.

Image credits: harleyqueenzel

#28

Probably not a big deal now but if you watched Nickelodeon in the 90’s you’ve watched The Adventures of Pete and Pete. Allison Fanelli played Ellen. A lot of other people on the show continued acting but she decided not to. Went on to become a physician’s assistant.

How weird would it be to go the doctor and end up interacting with Big Pete’s best friend?

Image credits: GargantuanCake

#29

The husband of the oldest daughter on the Cosby show works at Trader Joe’s now. There was a ton of pics of it. Poor dude just wanted to earn a normal living.

Image credits: anon

#30

This one can be technically be mentioned here. Leslie Hamilton, Linda Hamilton’s identical twin sister, starred with her in all the scenes in Terminator 2 where they needed a double. She was a professional nurse before passing away in 2020.

Image credits: zalurker

#31

Gary Coleman was working as a security guard before he died.

Image credits: Flyingsox

#32

Larry Zerner.

If you’re a fan of *Friday the 13th*, you’ll know him as Shelly from part three, the original owner of Jason’s iconic hockey mask. He doesn’t act anymore, but he will do small appearances in films like *Knights of Badassdom* and reprised his role as Shelly as a DLC character in *Friday the 13th: The Game*.

But his actual job since 1987 is an entertainment lawyer.

In 2005, Larry represented Jeff Bergquist in a copyright infringement lawsuit against Daniel Knauf and HBO over the television series *Carnivàle*. Also in 2005, Zerner represented George Lutz in a lawsuit against the makers of the remake of *The Amityville Horror*. In 2018, he did Twitter posts and interviews breaking down the messy legal battle going on for fans of *Friday the 13th*.

#33

Danny Lloyd, who played Danny in The Shining, is a college biology professor now.

#34

Jeanette Goldstein (Aliens, Terminator 2) , owns a chain of stores that sells bras.

#35

The actress who played Rachel McGuire on Boy Meets World now does educational/how-to videos and documentaries.

#36

Armie Hammer.

Went from hollywood star to selling timeshares in the Caribbean.

#37

Gary Coleman, though most of his money was stolen by his parents. He was working as a security guard at one point before his death to pay the bills.

#38

Sports is full of these kinds of stories:

-Michael Vick.

He JUST signed that franchise deal then went to federal prison for dog Fighting. He had to work construction at $10/hr while on parole

-Ryan Leaf

No. 2 overall pick in the draft, was the biggest bust in sports history for a while (until JaMarcus Russell came along), fell into pain killer a*******n and began stealing. Caught multiple felonies in his active a*******n and served prison time

-OJ Simpson

NOT for the double murder trial, he still had a life after that. But after that, he was busted for robbery and kidnapping charges in Nevada and did like 9 years in prison. Heisman Trophy, HOF, got away with murder, and still goes to prison

-MARION JONES
From OsteenLawFrirm.com: “Marion Jones was labeled the fastest woman in the World at one point in her life while she made over $7 million dollars every year. She lost everything, including all her gold medals, thanks to steroids, check counterfeiting, check forging, committing perjury to the IRS, money laundering and more illegal d***s.’.

from Bored Panda https://ift.tt/di1L5vJ
via IFTTT source site : boredpanda