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Top 10 Actors Who Got Normal Jobs
MsMojo
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10/1/2023
These actors went on to accept roles as normal workers. For this list, we’ll be looking at performers who stepped outside of Hollywood to find success.
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00:00
10.
00:25
Eric Von Detten
00:27
After Eric Von Detten's career began on the popular soap opera Days of Our Lives, it only
00:32
took off from there.
00:33
The budding young actor nabbed roles in pretty high-profile fan favorites.
00:43
Not only did he play the villainous Sid in the first Toy Story, but he also starred in
00:48
Princess Diaries.
00:57
Throughout the mid-90s and early 2000s, Von Detten kept fairly busy with live-action and
01:03
animated roles, but he eventually chose to retire from acting in 2010.
01:16
The Princess Diaries star is now married with children and currently works for a brokerage
01:20
firm.
01:21
As of 2023, his last role was a grown-up Sid in Toy Story 3.
01:27
9.
01:28
Jeff Cohen
01:29
For 80s kids, the Goonies was peak cinema.
01:34
The action-adventure comedy featured a young cast of future superstars.
01:38
Jeff Cohen stood out by playing the role of Lawrence "Chunk" Cohen.
01:42
During the classic film, the character was definitely a scene-stealer.
01:50
After the film put him on the map, he made a number of small appearances on TV.
02:03
But Cohen later found himself truly drawn to legal pursuits and earned a law degree
02:07
from UCLA.
02:09
After deciding to pursue entertainment law, Cohen became a big player in the industry.
02:15
In fact, he even helped his Goonies co-star, Kee Hwee Kwan, appear in Everything Everywhere
02:20
all at once.
02:21
8.
02:22
Phoebe Cates
02:23
Long before Phoebe Cates was lighting up the silver screen in the 1980s, she was already
02:38
destined for showbiz.
02:40
The daughter of a Broadway and television producer, Cates began her career modeling
02:44
and dancing.
02:45
But after an injury, Cates focused on modeling before eventually finding her way to acting.
02:55
From Fast Times at Ridgemont High to Gremlins, Cates created a big name for herself.
03:01
She also married actor Kevin Kline in the 80s before the two started a family in the
03:06
90s.
03:07
Years later, Cates drifted away from the camera and in 2005, she opened a boutique in New
03:13
York City called Blue Tree.
03:15
As of 2023, it still operates on Madison Avenue.
03:19
7.
03:20
Jennifer Stone
03:21
As a child star, Jennifer Stone acted in projects like Secondhand Lions and Without a Trace.
03:27
However, she is best known for portraying Harper Finkel on Disney Channel's hit series
03:32
Wizards of Waverly Place.
03:43
At age 20, Stone was diagnosed with diabetes.
03:53
This medical knowledge changed her personal and professional life.
03:57
Stone stepped back from acting and ultimately decided to pursue a nursing degree.
04:02
She currently works as an ER nurse in California.
04:08
However, she still keeps a foot in the door of showbiz.
04:13
In 2019, she starred and co-wrote the film The Inbetween.
04:18
6.
04:19
Jamie Walters
04:21
In the 90s, Beverly Hills 90210 was one of the hottest series on television.
04:27
Jamie Walters was just one of the strong members of the ensemble.
04:37
In season 6, he joined the series and portrayed Ray Pruitt, a bad boy musician with anger
04:42
issues.
04:47
Like his on-screen counterpart, Walters also played music and released three studio albums
04:52
between 1994 and 2002.
04:55
Eventually, he parted ways with the music and television industry and became a firefighter
05:01
paramedic.
05:02
His former co-stars persuaded him to make an appearance on BH90210 in 2019, where he
05:08
played himself.
05:10
5.
05:11
Stacey Keenan
05:12
Throughout the 80s and 90s, Stacey Keenan was a fixture of the television sitcom genre.
05:22
Working on My Two Dads and Step by Step, she was building quite the career for herself.
05:28
After Step by Step ended, she focused on her academic career, earning a BA in Art History
05:33
in 2002.
05:35
Over a decade later, she set her sights on law school and afterwards became a deputy
05:40
district attorney in Los Angeles.
05:43
In 2021, she also added educator to her resume by returning to her law school as an associate
05:49
professor.
05:50
4.
05:51
Danielle Spencer
05:52
As a former child actor, Danielle Spencer began her journey into show business back
06:04
in the 1970s when she took acting classes.
06:08
Her studies paid off when she was offered the role of Dee Thomas on the ABC comedy What's
06:13
Happening.
06:14
The series was eventually cancelled after three
06:20
seasons.
06:21
After leaving the country for a while, she returned to the States to attend college.
06:26
Spencer then decided to pursue veterinary medicine.
06:29
However, her career as a vet didn't stop her from continuing to act.
06:34
She appeared in the 80s reboot What's Happening Now.
06:37
She also played a vet in the Oscar-winning 1997 rom-com As Good As It Gets.
06:43
3.
06:44
Eric Estrada
06:45
Best known for playing Officer Francis "Ponch" Poncherello on the television series Chips,
06:50
Eric Estrada took his role to the next level.
06:57
The New York City-born actor became a police officer and an investigator.
07:02
He even relocated to the state of Virginia to pursue his crime-fighting passion.
07:07
However, Estrada fans know that he did not totally give up his showbiz pursuits.
07:15
He continues to act, having worked on shows including My Name is Earl and Adventure Time.
07:23
He also enjoys participating in reality television.
07:26
Most recently, the actor-turned-officer made a quick appearance on Fox's The Masked Singer.
07:32
2.
07:33
Mara Wilson
07:34
For 90s kids, Mara Wilson was a staple of childhood cinematic classics.
07:42
From Matilda to Mrs. Doubtfire, she was one of the biggest child actors of the time.
07:49
Although she cultivated a healthy filmography, she pivoted away from acting in the 2000s.
07:55
Instead, she focused on other artistic avenues in theater and more.
08:07
As a writer, she has written for various outlets.
08:16
In 2016, she published a book called Where Am I Now?
08:20
True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame.
08:23
Luckily for fans, she has gotten steady work in voice acting and has made the occasional
08:28
cameo on shows like Broad City.
08:41
You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
08:45
If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
08:50
1.
08:52
Dylan Sprouse
08:53
Although he is widely known as an actor, Dylan Sprouse is no one-trick pony.
09:06
The former The Suite Life of Zack and Cody star happens to be an entrepreneur.
09:11
Sometime after earning a degree in video game design from New York University, Sprouse started
09:16
working at a brewery.
09:18
This job fueled his desire to open one of his own, and thus All Wise Meadery was born.
09:29
Sprouse also co-founded Thor's Skier, a dairy product with Icelandic roots.
09:34
Whether he's on set or brewing up his next venture, for Dylan Sprouse, life is definitely
09:40
sweet.
09:45
Do you agree with our picks?
09:46
Check out this other recent clip from MsMojo.
09:49
And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
09:52
-END-
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