Celebrities | Movies | Pop Culture | 80s
30 Years Later, Where's The Cast Of "The Lost Boys" Now?
While Joel Schumacher might be better known today for his part in the two '90s Batman movies that people love to hate, 30 years ago he gave us not only one of the best movies of the '80s, but one of the greatest vampire movies ever made. In honor of The Lost Boys turning 30, we think it's time to find out what the cast has been up to since 1987.
Laddie - Chance Michael Corbitt
Laddie is the youngest member of the "Lost Boys," and along with his sister Star and Michael becomes human again at the end of the movie. Probably because having a child die or even be a full vampire is just a little too dark (looking at you, Interview With The Vampire).
In real life, Laddie was played by Chance Michael Corbitt. The Lost Boys was his first movie role and he managed to keep pretty busy in the late '80s/early '90s, with roles in Pumpkinhead, The Rocketeer, and a recurring part as David Hasselhoff's nephew, Kyle Buchannon, in Baywatch.
After 1994, however, he basically disappeared entirely. He returned to acting in 2005 with a small part in Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School, and again in 2014 in the horror movie Hallows' Eve. He has made appearances with his Lost Boys co-stars at various horror conventions over the years, but chances are he'll never have a role as big as his debut.
Dwayne - Billy Wirth
Dwayne is David's second-in-command and basically the poster boy for tall, dark, and brooding. He's never actually named in the film, so the only reason we know his name is thanks to the credits. He ends up meeting his end thanks to Sam and a well-placed arrow to the heart. At least he gets to die wearing that sick fang earring.
Dwayne was played by Billy Wirth, who started his a career as a model, before moving to L.A. to pursue an acting career. In 1989 he actually appeared on the first season of American Gladiators, but was eliminated during the semifinals.
He had appearances in some of the biggest shows of the '90s and early 2000s, like Tales from the Crypt, Charmed, Sex and the City, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He's also worked behind the camera, in 2001 he wrote, directed, and produced MacArthur Park, which was featured at Sundance and received several award nominations. More recently he's had small roles on both Chicago P.D. and Major Crimes.
Paul - Brooke McCarter
Paul and his truly incredible hair earned him the nickname "Twisted Sister" courtesy of the Frog Brothers. We don't see or hear much from him in the movie, but he does at least get to go out in a blaze of glory thanks to being pushed into a bathtub full of garlic and holy water by Sam's dog Nanook. RIP to that glorious mane of hair.
Paul was played by actor and musician Brooke McCarter. While filming The Lost Boys, he became good friends with co-star Corey Haim, and would actually become Haim's manager for a while during the '90s. Post-Lost Boys, he had roles in an episode of The Twilight Zone and in the John Belushi biopic Wired. In 1989 he decided to take a hiatus from acting in order to focus on other things, namely his music.
He actually wrote the music scores for two films, 1991's Fast Getaway (which starred Corey Haim, and the 2002 documentary Leaves of Green, which he also directed. In 2009 he returned to acting, starring in The Uh-Oh! Show which was directed by "The Godfather of Gore" himself, Herschell Gordon Lewis.
He reunited with his fellow Lost Boys cast-mates at horror conventions several times over the years. He also toured the U.S. as a drummer. Sadly, in 2015 Brooke McCarter passed away at age 52 from a rare genetic liver disorder called alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency.
Marko - Alex Winter
Marko also had some truly incredible hair, but not in a good way (that mullet, yikes!) Marko was the first of the vampire gang to die at the hands of the Frog Brothers, meeting with the business end of a stake while sleeping in the vampire's cave hideout.
The actor who played Marko, Alex Winter, has had a long and varied career in Hollywood. He's more known for playing Bill alongside Keanu Reeves's Ted in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and it's 1991 sequel Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey.
In the 30 years since Lost Boys, Winter has spent most of his time working behind the camera. In 1991 he helped develop MTV's sketch comedy show The Idiot Box, which was cancelled after 6 episodes due to MTV having budget problems. In 1993 he co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the '90s cult classic Freaked. In 1999 he directed Fever, which ended up as an Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival. He also directed the live-action TV remake of Ben 10 which ended up getting the highest ratings in Cartoon Network history.
He doesn't just make fiction films though, he's also directed a number of documentaries, mostly related to his work as an advocate for technology and privacy rights. 2013's Downloaded focused on Napster and the effects of filesharing on the music industry. 2015's Deep Web looked at the "dark web" and bitcoin. He also directed the music videos for Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Knock Me Down" and Helmet's "Milquetoast."
While he doesn't do much acting anymore, he has appeared on an episode of Bones as well as doing some voice acting for shows like Robot Chicken. Both he and Keanu Reeves have confirmed that a third Bill and Ted adventure is in the works, which could potentially start filming later this year.
Alan Frog - Jamison Newlander
Alan is one half of the vampire-slaying Frog brothers duo. Sam doesn't listen when they try to warn him about Santa Carla's bloodsuckers, but they get to have their "told you so" moment when he comes to them for help with his newly turned half vampire brother, Michael.
Alan was played by 17-year-old Jamison Newlander. The Lost Boys is his biggest and most well-known role, but he has appeared in a handful of other movies, like the 1988 remake of The Blob.
He returned to his role as Alan in the Lost Boys sequel we didn't need, 2008's Lost Boys: The Tribe. Unfortunately for Newlander, his scene was ultimately cut from the movie, but you can see it in the deleted scenes included on the DVD. He did, however, get to return (for real this time) in the sequel we needed even less, 2010's Lost Boys: The Thirst.
More recently he played the Mayor in the underrated horror-western Bone Tomahawk, and he will have a cameo in Corey Haim/Corey Feldman biopic A Tale of Two Coreys.
But what happened to Michael, David, Starr, and the others?
Edgar Frog - Corey Feldman
Edgar was the other half of the Frog Brothers duo. He absolutely always wore a bandanna, so you know he means business.
Edgar was played by Corey Feldman, who was one of the biggest names of the 1980s. Before he was in The Lost Boys, he'd already had roles in The Fox and the Hound, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Gremlins, The Goonies, and Stand By Me. It was on the set of Lost Boys that Feldman met and became friends with Corey Haim and after the movie was released they became known as "The Two Coreys."
While his career as a child star was undoubtedly successful, his private life was far from easy. In a 2003 interview with Adam Carolla and Dr Drew, he told them he filed for emancipation from his parents when he was 15, and that while he should have been worth about $1 million, when the court-ordered bank records arrived there was only $40,000 left. In his 2013 memoir he also detailed the sexual abuse that both he and Corey Haim experienced while working as kids in Hollywood.
His acting career, while maybe not as successful as it was in the '80s, has at least been steady. He starred in License to Drive and Dream a Little Dream with Corey Haim, he was the voice of Donatello in 1990's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and again in 1993's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III. He has also appeared on a number of reality shows, including the first season of The Surreal Life. He and Corey Haim had their own scripted reality show called The Two Coreys, which ran for two seasons, the second of which was unscripted.
He reprised his role as Edgar Frog in both of the sequels, the second of which he executive produced. He is also a musician, his band Truth movement have released 5 albums between 1992 and 2016. To promote his most recent album, he made an appearance on the today show that went viral thanks to a rather bizarre performance.
More recently Feldman has been touring with his band, performing the voice of Slash on the current Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV show, and producing a biopic about his and Corey Haim's childhood careers called A Tale of Two Coreys, which is currently in post-production.
Lucy Emerson - Dianne Wiest
Lucy is the mother of both Sam and Michael. She moves her kids to Santa Carla after divorcing their dad leaves her broke, so they move in with her eccentric father.
Lucy was played by Dianne Wiest, who appeared in some of the biggest movies of the '80s and '90s. Aside from The Lost Boys she also had roles in Footloose, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Edward Scissorhands, The Birdcage, The Horse Whisperer, and Practical Magic.
She's won two Oscars for Best Supporting Actress, both of which were for movies directed by Woody Allen. Her first was in 1986 for Hannah and Her Sisters, the second was in 1994 for Bullets Over Broadway.
She has also done a lot of work in stage acting. In 2010 she was a visiting teacher for Columbia's Graduate Acting Program. She's also had numerous roles on television, including recurring parts on Law & Order and In Treatment. More recently she's been starring in the CBS comedy Life in Pieces.
Grandpa - Barnard Hughes
He's the eccentric grandfather of Sam and Michael, who ultimately defeats the head vampire and saves his daughter by crashing his Jeep into the house. Depending on who you believe's either a badass retired vampire hunter, or possibly a vampire himself.
Grandpa was portrayed by veteran actor Barnard Hughes, whose career in film, TV, and theater spanned over 60 years. Before The Lost Boys he had roles in Midnight Cowboy, All in the Family, Hawaii Five-O, The Bob Newhart Show, and Tron.
After Lost Boys, he appeared in Sister Act 2 and also had a recurring role on Blossom as Blossom's grandfather. Sadly, he passed away in 2006, just days before his 91st birthday.
Max - Edward Herrmann
I would say "spoiler alert," but it's been 30 years so it's not like you haven't had plenty of time to see the movie if you hadn't already. Max is the video store owner/boyfriend to Lucy who, as fate would have it, is actually the head vampire to Santa Carla's bloodsucking gang. He was planning to turn Lucy so she could become a "mother" to his "boys."
Max was played by Edward Herrmann, who started his acting career in theater. He actually co-directed a play with Dianne Wiest two years before they starred together in Lost Boys. Before he was an evil vampire disguised as a video store owner, he became known for his portrayals of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the TV movies Eleanor and Franklin and Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years, a role he reprised in the 1982 adaptation of Annie. He also had small roles on shows like M*A*S*H and St Elsewhere.
After Lost Boys, he is best known for playing Richard Gilmore, father to Lorelai and grandfather to Rory on Gilmore Girls. He also appeared in Overboard, starred alongside Macaulay Culkin in Richie Rich, and had recurring roles on The Practice, Oz, Grey's Anatomy, and Law and Order.
More recently he had a recurring role on The Good Wife, while his voice was featured in The Wolf of Wall Street and American Dad! Unfortunately Edward Herrmann passed away at age 71 due to brain cancer on December 31, 2014.
Sam - Corey Haim
Sam is Michael's plucky younger brother, who helps save him from becoming a vampire. While at first he doesn't believe the Frog Brothers' warnings about Santa Carla, he changes his mind after his brother attacks him, and calls the brothers to help him save Michael.
Corey Haim was one of the major teen idols of the 1980s, but his fame came at a very heavy price. His breakout role came in 1986 when he starred in the movie Lucas. His friendship with Corey Feldman would lead them to team up again a year after Lost Boys in License to Drive with Heather Graham. In 1989 they teamed up again for Dream a Little Dream, which featured the classic '80s one hit wonder "Rock On" by Michael Damian, so naturally they also appeared in its music video.
Haim's personal life started to take a dark and tragic turn as he became involved in the young Hollywood party scene, becoming addicted to cocaine, then later crack. His struggle with drug addiction would become a recurring issue in his life. His Lost Boys co-star and friend Brooke McCarter became his manager in an effort to help keep him clean, but he gave up in the mid-'90s.
Through the '90s, his drug problem began affecting both his public image and his career as his performances began to suffer. Roles became fewer and fewer, and what little work he could get was largely for direct-to-video releases. In 2001 he was the subject of an episode of E! True Hollywood Story, which showed him living above his mother's garage, and he appeared disoriented for much of the interviews. Corey Feldman also appeared in the episode, discussing how he was trying to help his friend get clean. Not long after the episode finished filming, Feldman would move Haim into his house.
In 2006 he and Feldman began shooting The Two Coreys, a reality show about Haim living with Feldman and his wife. The unscripted second season would broach many of the darker parts of their lives as child stars, at one point Haim confronts Feldman about not protecting him from the abuse he suffered. The show was canceled part way through the season when Haim began using drugs again and Feldman cut ties with him, saying, "I'm not going to watch him destroy himself."
He filmed a cameo for the Lost Boys sequel Lost Boys: The Tribe, but it only appeared during the closing credits. By July 2008, he was homeless in L.A. before being taken in by songwriter G Tom Mac, who wrote the song "Cry Little Sister" for The Lost Boys soundtrack. In 2009 he and a truly impressive mullet appeared in the Jason Statham movie Crank: High Voltage.
Around that time he and Corey Feldman reconciled, and they began working on a new project together, a sequel to LIcense To Drive called License to Fly. That project would never be completed. Corey Haim tragically died on March 10, 2010, the cause was ruled to be pneumonia. He was only 38.
David - Kiefer Sutherland
David is the de facto leader of the vampire gang, even though Max is the head vampire. He is as likeable as he is just straight up evil, so it's hard not to feel conflicted about him.
Kiefer Sutherland, the actor who played David so perfectly, was pretty much destined to become an actor. His father is famed actor Donald Sutherland, and his mother is acclaimed actress Shirley Douglas. He made his Hollywood debut alongside Corey Feldman in Stand By Me, and between that movie and The Lost Boys, he quickly became most '80s girls' crush.
After Lost Boys he continued to have a successful acting career through the '80s and '90s, appearing in movies like Young Guns, Flatliners, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, A Few Good Men, A Time To Kill (which his dad also starred in), and cult classic Dark City. He also frequently collaborated with Lost Boys director Joel Schumacher, appearing in 5 of his films.
In 2001 he would get the role that would define his career: Jack Bauer on 24. By the show's fifth season, he was the highest-earning actor on TV. He would play Bauer until the show ended in 2010, and returned to the character in 2014 for the 12-episode miniseries 24: Live Another Day.
He continued to act in movies, just not as often. In 2009 he lent his voice to Monsters Vs Aliens, and in 2011 he had a role in Melancholia. He has also done voice acting for a number of video games, including Call of Duty: World at War, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. He has also tried his hand at music, in 2016 he released a country album called "Down in a Hole."
Most recently, Sutherland has been starring on the TV show Designated Survivor, playing the Secretary of Urban Housing and Development who is suddenly propelled into the presidency after a terrorist attack wipes out Capitol Hill. He will also be reprising his role as Nelson in the sequel to Flatliners that will be released later this year.
Star - Jami Gertz
Star is a half vampire like Michael, who gets trapped in the gang by David because she refuses to abandon Laddie. Her and Michael fall in love (of course) and the couple, as well as Laddie, become human again after Grandpa kills Max.
Star was played by actress Jami Gertz. While she had small and/or recurring roles in Diff'rent Strokes, The Facts of Life, and Family Ties, 1987 would be her breakout year thanks to her starring roles in both The Lost Boys as well as Less Than Zero with Robert Downey Jr.
After Lost Boys, she worked as a scent designer for Lanvin in Paris, but continued to do some acting. In 1994 she appeared on an episode of Seinfeld, and in 1996 she had a role in Twister. She also had recurring roles in both the third season of E.R. and in the later seasons of Ally McBeal.
From 2002-2006 she starred in the TV show Still Standing. In the later 2000s she would have a recurring role on HBO's Entourage, as well as a guest appearance on Modern Family. Most recently she appeared on an episode of the massive hit show This Is Us.
Michael - Jason Patric
Michael's our hapless hero in Lost Boys, David uses Star as bait for him, initially so he could get her drink his blood and turn her into a full vampire, but he settles on just turning Michael instead. Luckily he has a little brother who cares and a badass grandpa, otherwise things could have gone much differently for him.
Like Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric was pretty much destined to be an actor. His grandfather was actor and comedian Jackie Gleason, and his father was Oscar-nominated actor and Pulitzer-winning playwright Jason Miller, who famously played the young Father Damien Karras in The Exorcist.
Lost Boys was Patric's breakout role, and only the third movie he had done. In 1991, he began dating Julia Roberts just days after she had canceled her wedding to his Lost Boys co-star Kiefer Sutherland, though Sutherland apparently hasn't held a grudge.
After Lost Boys, Patric had roles in Speed 2, Narc, The Alamo, In the Valley of Elah, My Sister's Keeper, and The Losers. He did film scenes for The Thin Red Line, but his parts were cut before the film hit theaters. He's also done some acting for the stage, appearing on Broadway as Brick in Tennessee William's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof alongside Ashley Judd and Ned Beatty. He also appeared with Kiefer Sutherland and Jim Gaffigan in a 2011 production of That Championship Season, the play that won his father the Pulitzer.
Most recently he had a recurring role in the second season of Wayward Pines.