The “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” star went from working with Oompa Loompas to working with animals.
The classic movie “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” is a hit among children of all ages even now, decades after its initial release. Gene Wilder played a wonderful and goofy Willy Wonka, but he was perfectly complemented by inexperienced young actor Peter Ostrum who played Charlie Bucket. Following the release of the film, the Ostrum family purchased a horse, much to young Peter’s delight.
He must have really loved that horse, because soon after he quit acting and decided to become a veterinarian. He graduated from veterinary school in 1984 and is still working as a vet in Upstate New York, primarily with cows and horses.
Steven Seagal
From big-time action star to a small-town sheriff.
Steven Seagal has been making action movies for decades but has also been serving as a Reserve Deputy Chief in Louisiana. The martial arts expert even got his own reality show about his adventures as an officer of the law in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina — "Steven Seagal: Lawman." The show was forced to relocate to Maricopa County, Arizona after charges of animal cruelty. But trouble seemed to follow them when Seagal and the infamous Maricopa County sheriff, Joe Arpaio, ran a tank through the side of someone’s house. Where did they even get a tank?
Seagal was recently sworn in as a sheriff’s deputy in New Mexico. We wish him luck in his new career and hope the sheriff keeps the keys for all the vehicles securely locked up.
Danica McKellar
Winnie Cooper went on to become a math genius.
Danica McKellar played the girl next door Winnie Cooper on "The Wonder Years." When the show ended, so did her desire to be an actress. She attended UCLA and graduated with honors with a degree in mathematics.
She uses her former glory for good, writing and helping to promote books about math.
Vanilla Ice
From rapper to home renovator and real estate investor.
Vanilla Ice was a huge name in music for a very short while, but when his musical career took a dive, he made a drastic change. He started a real estate website with tips about how to make a profit from flipping houses.
Van Winkle talks about how his new career came to pass: “When ‘Ice, Ice Baby’ was selling a million records a day, I bought several properties: a home next to Michael J. Fox in L.A., a palace in Miami, and a mountain cabin in Utah; then, a few years later, I took a break from touring, saw that my properties had cobwebs, so I sold them, and to my surprise, I made a huge profit.”
Josh Saviano
Don’t listen to the rumors, Kevin Arnold’s best friend is an attorney and not Marilyn Manson.
There was a persistent rumor that abounded in the ’90s, secretly passed from one kid to the next, in which the actor who played Paul in "The Wonder Years" grew up to be Marilyn Manson. Apparently, something bad happened to poor Paul. He was twisted by fame and as he grew older decided to take on a more sinister identity.
He put on the mantle of Marilyn Manson in an effort to show America the price of its extravagance, like a distorted mirror. Admittedly, that is a great story, but it is simply not true. The reality is actually much more mundane. Josh Saviano, who played Paul, grew up and now works as a corporate lawyer. If you want, you can follow him on Twitter.