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Honey I Shrunk the Kids – where are they now?

Photo credit: Disney
Photo credit: Disney

From Digital Spy

This classic 1989 Disney movie about a frustrated scientist who accidentally shrinks his family was the directorial debut of Joe Johnson, who went on to make Captain America: The First Avenger and is attached to the new Chronicles of Narnia movie The Silver Chair.

So that's what the director is up to, but what about the cast? Let's have really close look.

Rick Moranis (Wayne Szalinski)

Photo credit: Getty Images / Warner Bros.
Photo credit: Getty Images / Warner Bros.

In the '80s and '90s Moranis was a huge star best known for comedies Ghostbusters, Little Shop of Horrors, Spaceballs and Parenthood as well as Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and straight-to-video Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves.

He hasn't done a live action movie since, after he took a long break from acting following the death of his wife in order to look after his kids, though he's done voice work on the Brother Bear movies.

After turning down a cameo in the Ghostbusters reboot, Moranis said in an interview with THR that he's not actually retired, just really picky – so we might well see him popping up in projects again soon.

Marcia Strassman (Diane Szalinski)

Photo credit: Getty Images / Warner Bros.
Photo credit: Getty Images / Warner Bros.

Strassman, who played Wayne's wife Diane, was a model and singer as well as an actress, and early in her career was best known for her recurring role in MASH as Nurse Margie Cutler. Honey I Shrunk the Kids and its sequel were Strassman's biggest movie roles, though she worked steadily in TV. Strassman sadly died of breast cancer in 2014 aged 66.

Matt Frewer (Big Russ Thompson)

Photo credit: Getty Images / Warner Bros.
Photo credit: Getty Images / Warner Bros.

Pre-Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Frewer, who plays the Szalinskis' next-door neighbour Big Russ, was best known as wise-cracking AI Max Headroom on the TV show and movie of the same name. Since Honey, he's maintained a very successful acting career with memorable roles in Watchmen (as retired crim Moloch), and as series regular Doctor Leekie in Orphan Black as well as voicing Panic in the Disney animated Hercules.

Frewer has two series coming up – sci-fi Altered Carbon with Joel Kinnaman, and The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair with Patrick Dempsey and Virginia Madsen.

Kristine Sutherland (Mae Thompson)

Photo credit: Getty Images / Warner Bros.
Photo credit: Getty Images / Warner Bros.

Big Russ's wife was played by none other than Buffy's mum! Sutherland played Joyce Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer for years before her devastating final appearance in season five. Post-Buffy, Sutherland set up a photography studio specialising in portraits.

She's had roles in several TV shows and indie movies (there's one coming out next year called Before/During/After) but, really, she'll always be Joyce to us.

Amy O'Neill (Amy Szalinski)

Photo credit: Getty Images / Warner Bros.
Photo credit: Getty Images / Warner Bros.

Pre-Honey I Shrunk the Kids, O'Neill, who played Wayne and Diane's daughter Amy, was best known as Molly Stark in The Young and The Restless. Despite a very promising career as a child actress, after appearing briefly in Honey I Blew Up The Kid, O'Neill fell out of love with acting.

Instead she got involved with performance arts and circus skills and joined a troupe – she's still performing, and more recently has picked up the odd acting role too.

Robert Oliveri (Nick Szalinski)

Photo credit: Warner Bros.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Playing Amy's little brother Nick, Oliveri had a fairly brief flirt with an acting career. After starring in Honey.. and its sequel, Robert bagged the role of Winona Ryder's little brother in Edward Scissorhands. He return to the Honey… franchise for the short Honey I Shrunk the Audience but then quit acting entirely and went to university. Apparently he now lives in Florida with his wife and kids.

Thomas Wilson Brown (Little Russ Thompson )

Photo credit: CMT / Warner Bros.
Photo credit: CMT / Warner Bros.

'Little Russ', the neighbours' kid is not quite so 'little' now (he's 44). After Honey.. He bagged a recurring role in Knots Landing, and starred opposite Winona Ryder in Welcome Home Roxy Carmichael. He had a small part in Michael Bay's Pearl Harbour and continues to work steadily mixing TV and indie movie roles with a bit of producing in between.

Jared Rushton (Ron Thompson)

Photo credit: Warner Bros.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Little Russ's even littler brother Ron was played by classic '80s child star Rushton. If you're thinking his face is very familiar, well that's because it was – he's also Tom Hanks' mate Billy in Big and he's one of Kurt Russell's kids in Overboard.

After a roaring start, Rushton bagged several TV roles and cropped up in Pet Sematary 2, though he has no film or TV credits after 2000. Instead, he plays guitar in a rock band called Deal By Dusk.


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