Decades Later, This '90s Disney Heartthrob Looks Entirely Unrecognizable Away From The Spotlight
Some of "The Princess Diaries" stars have stayed in the spotlight, and some even look exactly the same (Anne Hathaway, obviously). However, some of its stars have also changed their lives completely and are entirely unrecognizable. That's been the case with Erik von Detten, but he's happy with how things turned out.
If you could time travel to the early 2000s and tell your younger self von Detten stopped acting, there's a good chance you'd have scoffed at the mere thought. The actor was a rising star, and with "The Princess Diaries" a classic from the get-go, he's certainly continued to be a part of people's lives. Sure enough though, the former teen star turned to a much more normal career in his 20s, and there's a good chance that if you saw him running errands now, you wouldn't even know it was him. Sure, if you knew you were looking at the star of "So Weird" or "Brink!" you might spot some of the physical features, but even that's unlikely. These days, the blond Disney heartthrob has darker strands, and he looks like a normal dad of three who works a regular job — which he is. Granted, back in 2024 he posted an Instagram video of himself sporting a zip-vest and cap, which seemed like a natural progression for his "Princess Diaries" character, and we could definitely see more of a resemblance. Again, though, we already knew who he was.
While some former child stars may wish they were more recognizable, von Detten sees the upside, and asked by E! News if he ever wished his acting career had more longevity, he explained, "There is a tinge of that, but, at the same time, it's met with other benefits such as being able to lead a life in public." Fair enough!
Erik von Detten lives a normal life now (but he's not opposed to cameo gigs)
It's worth noting that Erik von Detten has never hidden the reason why he disappeared from Hollywood. In his 2021 interview with E! News, he explained the difficulties of show business, saying, "You're either in the very top half a percent doing very well or, well ... it's just very competitive." Not having a stable paycheck is tough, period, but von Detten also added that being in that position was especially tricky given his personal dreams. "Since I was a kid, I wanted to have a large family. And, in Los Angeles, that requires a consistent, realistic income. So, the fickle nature of employment as an actor just wasn't consistent enough for me," he said.
And so, at 25, von Detten went into sales in a finance company. "I've grown into a management position and it's worked out really well," he shared. As for the big family, he's got that, too. The actor is happily married to Realtor Angela von Detten, and the couple shares three children. The former actor told the outlet he planned on showing almost all of his past work to his kids as they got older, joking, "It's going to be like mandatory watching! Every evening before they go to bed they're going to have to watch one of the old flicks." Von Detten doesn't share to Instagram regularly, so it's not clear if he made good on that, but here's hoping he did.
It seems safe to say everything has worked out pretty well for von Detten, but just in case you were wondering, he told E! News he wouldn't swear off the odd acting gig here and there. Fast-forward to 2024, when he appeared in the TV film "My Acting Coach Nightmare." Maybe we'll see more of him soon!