This Dennis The Menace Star Grew Up To Be Unrecognizably Gorgeous
"Mister Wilsonnnnnn!" Dennis the Menace is all grown up and has become quite the looker. As '90s kids might recall the 1993 hit family film Dennis the Menace, which boasted a star-studded cast, including the late Walter Matthau as Mr. Wilson, Christopher Lloyd as Switchblade Sam, and Lea Thompson as Dennis's mom, Alice Mitchell. But it was the movie's lead actor Mason Gamble who stole the show by bringing the classic comic strip character to life.
According to his IMDb, Gamble enjoyed a flourishing career as a child star in the '90s. His acting career began at the early age of 6, when director Harold Ramis cast him in the 1993 cult-classic Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. After showing how much of a natural he was, Gamble was cast as the star in Dennis the Menace just three months later. According to the actor's bio, Gamble beat out 20,000 other young hopefuls when renowned film director John Hughes and Warner Bros. Studios launched a nationwide casting call. By the time he was 9 in 1996, Gamble appeared in three additional films, Just In Time, Bad Moon, and Spy Hard with the late, great Leslie Nielsen. The following year he worked alongside Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke in the film Gattaca. However, after enjoying early success in Hollywood, Gamble took a break from the spotlight to focus on his education.
Mason Gamble studied marine biology at UCLA
Born in Chicago, Ill. in 1986, Mason Gamble attended Lincoln Elementary School in Oak Park, Ill. before going on to attend River Forest High School, per IMDb. During his time at River Forest, Gamble reportedly was a member of the Best Buddies group and graduated from the school as a national merit finalist. For college, Gamble returned to California to attend UCLA in 2004. During his time at UCLA, Gamble majored in marine biology, with an interest in evolutionary biology and ecology, according to a July 2011 interview with Media Mikes.
At the time, Gamble was finishing up his degree, while still making films. "My love will always be acting, to me it is a job unlike any other job," he told the outlet, while also expressing his passion for education. "The studying of Marine Biology and the continuing of education is something I have always been very passionate about. Developing your mind and your ability to think critically is really important."
It turns out his love for learning also helped him excel as a thespian. "As an actor your mind is one of your most important tools," he said. "The more prospective you can bring to the table, I think the more range and variety you are going to be able to bring to your roles." In July 2017, Gamble also found another sort of love when he married his wife Sarah in a beautiful outdoor wedding. Sounds like Dennis isn't quite the "Menace" he once was!