Tommy From Step Brothers Has Grown Up To Be Gorgeous
Step Brothers is an iconic comedy that features fantastic performances from the leads Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, who play middle-aged step brothers who start out hating each other but grow to become best friends. The film is jam-packed with memorable moments, including several hilarious musical scenes. There's the long drum solo from Reilly's Dale Doback, the ill-conceived rap video (which according to Mental Floss almost spawned an entire rap album), and an a cappella rendition of Guns N' Roses "Sweet Child O' Mine" performed by a family in the car.
The "Sweet Child O' Mine" scene is among the film's most memorable and has been recreated numerous times for several viral videos. In 2018, members of the police department in Bartlett, Ill., performed the car-singing scene while in a cop cruiser, per NBC Chicago. A family went viral on TikTok when they did their rendition of the scene in December 2019, as covered by Daily Dot.
Adam Scott played Derek Huff, the father who had his wife, daughter, and son relentlessly practice to perfect the song. According to The Ringer's oral history of Step Brothers, Paul Rudd helped Scott secure the role by putting in a good word for him with director Adam McKay. "I hadn't really done any comedy at that point," Scott told The Ringer.
The singing of Derek's son, Tommy, stood out among the impressive performances, which led many to question whether it was actually his voice. Keep reading to learn more about the actor who played Tommy.
Lurie Poston actually sang in Step Brothers
The incredible singing of "Sweet Child O' Mine" by the Huff family was so impressive that many wondered if it was the actors' actual voices. As covered by Mental Floss, every member of the family sang the song except Adam Scott. Lurie Poston, the actor who played sweet-singing Tommy, performed his own solo and singing parts himself. According to his website, Poston is from Charleston, S.C., and began performing at a young age. He had talent representation and a modeling contract with the Ford Agency by the time he was 4 years old.
Poston made his movie debut in 2003's Girls Will Be Girls, and he hit Broadway in 2005 for a role in the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (via Playbill). The young actor landed a starring role in the 2008 film Ready! OK? after he impressed James Vasquez, the film's director. "Lurie blew us away with his read of the scenes," Vasquez told KPBS in 2009. He followed that up with an appearance in the 2010 movie Knucklehead and had a role in a 2011 episode of Workaholics. Poston's last IMDb credit was in 2014 on the show Kickin' It.
Afterwards, the performer appeared to shift his focus to his education. He attended the University of Southern California as he blossomed from a fresh-faced boy into a handsome man. Poston posted a photo on Instagram in May 2019 wearing a graduation gown and included the caption: "Bleary-eyed and clutching my degree...that's a wrap on college."