Paris Themmen, who played Mike Teavee, has continued to build a career in showbiz—just not in acting. According to his website, the former child star is currently working as a casting director for commercials, something he’s pretty familiar with considering he was an experienced commercial actor before landing his role as Mike in the movie.
After Wonka wrapped, Themmen went on to appear in The Rothschild’s on Broadway and did more theater and commercials before deciding to take a break from acting at age 14 to “just be a kid.” He later attended New York University, where he got his BFA in theater. After graduation, Themmen focused on his love of travel, visiting at least 40 countries and founding Access International, a travel service that sends backpackers standby on charter flights to Europe. Themmen then spent time working in real estate, retail, as a financial consultant, and in film production as a production assistant and assistant director. He even worked as a Disney Imagineer before getting into casting.
Themmen has had a bit of acting experience since Wonka, appearing in a pair of TV movies and in a small role on Star Trek: Voyager, which a friend of his helped set up due to him being a big fan of the original series. “Honestly, I was really jazzed about it, just to be in the Star Trek universe,” he said. Themmen also had a “featured extra” role in The Big Lebowski, where he can be seen in the bowling alley and title sequence, and he says if “you’re really good,” you can see him pop up in the background at points of CBS’ The Good Wife. He has also guest judged a few sweets-themed Food Network shows, including Cake Wars and Top Chef: Just Desserts.
Mike Teavee isn’t the only iconic character Jordan Fry got to play in his youth: the actor also voiced the main role of Lewis in Disney’s underrated Meet the Robinsons. Fry has also appeared in a few shorts and in a small role in the Amanda Seyfried thriller Gone. Although he took a break from acting for a while, he’s set to appear onscreen again in Byrd and the Bees, a romcom starring Revolution’s Tracy Spiridakos and written by Fry’s mother, Christine.
From his Instagram page, Fry seems to be traveling a lot these days, even going on a mission trip to Africa. The actor lists himself in his bio as an “aspiring Batman” and even lobbied Ben Affleck with one post urging the star to make him Nightwing. With the character getting his own movie, could Fry have a chance? Only time will tell.
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