Whatever happened to 90s heartthrob Devon Sawa?

Do you remember actor Devon Sawa? He was in many movies and television shows in the 90s and early 2000s. Most famous were his movies 'Casper' and 'Now and Then.'

The Canadian actor was once a very familiar face - many a teenage girl had his poster hanging on their wall in the 1990s! But what happened once the teen star grew up?

Look very hard and you will still not see him! But yes, Devon Sawa attended the Academy Awards ceremony on March 12, 2023. He was the poor guest who sat two seats behind the extravagant white Lever Couture that musician Tems chose to wear to the gala.

Image: ABC

Sawa tweeted: "Good news is, I'm at the Oscars. Bad news is I can't see a thing." At least he took the situation with a good dose of humor.

If you haven't seen him in a while, you'll be surprised to see what a handsome guy Devon Sawa has become! After a long hiatus from acting, Sawa made a return to the screen in various films as well as the 'Chucky' TV series in 2021.

He hasn't always been sure about his career. As the actor (born in 1978) told US Weekly, he often doubted if Hollywood was the right place for him.

It all began in the 1990s when Sawa landed two of his career-changing roles, in 'Casper' and 'Now and Then,' thanks to the help of fellow actress Christina Ricci.

Although Sawa had played roles in smaller productions, the actor credits Ricci for helping him land his role on 'Casper.' The film came out in 1995.

Photo: 'Casper,' Universal

The movie told the story of Kat, a troubled young teen, and her father - a 'ghost psychiatrist" played by Bill Pullman. The father-daughter duo moves into a haunted mansion where they meet Casper, the friendly ghost, and his three not-so-friendly uncles: Stinky, Stretch, and Fatso.

Photo: 'Casper,' Universal

Kat and Casper end up falling for one another despite Caper's non-human state.

Photo: 'Casper,' Universal

Devon later tweeted that Ricci was the reason he landed his role: "Christina Ricci is a HUGE talent and played a big part in me getting the role and then went on to recommend me for Now And Then. I owe her the world. #casper."

Photo: 'Casper,' Universal

Being in 'Casper' helped Sawa get noticed. Many a 12-year-old developed a crush on him. However, Sawa admitted on Twitter that his role in 'Casper' wasn't the most difficult one at all.

Image: Tiger Beat magazine

Sawa reminisced on Twitter in 2020: "I was in Casper for 30 secs. Malachi Pearson [the voice actor of Casper] did the hard work. When they decided last minute to bring Casper to life, he was too young. So I landed the role. And I’m very fortunate [director Brad Silberling] chose me."

'Casper' helped boost Devon Sawa's career, but his role in 'Now and Then' completely changed his life and made him one of the most desired male teen actors of the 90s.

Photo: 'Now and Then,' Moving Pictures / New Line Cinema

Christina Ricci also helped Devon Sawa land his role as Scott Wormer in 'Now and Then.' In an interview with EOnline, Sawa said, "I credit her for getting that role. We got along quite well in the small amount of time I did work on 'Casper.'"

In the image, Christina Ricci stands second to the left. The other actresses are, from left to right: Ashleigh Aston Moore, Gaby Hoffmann, and Thora Birch.

Sawa continued, "We are the same age and I ended up going and doing school with her while I was there. I worked one or two days, but I was there for maybe two weeks."

When the 'Now and Then' crew looked for a young actor, Ricci "just remembered and recommended me and I put myself on tape and I got it. We hung out a lot during the shoot."

Photo: 'Now and Then,' Moving Pictures / New Line Cinema

The coming-of-age film had throngs of teenage girls rushing to the cinema. They got to see Devon Sawa's bare bottom! EOnline spoke to Sawa about what it was like filming that swimming hole scene at just 14 years old. "It was done so respectfully," he said. "You know, some people don't have such good experiences as a child actor, but everything I did was a lot of fun."

Photo: 'Now and Then,' Moving Pictures / New Line Cinema

The online publication also asked the actor to dish the dirt and fess up if there was any "puppy love" on the set. According to EOnline, Thora Birch said that all the girls had a crush on Sawa during the filming of 'Now and Then.'

Photo: d.sawa / Instagram

Devon responded that he had no idea the girls were crushing on him, saying, "No, I didn't know. I think I was 14 or something like that. They were all so lovely, all four of them."

Photo: 'Now and Then,' Moving Pictures / New Line Cinema

Sawa would later tweet that he was grateful for being cast in these teen movies because he loved his job: "I'd be lying if I said it didn’t start a 30-year job that I love."
But it wasn't easy to move on from the teen movie genre and heartthrob status.

A big project was the fantasy thriller 'Final Destination' about a plane crash that a group of friends magically escapes, only to die mysteriously one by one in the aftermath of the accident. 'Final Destination' would become a successful franchise and Sawa won a SAG Award for his performance in the first installment.

Also in 2000, rapper Eminem released a hit single, 'Stan,' about an obsessed fan with marital problems. Devon Sawa played that disturbed character. Eminem had found the actor because his associate Dr. Dre was a fan of the movie 'Final Destination.'

Photo: still from 'Stan' with Devon Sawa and Dido

The actor would later explain to a fan that he liked to play in thrillers and the tragic music video because he was tired of his teenage heartthrob image. "I was already a little dark in my early 20s," he tweeted.

The early 2000s were a period in which Sawa felt less excited about acting, and his output in film shows it. He appeared in 'Slackers' in 2005, for example, a movie that flopped both with the audience and critics. Apart from that, he appeared in some other lesser-known projects.

Photo: Sawa stands next to fellow cast member Jason Segel at the premiere of 'Slackers'

Behind the screen, things were going really badly for Devon Sawa. In 'The Independent,' he later talked about the 2000s as a period of "industry exhaustion" and "a burnout-fueled five-year break."

"I was burnt out, I was drinking too much. I was partying too much," Sawa recalls in 'The Independent' about his years as a young actor. They didn't ask him back for the 'Final Destination' sequel in 2003 and "not long after, his agent urged him to stop working for a while," the paper notes.

After 2009, Devon Sawa managed to turn his life around, though. He went to his home country, Canada, got sober, and met his wife. He wanted to start all over. "I wrestled with the idea of never acting again. I had started doing a little bit of real estate in Vancouver. I bought a little old building and started to renovate it myself."

Image: Sawa and his wife, Dawni Sahanovitch

In the end, he changed his mind though. He tried getting acting jobs again. "The doors didn’t open very quickly," he told 'The Independent. "There was a lot of, 'Oh, I remember he didn't show up to the audition because he was partying the night before,’ or whatever it was."

The series 'Nikita,' where Sawa got the recurring role of secret agent Owen Elliott, offered him a way back into the film industry. It started in 2010 and led to several other television roles, such as 'Chucky' (2021-present) and a memorable guest role in the acclaimed series 'Hacks' in 2022.

Photo: 'Nikita,' The CW

With these projects in the recent past, and 'Chucky' still ongoing, it's safe to say that Devon Sawa is making a modest comeback. Let's hope he has more luck with his seating arrangement next time at the Oscars gala!