Last Action Hero: What happened to the actors?

Treated mercilessly by the critics of the time, 'Last Action Hero', has aged very well. The 1993 satire of the action genre directed by John McTiernan and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, has laughed at its critics to the point of becoming a cult film three decades after its release.

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The film is the story of Danny Madigan (Austin O'Brien), a fervent admirer of Jack Slater (Schwarzenegger), the greatest hero of the action movie world. When his latest film is released, Danny receives a ticket with magical powers, allowing him to enter the screen to live thrilling adventures with his hero.

The film had important cameos, starring actors and actresses such as Jean-Claude Van Damme, Ian McKellen, Danny DeVito, Jim Belushi, Sylvester Stallone, Chevy Chase, Robert Patrick, Sharon Stone, and Tina Turner. The cast led by Schwarzenegger was also quite good. What happened to the actors and actresses?

The great hero of the film and of little Danny. A fearless Los Angeles detective who works under Lieutenant Dekker and fights gang crime as led by criminals like mobster Tony Vivaldi.

Schwarzenegger had already become one of the most recognized and successful Hollywood tough guys. Titles such as 'Conan, The Barbarian' (1982), 'Terminator' (1984), 'Commando' (1985), 'Predator' (1987) and 'Total Recall' (1990), proved he was a Hollywood star.

He also broke into other genres such as comedy, with 'Twins' (1988), 'Kindergarten Cop' (1990), before making the second installment of 'Terminator' (1992) and releasing 'The Last Action Hero' (1993). But what became of him after these great films?

Schwarzenegger has never stopped working in Hollywood, one of the great tough guys in Hollywood history. And, just a year later he proved it with two more of his great films: 'True Lies' and 'Junior'.

In the first decade of the 2000s he starred in films such as 'The 6th Day' (2000), 'Collateral Damage' (2002) and 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines' (2003).

In 'The Expendables' he starred in four installments - the last of them in 2023 - and among his latest works we can find a leading role in the Netflix series 'Fubar' (2023).

But Schwarzenegger has not only made a living from movies over the years, he has also been involved in the world of politics as the 38th Governor of California for the Republican Party. This was a position he held from November 17, 2003 to January 1, 2011.

In 2023, Netflix, with director Lesley Chilcott, launched a 3-episode documentary miniseries as a tribute to Schwarzenegger's life and work entitled 'Arnold'.

Image: Netflix

The star of 'Last Action Hero' is this boy who ends up living incredible adventures with his hero, Jack Slater. Amazing things happen after entering his last movie thanks to a ticket with magical powers that the old usher at the cinema where he usually goes to see his movies, gives him.

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The film career of Austin O'Brien was not so prolific. He starred at only 12 years old in 'Last Action Hero'. It was his second film after 'The Lawnmower Man' (1992). He has continued working but in little known movies and series.

His most important role in television has been, undoubtedly, that of Josh Greene in the series 'Promised Land'. He starred in the show for 69 episodes between 1996 and 1996. O'Brien also appeared in another well-known series, 'Touched by an Angel', although in this case it was only in 4 episodes.

On the big screen his most prominent and recent titles have been 'Runaways' (2003) 'Bounty' (2009) and 'Rain from Stars' (2013).

The baddest bad guy in the movie. Right-hand man of mobster Tony Vivaldi and Jack Slater's antagonist. In addition to taking out his own boss, he also steals Danny's ticket and find his way out of the movie and into the real world with devastating consequences.

Like Schwarzenegger, Charles Dance was no beginner when he made 'The Last Great Hero'. In fact, he had been working in the world of film and television for almost 20 years staring in other well-known films such as 'Alien' (1992) and 'Michael Collins' (1996).

Since then, he has had a huge presence in both film and television - in movies and series. Yet, it has been in recent years that the actor seems to have been reborn, mainly thanks to the role of Twyn Lannister in 'Game of Thrones' in which he worked between 2011 and 2015.

It has not been the only series in which he has excelled recently. We have to give a nod to Charles Dance's role as Lord Mountbatten in the Netflix series 'The Crown', which he played between 2019 and 2020.

The 80s and 90s were his great years, but, now, with television, he seems to have made up lost time and, for example, his latest work in other series such as 'Ottoman Rising' (2020-22), 'The Serpent Queen' (2022), 'Spark Hunter' (2022) and 'Rabbit Hole' (2023).

This is the old usher at the movie theater Danny goes to. He gives the boy the ticket with magical powers from Harry Houdini himself. In reality, however, he tears it in half and gives one part to the boy and leaves the other in the box office to establish the connection between the real world and the cinematographic one.

The veteran actor, who began his career in 1971 in television, died at age 77 in 2008 of cardiovascular disease. Before he passed, he appeared in films such as 'Dead Man Walking' (1995), 'The Chamber' (1996), as well as 'The Skeptic', the last work of his career.

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In those years, in addition to some TV movies, we could also see him in series such as 'The Practice' (1997-2002), 'Danny' (2001) - in the picture - and 'K Steet' (2003), as well as in single episodes of 'Touched by an Angel' (2000) and 'ER' (2007). Oh and of course, both 'Gremlins' 1 and 2.

In the film Danny gets pulled into, 'Jack Slater IV', the main villain is Benedict. In 'Jack Slater III,' it is The Ripper, a serial killer who kidnaps some children in the middle of Danny's adventures.

The Ripper is one of the great roles of Tom Noonan's career, in addition to those of Dolarhyde in 'Manhunter'(1986) and Cain in 'Robocop 2' (1990). But his career has gone further...

Noonan has continued to work in film and television without a break. Among his outstanding later works is the film 'The Pledge' (2001) under the direction of Sean Penn.

We also have to mention Noonan's performance in the series 'Damages', where he played the role of detective Victor Huntley in 17 episodes between 2009 and 2011. Then, in 'Hell on Wheels', he played Reverend Nathaniel Cole in 18 episodes, between 2011 and 2014.

Also memorable were Noonan's performances in the film 'Wonderstruck' (2017) and the series '12 Monkeys' (2015 to 2018).

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Jack Slater's boss in the LAPD. A very temperamental guy who is always yelling at his subordinates, even if it's incoherent nonsense, especially, when Jack breaks the rules as renegade cop.

He sadly passed away on April 29, 2021 at the age of 80, although he had already retired as an actor 15 years earlier. His last film was 'Love's Abiding Joy' (2006). Frank McRae only appeared in 12 films, some for television, and sporadic episodes of TV series.

This famous actor played the worst of the criminals in 'Last Action Hero'. He's the bad guy in the fourth installment of the adventure until Danny interferes in the story and changes events. He dies at the hands of his right-hand man, the cruel Benedict.

Another actor who is no longer with us. Anthony Quinn passed on June 3, 2011, at the age of 86, of pneumonia. But what an outstanding career he had.

He began acting in films in the 1950s starring in such films as 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' (1956) and 'Viva Zapata!' (1952), for which he won an Oscar. He continued with titles like 'Zorba the Greek' (1964) 'Revenge' (1990 )alongside Kevin Costner and Madeleine Stowe.

Anthony Quinn's last performances before his death were in the Spanish miniseries 'Camino de Santiago' (1999) and in two more films: the also Spanish 'Tierra de cañones' (1999) and 'Avenging Angelo' (2002), his last film, alongside Sylvester Stallone.

She is the daughter of Jack Slater and Meredith Caprice. Her action scene against the bad guys is one of the highlights of the movie.

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While 'Last Action Hero' came out, she was rising to fame for her work in the series 'Santa Barbara'. Wilson was only 20 years old and had a whole career as an actress ahead of her. It lasted until 2008, when she made her last film, the Canadian 'Phantom Punch'.

We could see her in other well-known films such as 'Mortal Kombat' (1995), 'Nixon' (1995), 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' (1997), and the hilarious 'Billy Madison' (1995).

Wilson also starred in series, including 'The Street', in which she played Bridger Deshiel between 2000 and 2001, but also others such as 'Frasier', where she appeared in 2002; 'CSI: Miami', in 2003; and 'Carpoolers', in 2007.

On September 30, 2000, Bridgette Wilson made headlines for her high-profile marriage to tennis player Pete Sampras. They are still married today and have two sons, Christian Charles and Ryan Nikolaos Sampras.

Jack Slater's friend ends up revealing himself as a traitor. When Danny warned Jack that John was not a trustworthy guy, he said famously that Practice had killed Mozart. It was a reference to Abraham's Oscar-winning role as Antonio Salieri in 'Amadeus.'

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So we close with an actor who, now past the age of 80, is thankfully still here, with numerous projects in progress. And his filmography is infinite, accumulating roles in both films and television series.

He appeared in films such as 'Nostradamus' (1994), 'Mighty Aphrodite' (1995), 'Mimic' (1997) and 'Star Trek: Insurrection' (1998).

After came the first decade of the 2000s in which he made up to 25 films. Then, in the second, he moved to television series. One really stands out: 'Homeland', with the role of Dar Adal in 43 episodes (2012-18).

But it was not the only series of the decade for Abraham. 'The Good Wife' (2011-14), 'Louie' (2011-14), 'Chimerica' (2019) and, more recently, 'The White Lotus' (2022) have seen the veteran actor shine.

In 2023 we saw him not only in the series 'White House Plumbers' alongside Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux but also in the Italian film 'Double Soul' under the direction of Valeria Expósito and alongside another veteran of Hollywood cinema, Danny Glover.

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