Severe burnout and an Eminem collab: Where the stars of Casper the Friendly Ghost are now.

Be still, beating heart. I’m not ashamed to admit my very first celebrity crush was Devon Sawa. 

From Little Giants to Now and Then, and of course Casper the Friendly Ghost, at just 15, Devon was practically a Hollywood veteran. 

I myself was just eight-years-old when Casper was released, and lately I've been wondering, what the hell happened to Devon, Christina and the rest of the ghostly gang?

Let’s take a look at where the stars of this cult children’s classic are now.

Devon Sawa: Casper.

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Let's face it, we were all a little bit in love with Casper the Friendly Ghost himself, Devon Sawa.

He was cast as the ‘real-life’ ghost after his breakout role in another kids’ classic, Little Giants. But did you know there was another guy who voiced the ‘ghost’ part of Casper in the film? We were shocked to learn Devon played a teeny, tiny part compared to Malachi Pearson. 

“I was in Casper for 30 secs. Malachi Pearson did the hard work. When they decided last minute to bring Casper to life he was too young,” Sawa told People.

In 2020, Sawa tweeted to celebrate the movie’s 25th anniversary:

“So I landed the role. And I’m very fortunate [director Brad Silberling] chose me ‘cause I’d be lying if I said it didn’t start a 30 year job that I love.”

After Casper, Sawa went onto star in coming-of-age classic, Now and Then, once again opposite his Casper co-star, Christina Ricci. 

“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,” he also tweeted. “I owe her the world.”

After finding success as a teen heartthrob, Sawa moved into the horror genre…does he have a thing for the paranormal? In 1999, he starred in Idle Hands, and a year later in Final Destination.

“After Final Destination everybody wanted me to do horror movies and some weren’t as good as others. I was just burnt out,” he told Us Weekly.

He stepped away from Hollywood to cope with the burn out, but felt the pull to dive back in. 

Sawa's five-year hiatus came to an end in 2000 when Eminem cast him in the music video for his song ‘Stan’. By 2010, he had a lead role in the 2010 spy drama, Nikita.

In 2021, Sawa found himself starring in horror films once again, in Black Friday, and then in the Chucky TV series that same year. 

His last role worth mentioning was in Hacks, opposite Jean Smart. Devon’s now happily married to TV producer, Dawni Sahanovitch and they share two children.

Christina Ricci: Kat.

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Christina Ricci was just 15 when she starred in the cult classic as Kat, the daughter of afterlife therapist, Dr Harvey [Bill Pullman]. 

She was also already a household name after playing Cher’s daughter in the 1990 film, Mermaids.

Now, while we have nothing but warm memories of Casper, its leading lady cringes every time she thinks about playing Kat. “If you actually watch Casper, I’m terrible,” the 43-year-old said in an August 2022 episode of WTF With Marc Maron. 

“People get so upset when I say that. And I’m like, ‘No, it’s a wonderful movie. It’s a childhood treasure. But I am terrible in it.’”

Ricci played the role of cynical, sarcastic daughter to a tee, if you ask us. In fact, it kind of paved the way for the rest of her career.

The same year Casper came out, she starred alongside Sawa in Now and Then. Again, they played one another’s love interests, and again, she was a snarky, sarcastic tomboy.

The Californian continued to keep busy in Hollywood, way beyond her child star years. From 1997’s The Ice Storm, to 1998’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas  to 1999’s Sleepy Hollow. 

She then switched to TV, and scored parts in Pan Am alongside Margot Robbie, and The Lizzy Bordon Chronicles.

In 2021, she was cast as Missy in Yellowjackets, a role for which she earned a 2022 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. That same year she appeared in Netflix’s Wednesday, but not as the titular character she portrayed in the nineties; but as teacher Marilyn Thornhill.

Between all her acting roles, she welcomed two children. 

A son, Freddie, with her ex-husband James Heerdegen, whom she divorced and subsequently was granted a AVO against, plus a daughter Cleo, who she shares with her husband, Mark Hampton.

Bill Pullman: Dr Harvey.

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The son of a doctor and a nurse, Bill Pullman’s had quite the career, but his portrayal of lonely widower Dr Harvey in Casper the Friendly Ghost is undoubtedly a favourite.

The same year Casper hit cinemas, he starred in the critically acclaimed, While You Were Sleeping opposite Sandra Bullock.

A year later he played President Thomas J. Whitmore in the box office smash Independence Day with Will Smith.

Pullman has had many roles on stage and screen, but really came back to the mainstream as Detective Harry Ambrose in The Sinner anthology with Jessica Biel in 2021. 

The 69-year-old continues to kick goals professionally, but he’s most proud of his kids, who are trying their luck in Hollywood, too. His son Jack, 34, is a budding director, while daughter Maesa is an aspiring singer. Then there’s Lewis. 

If you caught Top Gun: Maverick in 2022, you might have recognised Lt. Robert 'Bob' Floyd, Pullman's 30-year-old son. 

Cathy Moriarty: Carrigan Crittenden.

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Every kids’ movie needs an antagonist, and Cathy Moriarty’s Carrigan Crittenden was it. 

We all remember her declaring “the bitch is back” after her evil character turned into a ghost alongside her co-conspirator Dibs [Eric Idle].

Before Casper, the New Yorker earned herself a handful of Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, while in the years that followed, she had bit-parts in numerous Law & Order franchises, Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, and a role in Casper Meets Wendy playing Hilary Duff’s witchy aunt.

She shares three children with her husband of more than three decades, John Gentile, twins Catherine and Joseph, and another daughter, Annabella.

Eric Idle: Dibs.

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The film struck gold when it cast famed British comedian Eric Idle as the villainous Dibs. 

We already knew Eric from his Monty Python days, but post-Casper, the now-80-year-old would go on to have even greater success on both the big and small screen.

As a very famous voice artist, his pipes have appeared in the likes of Pinky and the Brain, Pinocchio, House of Mouse, Shrek the Third and The Simpsons. He also narrated Ella Enchanted.

He had success on the stage, too. He wrote the music and lyrics for Broadway’s Spamalot, for which he took home a Tony Award for Best Musical in 2005.

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