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- The Lost Boys
- Warner Bros.
Whatever Happened To The Cast Of 'The Lost Boys'?
The vampires in the hit 1987 horror film The Lost Boys may have been immortal, but the actors behind the characters did have to grow up eventually. From the devilish David and his bloodsucking crew, to the two brothers Sam and Michael just doing their best to survive in sunny Santa Carla, where are they now? Read on to find out, and if you're looking for even more The Lost Boys cast and film content, be sure to also check out our lists of behind-the-scenes stories, fun hidden details, and best quotes from this summertime classic!
In real life, the deadly charming David, leader of the lost boys, was one of Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland's earliest roles. Since then, he's had plenty of time to build an impressive career for himself. He's perhaps most well-known for his work in the '90s on films like Flatliners, A Few Good Men, and The Three Musketeers. In the 2000s, he focused on smaller festival films and TV, where he notably played Jack Bauer on the critically acclaimed television series 24. From 2016 to 2019, he starred in ABC's Designated Survivor as the reluctant president Thomas Kirkman.
His life is eventful outside of his acting career as well. He was briefly engaged to Flatliners co-star Julia Roberts (before she became romantically involved with his Lost Boys costar Jason Patric, AKA Michael); he accepted an invitation to give an anti-torture speech at the United States Military Academy at West Point (this after the dean expressed concern over and disapproval of the patriotic depictions of aggressive interrogations in 24); he's a two-time rodeo champion (specifically in roping); he's released two country albums (with several music videos); and he's a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism. In short, he's a busy man.
As of 2024, the actor has one child and is engaged to model/actor Cindy Vela, with whom he resides in Los Angeles.
Paul - Brooke McCarter
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Behind Paul, the vampire with the most glorious hair, was actor Brooke McCarter, who, unlike the rest of the cast, was never primarily an actor at all. He preferred to wear other hats in the entertainment industry. John Belushi's biographical film Wired (1989) was his last onscreen role before he went on a two-decade acting hiatus in which he wrote, directed, composed for, and produced other films. He even managed The Lost Boys costar Corey Haim for a time, writing and directing the young star's biographical documentary Me, Myself and I (which was admittedly poorly received for seeming staged and not acknowledging Haim's at-the-time widely discussed health issues).
In the latter half of that hiatus, he skipped out on Hollywood altogether, opting for a relatively normal life working in telecommunications while raising his daughter, appearing at horror conventions with his Lost Boys costars to meet fans, and touring the US making music as a drummer, before finally returning to acting in 2009.
Sadly, he passed in 2015 at the age of 52 from a rare genetic liver condition called alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency.
Dwayne - Billy Wirth
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Billy Wirth is perhaps most widely known for his role as the dark and mysterious vampire Dwayne, but he did keep acting afterwards, appearing in the 1993 film Body Snatchers and in shows like Tales from the Crypt, Charmed, Sex and the City, and, most recently, Godfather of Harlem. He's also produced a number of films, including 2001's MacArthur Park, which he also wrote and directed. Outside of acting, he briefly made music in the '90s, as a part of the rock band Dust N'Bones.
His personal life is relatively private, and he's expressed being slow to take up social media, preferring to interact with fans in person rather than over the internet. He has also toured horror conventions with his Lost Boys costars.
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Alex Winter is fondly remembered for his role as wide-eyed Marko (the first vampire to perish when he gets staked by the Frog brothers in his own lair), but the greatest source of his fame and success came two years later with the smash-hit comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, where he played the Bill to Keanu Reeves's Ted. This film went on to have two sequels - Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey in 1991 and Bill & Ted Face the Music in 2020.
Still, his real love is working behind the camera, as he's directed, written, and produced many more films than he's acted in. He even directed music videos for Ice Cube and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. His specialty may be documentaries, where he's covered subjects like politics, child actors, and, most recently, the life of Frank Zappa. He has also expressed a particular interest in internet culture, freedom, and privacy, having made films documenting Napster, the deep web, Bitcoin, blockchain, YouTube, and the darknet's Silk Road.
In 2018, strengthened by the Me Too movement to tell his story, he revealed that his preference to work behind the scenes rather than perform on camera was in part motivated by harm he experienced as a child in the entertainment industry, stating, "I had extreme PTSD for many, many years, and that will wreak havoc on you," and going on to advocate for better protections for child stars.
Today, he continues his directing career to great success, and has a family of five between him, his wife, and his three children.
After playing older brother Michael in The Lost Boys, Jason Patric continued acting in films like Rush (1991), Narc (2002), and Gangsterland (2017). But, more interestingly, he actually had a successful stint in theater. He appeared on Broadway twice: in a 2005 revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and a 2011 revival of the Pulitzer and Tony award-winning play That Championship Season (which was written by his father).
As for his personal life, Patric was notably involved in a bit of a Hollywood love triangle among himself, Julia Roberts, and his Lost Boys costar Kiefer Sutherland - Patric became romantically linked with Roberts almost immediately after she and Sutherland broke off their engagement (just three days before the wedding was set to occur). Though there was tension at the time, Sutherland and Patric reunited on the set of That Championship Season where they rekindled their friendship, later saying in an interview they were as close as ever.
In terms of family, the actor has one son with his ex-girlfriend Danielle Schreiber, with whom he fought long in court to be granted parental rights. The two were not married at the time the child was conceived through in vitro, and so when they broke up, California law regarded him as a sperm donor rather than a full parent. As a result of this, he's lobbied the California legislature to give parental rights to certain donors, remaining outspoken about the subject ever since.
"Even though you're a vampire, you're still my brother," asserts Michael's younger sibling, Sam, who was played by Corey Haim. Haim gained fame starring in a number of films in the '80s, including Silver Bullet, License to Drive, and Dream a Little Dream. Amidst all the older actors on the set of The Lost Boys, he found friendship in costar Corey Feldman, who was his own age. The two quickly became known as "The Two Coreys," an inseparable acting duo who appeared in many films together, and even shared the A&E reality show The Two Coreys. He also gained status as a teen heartthrob, frequently appearing on the cover of Tiger Beat.
Unfortunately, his career and life quickly took a tragic turn. The child actor had long struggled with substance dependence, and it had finally started to take a toll on his physical and mental health, as well as relationships and career. There was also the blindsiding moment on The Two Coreys show when Haim revealed he had been assaulted as a child by someone in the industry.
In March of 2010, he was at his mother's home when she called 911 to have him rushed to the hospital, where he passed. At the time, it was believed to have been an accidental OD, however, a medical examiner later revealed that the 38-year-old had actually succumbed to pneumonia. His Lost Boys costars are among the many who have expressed their great sadness at his loss.
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After Lost Boys, Corey Feldman became a part of "The Two Coreys" acting duo, starring alongside his friend Corey Haim in both film and a reality TV show. On his own, he voiced Donatello in the 1990 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, and later voiced Slash in the 2012 animated TMNT series. He even returned for two Lost Boys sequels, 2008's Lost Boys: The Tribe and 2010's Lost Boys: The Thirst. In 2020, he participated in a Zoom reunion with the cast of The Goonies, where they all toyed with the idea of a sequel starring the now-grown kids. Aside from this, his cameos are scattered pretty widely and randomly across TV, film, and music - at one point, he showed up in the music video for Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night," playing her father and disapprovingly asking why she had "some lost boy" in her room.
Outside of acting, he released a memoir titled Coreyography; he is a longtime vegetarian and animal rights activist; and he has released music both as a solo artist and as a part of two bands of his own making - Corey Feldman's Truth Movement and Corey's Angels. But perhaps what he is now most well-known for is his claims, projects, and views all surrounding the alleged sexual assault he and Haim experienced as children. He produced a documentary covering the subject, has lobbied for bills addressing the issue, and frequently and strongly expressed his belief that the harm adults inflict on children in the entertainment industry is the biggest issue in Hollywood today - something that motivates him to keep his own son "as far away from the entertainment business as possible." His work in this area has received mixed reactions, from sympathy to cynicism in part because he himself has received allegations of maltreatment from former band members.
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The second half of the Frog brothers is the equally serious Alan, played by Jamison Newlander. Like Corey Feldman, he ended up reprising his role in the film's two sequels The Tribe and The Thirst (although his scenes for the former were deleted in the final cut). Though he went on to have small roles in films like Bone Tomahawk, Lifetime's A Tale of Two Coreys, and Feldman's My Truth documentary, he seems to prefer the stage to the screen. As a young man, he got his BFA in acting from NYU and spent his 20s acting, writing, and directing for stage.
His other pursuits have included hosting the podcast The Jamison Newlander and Some Other Guy Show, maintaining a Cameo account, and, perhaps the most fun, starring in a YouTube series with the other Frog brother - Feldman. The two produced four episodes of a reality ghost hunters-type show titled Corey & Jamison’s Real Frog Adventures and premiered it on Feldman's YouTube account in 2020. It's nice to know the two men behind the fictional brothers have remained real-life friends even after all this time.
Michael's half-vampire girlfriend Star was played by Jami Gertz, who later went on to appear in Seinfeld, 1996's blockbuster Twister, and multiple episodes of ER, Ally McBeal (for which she got an Emmy nomination), and Entourage. Her longer, steadier acting gigs were as Judy Miller in the CBS sitcom Still Standing and as Debbie Weaver in the ABC sitcom The Neighbors. Later in her career, she founded Lime Orchard Productions, which produced the Academy Award-nominated film A Better Life in 2011.
But it's her life outside of Hollywood that's truly interesting. Gertz and her husband, Tony Ressler (with whom she has three sons), are members of an investment group that owns the MLB franchise Milwaukee Brewers, and in 2015, they also became owners of the NBA team Atlanta Hawks (for a cool $730 million). Gertz represented the Hawks in the NBA draft lottery for the 2018, 2019, and 2020 NBA drafts; she also serves as the face of and ambassador for the team.
The couple have a school named after them - Alliance Gertz-Ressler High School - and Gertz is on the board of directors for the Melanoma Research Alliance, the largest nonprofit funder of melanoma research.
Laddie - Chance Michael Corbitt
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Laddie's easy to miss, but this mini-vampire (and essentially Star's surrogate child) is clearly the cutest lost boy. He's played by Chance Michael Corbitt, who's all grown up now and, while he still acts, keeps a low profile on the Hollywood scene. He notably appeared in 1991's The Rocketeer and on Baywatch as David Hasselhoff's son, Kyle Buchannon. His last acting project was on a small 2013 film titled Hallows' Eve.
Still, despite his mostly private life, he does still appear to enjoy occasionally touring conventions with his Lost Boys castmates.
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Secret head vampire Max is played by Edward Herrmann, whose mild-mannered appearance manages to fool everyone for most of the movie. Herrmann was already a seasoned actor of stage and TV before this film, and he only got better from here. He played Herman Munster in Here Come the Munsters, which aired on TV in 1995 on Halloween; earned an Emmy in 1999 for his guest appearances on The Practice; played Norman the old intern on ABC's Grey's Anatomy; and, perhaps most famously, played Richard Gilmore on The WB's Gilmore Girls from 2000 to 2007.
His voice work is particularly extensive, narrating countless documentary films for The History Channel and PBS. His voice has also been used in The Wolf of Wall Street, American Dad!, and the TV documentary series Nova.
He was a notable automobile enthusiast, not only owning and restoring classic cars of his own, but also hosting the television show Automobiles on The History Channel, doing voiceover work for Dodge commercials, and becoming a regular master of ceremonies for the annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, a prestigious charity car show event.
Sadly, he passed from brain cancer in 2014 at the age of 71, but he lived a long life and is remembered fondly not just by those he worked with, but those who watched and heard him in so many films and shows.
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Doting mother Lucy, AKA Dianne Wiest, was also already a seasoned actor before appearing in The Lost Boys, particularly in theater and with solid experience on Broadway. She even had an Oscar win under her belt for the film Hannah and Her Sisters, released just a year prior. She'd go on to be nominated in 1990 for her supporting role in Parenthood, and win again in 1995 for a supporting role in Bullets Over Broadway (for which she also won a Golden Globe). She's also been nominated for an Emmy four times and won twice for her work in TV. In short, she's a highly decorated acting veteran.
Other notable films she's appeared in include Edward Scissorhands (as the empathetic Peg); Synecdoche, New York; and The Mule, and a role alongside Rosamund Pike in 2020's Netflix film I Care A Lot. She also returned to the stage, performing on and off Broadway and even becoming an adjunct professor at Columbia University's theater arts program in 2010.
As for family, she has two daughters.
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The fun prankster grandpa delivers one of the film's most iconic lines: "One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach, all the damn vampires!" He's played by Barnard Hughes, who was already a healthy 72 by the time the film came out, and was in the sunset years of a long and fruitful career. Even so, he was acting until the very end, appearing alongside Michael J. Fox in Doc Hollywood (1991), Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993), and Mayim Bialik in the Blossom TV show from 1991 to 1994.
His last appearance in film was in 2000's The Fantasticks, and he was last seen on TV playing a judge in the series Deadline, also in 2000. He passed in 2006 at the age of 90, leaving the legacy of a long and successful career - and a great closing zinger to The Lost Boys - behind.
