Good Luck Charlie’s Bridgit Mendler, Wizards of Waverly Place alum Jennifer Stone, Lizzie McGuire star Clayton Snyder, and more former Disney actors found themselves with some pretty unexpected jobs in the years after their times as teen stars.
For many young actors, landing a role on Disney Channel is their ultimate dream. And after finding success on the network, many stars like Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez skyrocket to fame. But for some other Disney Channel celebs, they realize that pursuing a career in the entertainment industry isn’t all that they thought it would be. Instead, these teen stars pivot their life plans and head back to school to find their true passions. In the end, these former Disney actors find themselves with some pretty unexpected jobs!
Find out what these Disney Channel stars are up to now…
1. Bridgit Mendler
Bridgit Mendler may have starred on the Disney Channel show Good Luck Charlie but after the series wrapped, she decided to pursue her educational career. She attended the University of Southern California and then got her master’s degree in humanity and technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She then went on to receive a PhD from MIT while simultaneously working towards her Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School.
Following graduation, Bridgit spent time working at the Federal Communications Commission’s new Space Bureau, where she “completely fell in love with space law.” Since then, she’s founded her own space startup called Northwood Space alongside her husband Griffin Cleverly. The company aims to mass-produce ground stations — which are the satellite dishes on earth that communicate with those in space. The company has so far raised over $6 million in funding.
“The vision is a data highway between Earth and space,” she recently told CNBC. “Space is getting easier along so many different dimensions but still the actual exercise of sending data to and from space is difficult. You have difficulty finding an access point for contacting your satellite.”
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2. Daniel Lee Benson
Daniel Lee Benson played Zeke on Wizards of Waverly Place but after the show wrapped, he walked away from the world of acting. Daniel recently explained that he was forced to make the difficult decision after suggestive photos of himself were leaked online and posted to inappropriate websites. Despite spending years trying to get them scrubbed from the internet, they were continually shared without his consent — and he was even almost fired from a job.
After dealing with the “traumatic experience,” Daniel decided that he wasn’t going to let the past control him — and made the choice to lean into it by joining OnlyFans. Now with a large online following, Daniel says he’s having a lot of fun and he’s been surprised about the amount of support he’s received.
“I decided to stop fighting against it and instead, go the other direction and completely lean into it and build out a page instead of letting these people sell my privacy,” Daniel shared on TikTok. “I’ve met a lot of really great people in the adult entertainment industry, and it’s changed my life for the better.”
3. Jennifer Stone
Jennifer Stone also starred on Wizards of Waverly Place, portraying Alex’s BFF Harper. While she’s still involved in the world of entertainment, she now spends most of her time working as an ER nurse. She made the decision to enter the healthcare field after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and hopes that she can now help other people as a medical professional.
“It still continues to blow my mind — all of the parallels that I have found and continue to learn about [between nursing and acting]…For so long, I’ve developed characters and just explored human nature and what makes people, people. I think it strengthens your sense of empathy and it strengthens your area of questioning of why people do what they do. It also leads me to an understanding that people are very much the same,” Jennifer told Deadline.
She continued, “Regardless of your background, circumstances, choices, we’re all very much the same — and acting gives you that gift. In nursing, you come across so many different kinds of people that to be able to view people that way is such a gift.”
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4. Kay Panabaker
Kay Panabaker was a big part of the Disney Channel family growing up, appearing on Phil of the Future as well as DCOMs Life is Ruff and Read It and Weep. In 2012, she stepped away from acting to go to college and enrolled at UCLA to study zoology. She then completed an eighteen-month animal program at Santa Fe College and she now works at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida.
“Looking back, finding my true passion was worth all of the extra time. I work with some of the most incredible people, who inspire me to work harder and make a bigger difference in the world. That aspect was missing in my previous career and is something that feeds my soul in my current line of work. I love it when I leave work and have felt like I was able to inspire and make a difference, even if it was just one person that day. I don’t earn a fraction of what I used to, and yet, I couldn’t be happier,” Kay told Naperville Magazine.
5. Clayton Snyder
Clayton Snyder was once known as heartthrob Ethan Craft on Lizzie McGuire but took a step back from acting to attend Pepperdine University. He played water polo professionally in Italy for a year after graduating but he’s now focused on his career in real estate.
“We’ve had plenty of clients where halfway through showing them homes they’re like, ‘My wife and I just found out who you are and we can’t believe it!'” he once told E! News. “But that makes me feel good because I know that’s not why they’re working with me. It’s the best of both worlds, where they have the fun of realizing that but their actual entry point was because of the work that we do.”
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6. Tiffany Thornton
Tiffany Thornton was once Demi Lovato’s co-star on Sonny With A Chance but has now left the world of acting behind. She’s since moved to Arkansas and for a period of time, she worked as a recruiter at Champion Christian College. She also worked as a cheerleading coach at a local school.
“I absolutely love working here and seeing how God moves in the lives of these students,” Tiffany wrote on Instagram in 2017. “Plus, they come to my house a few times a semester for a big get together where I make chicken spaghetti, salad and banana pudding for dessert.”
7. Morgan York
Morgan York worked as a child actress and had a role on Hannah Montana growing up. But when the series ended, she decided she no longer wanted to work in entertainment. Instead, she’s pursued a career in literature. Morgan now works at a publishing house and is hoping to get her own books published in the future.
“I started acting when I was 9, and from the beginning, my mom told me, ‘The second this becomes not fun or you want to stop, you can stop.’ I never expected it to be a lifetime thing. I even remember as a kid trying to imagine myself as an adult actor and just not seeing it…It wasn’t fun anymore. My passion for acting did not outweigh all the costs, like all the time you have to spend away from loved ones on sets and the constant scrutiny from people watching you,” Morgan said in a TikTok.
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8. Ashlie Brillault
Ashlie Brillault played Kate Sanders on Lizzie McGuire but she decided acting wasn’t for her when the show wrapped. She went back to school and later enrolled at California State University, Long Beach where she studied political science and government. After graduating, she got her law degree from the University of Denver. Since 2015, she’s been a partner at The Law Offices of David Givot.
“My ultimate goal is to work on issues related to criminal justice reform,” Ashlie told MTV News in 2015.
9. Erik von Detten
Disney Channel fans will know Erik von Detten from his role in Brink and the paranormal series So Weird but he’s moved on from acting. While he appeared on a few reality shows, he now works in the world of finance. Erik reportedly works at Rosland Capital, a precious metals asset management firm.
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10. Amy Bruckner
Amy Bruckner played Phil’s younger sister, Pim Diffy, on Phil of the Future but after the show wrapped, she only appeared in a few other shows. She went on to attend New York University where she studied human rights and feminist theory and then got her law degree from UCLA School of Law. She now works at Katten law firm, where she “represents motion picture studios, production companies, television networks and new media companies.”
11. Nick Spano
Nick Spano played eldest brother Donnie on Even Stevens and when the show wrapped, he appeared in a few other series but eventually went back to school. He attended UCLA and ended up opening both a spa business and a market management business. Then in 2015, he decided to switch things up once again, wanting to surround himself with music and art. He opened Re/creation Café, a space where he hosts social and community art experiences.
“Re/creation Café is a creative community space & Eatery. It’s a place where people come to play and connect through good food, art, and music. Our goal is to get people (specifically adults) playing again. There really is nothing out there like Re/creation at this time. We are known for our events, such as Paint Social, Play, Goddess Celebration, Rave on Wheels, Yamashiro Night Market, and Love is Blind, but the cafe is something different,” he told VoyageLA.
Nick also helps run a Mid City Arts and Music Festival and produces concerts throughout LA.
