What Happened To Devon Sawa? What The 90s Teen Heartthrob Is Up To Now
Devon Sawa was a 90s teen heartthrob. Where is he now?
Instagram What Happened to Devon Sawa? Back in the 1990s, Devon Sawa was the crushworthy star of movies like Casper and Little Giants. As he got older, he took darker creative projects like Final Destination and the Eminem video “Stan”, where he played an obsessed fan. But then he dropped off the Hollywood map in his 20s and took some time away from the business.
The time away from acting and random call from his agent reminded him how much he loves the business. He's been back on camera for a while now, working on different projects, and he's started a family as well.
Why did a successful actor take time away from an industry he loves and what is he doing now? Read on to find out all the details about what Devon Sawa's up to now.
1. Child star
Sawa started working in films when he was 11 years old. He had been doing theatre and some commercials in his hometown of Vancouver, Canada and eventually landed in the sports comedy Little Giants. From there he went on to star in coming of age films like Now and Then as well as grabbing a lead role in Casper in 1995.
2. Heavier roles
In 2000, Sawa headlined the horror flick Final Destination. He said that after that he was typecast in horror films for a few years, telling US Weekly, “After Final Destination everybody wanted me to do horror movies and some weren’t as good as others.”
3. Hip-Hop History
One of his more controversial career choices was to do a role in the music video for Eminem’s song "Stan". In it, he played an obsessed fan who eventually commits suicide over perceived rejection by his idol. At the time, Eminem wasn’t as well known as he is now and Sawa’s team didn’t want him to do the video. “When I did Stan, my agent who I'm still with to this very day advised against it. Nobody was really on board with doing it on my team, and I was the only one who was like 'Oh my god, this guy’s really, really good.' So I did it anyways.” Now Sawa says he remains really proud to have been a part of the video, saying “It was iconic, Dr. Dre directed it, Eminem was there and it was early days. I’m just so proud to say I played some small part of it.”
4. Burnout
After years of working continuously, Sawa says he got burned out and took a break from the business. He told US Weekly, “At 25 years old I stepped away from the business for five years and most of the time didn’t know whether I was going to come back or not.” Eventually, he made his way back to acting after an agent at the company that represents him sent him an audition opportunity, not knowing that the actor had quit the business. “Somebody at my agency didn’t get the memo that I quit and sent me an audition and I put myself on tape and that was it. I didn’t get it. It was for the Max Payne movie with Mark Wahlberg. But I did really well and the casting director wanted to meet me and I did. I thought, ‘You know what, this is what I love. This is what I really want to do.’ So I don’t know why I stepped away in the first place.”
5. Steady work
Since returning to acting, Sawa has worked steadily in film and television. Fans have seen him on shows like NCIS: Los Angeles, Nikita and Hawaii Five-0 as well as starring in the short-lived series Somewhere Between. He’s also been in movies like The Exorcism of Molly Hartley and the upcoming action film Disturbing the Peace.
6. Family
In 2013, Sawa married Dawni Sahanovitch. The couple have two children together and he frequently posts incredibly cute videos of his kids.
7. Social media star
Sawa’s Twitter and Instagram feeds are funny and relatable. A highlight of his Twitter presence is his ongoing banter with fellow child-star Macualey Culkin, with the two teasing each other about their shared past as child actors
Culkin continues to troll Sawa by pretending to be him. He debuted his Instagram account with a photo of himself wearing a shirt proclaiming him to be Devon Sawa.
8. Puppy
The actor’s social media just took a turn for the incredibly cute with the addition of a pug puppy this week. He tweeted, “So I put my name on a list to adopt a basset hound. Somehow tomorrow Im driving for 3hrs to rescue a 9 week old pug. - They’re close right? They have a few differences, but overall they’re basically the same dog. Right? (From a vet that’s associated with petco and checks out)”. He later posted photos of the puppy and announced that they’ve named her Akira Kuro Sawa.
The name is no accident; he really did intentionally name a 9 week old pug after a film director.
Keep following Sawa on social media for more of his humor, and hopefully for more puppy photos.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. Her work has been seen at Ravishly, Babble, Scary Mommy, The Mid, Redbook online, and The Broad Side. She is the creator of the blog Stay at Home Pundit and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.