All the Kids of 'Jurassic Park': Where Are They Now?
In Jurassic World, audiences get to see all the dino action, adventure, and terror through the eyes of its young stars Nick Robinson, 20, (The Kings of Summer, Melissa & Joey) and Ty Simpkins, 13, (Insidious, Iron Man 3). The two actors play Zach and Gray, respectively, two kids who find themselves in a (Jurassic) world of trouble when everything goes haywire at the prehistoric theme park.
The two boys join the lineage of talented, lucky child stars who get to appear in the worldwide cinematic phenomenon. In anticipation of Jurassic World, we're looking back at all the kids who had the (mis)fortune of getting up close and personal with the dinosaurs, and finding out what happened to them after they appeared in the saga.
Joseph Mazzello (Tim)
Joseph— who played the cute and curious Tim in the original Jurassic Park (he also made a brief appearance in the sequel)—was a pretty busy child star in the 90's thanks to movies like The River Wild and Simon Birch, and he continues to work today. Now going by Joe Mazzello, the 31-year-old actor has appeared in movies (The Social Network, G.I. Joe: Retaliation) and TV series alike (The Pacific, Justified). While he'll always be the kid running away from raptors in a kitchen to most of us, he's also a delight to follow on Twitter these days.
Ariana Richards (Lex)
As the brainy older sister in Jurassic Park (and, again, briefly in the sequel), Ariana pulled off some of the most impressive on-screen screaming in the 90's. And made kids everywhere want to be computer hackers. While Richards, now 35, continued to work in the 90's (she also appeared in the teen comedy Angus), as an adult she turned her efforts to the art world, where she is an award-winning painter.
Whit Hertford (Volunteer Boy)
The Jurassic Park kid who dared to question how scary raptors could be and, in turn got an earful from Dr. Grant, wasn't too scared to keep acting. The 36-year-old character actor has since appeared in everything from Glee to How I Met Your Mother to Raising Hope.
Camilla Belle (Cathy)
Camilla helped get Jurassic Park: The Lost World off to a terrifying start as the little girl who gets a little to close to the deceivingly scary little Compys. The 28-year-old actress (and former Joe Jonas flame) has since appeared on screen in movies like When a Stranger Calls, Practical Magic, and 10,000 B.C.
Vanessa Lee Chester (Kelly)
Playing the estranged daughter of Jeff Goldblum's Dr. Ian Malcolm, the actress not only got to have the coolest on-screen dad, but she got to do some seriously kick-ass stunts in Jurassic Park: The Lost World. Vanessa, now 30, continued to work as an actress on both the big screen (She's All That, 17 Again) and small screen (Once and Again, Switched at Birth) alike.
Trevor Morgan (Eric)
Trevor "Oh, That Guy!" Morgan played son-in-peril Eric in Jurassic Park III and the actor, now 28, continues to nab minor roles in television and movies. But aside from his part in Jurassic Park III, the actor may be best known for his role as Hayley Joel Osment's non-dead nemesis in The Sixth Sense.