Whatever Happened to The Cast of Kids?

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The first time I saw Larry Clark’s Kids, I had no idea what I was watching (this was before the days of a Guide or Info button).  I was in high school and flipping through the pay channels late at night when I probably should have been sleeping, but the dialogue of the movie really stuck out to me. 

Not only were these kids talking like the kids I knew, they were talking about the same types of things kids I knew talked about – namely, sex, drugs, and getting jacked.  Needless to say, Kids left quite an impression on me, and so I wasn’t surprised to learn that lots of people really liked this movie, too.

In addition to the dialogue and subject matter, the acting in Kids was superb.  It’s often difficult to watch the film and realize that these kids are acting and not actually living their lives.  So, whatever happened to the terrific cast of Kids?

Leo Fitzpatrick as Telly

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Leo’s portrayal of the “virgin surgeon” Telly was so convincing that people would harass him after the movie’s release, believing it to be a documentary and not a work of fiction. 

So clearly the guy can act.  Leo had a major role in Storytellers as well as in another messed up Larry Clark movie, Bully, and after some pretty forgettable movie and television appearances and a bout of really crappy luck (getting hit by a drunk driver in 2001 cost him a shot to play a role in The Last Castle) Leo played Johnny Weeks in The Wire. 

Leo has since appeared on Carnivale, My Name is Earl, and The Kill Point, and he’s set to play a role in the upcoming comedy Some Guy Who Kills People.

Currently, Leo puts on art shows.  One of his most recent was entitled “F*ck Friends.”  Nice.

Justin Pierce as Casper

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Justin Pierce never really got his acting career off the ground after Kids.  He appeared on a couple of episodes of Malcolm in the Middle and was Roach in Next Friday, but aside from those role, he hadn’t really done anything of note.  Sadly, he hung himself in Las Vegas at the age of 25, just one year after marrying a stylist.

Chloe Sevigny as Jennie

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Chloe Sevigny received a lot of acclaim for her role as Jennie, but her role as Lana in Boys Don’t Cry just a few years later earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. 

Ever since then, she’s had some interesting roles in movies like Pat Bateman’s secretary in American Psycho.  In 2003, Chloe starred in a movie called The Brown Bunny, written, directed and also starring Vincent Gallo. 

In the film’s final scene, Chloe went down on Gallo (like, for reals, as in it wasn’t faked), which is pretty funny considering Gallo’s control over the movie.  “Yes, this will make fine art.  Trust me.” 

Fortunately for Chloe, that incident has been mostly forgotten (but not by me), perhaps in large part to her current role as Nicolette Grant on Big Love, for which she just received a Golden Globe.

In the late 90s, Chloe was considered the queen of independent film, and her cult status extended to the world of fashion.  She’s been a model for H & M.

She now lives in the East Village of Manhattan.

Rosario Dawson as Ruby

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Like Chloe Sevigny, Rosario Dawson’s acting career really took off after Kids.  She played Jesus Shuttleworth’s girlfriend in He Got Game, Valerie in Josie and the Pussycats, and gained a ton of exposure from her role in Men in Black II. 

She’s since had very steady work in all types of movies, and some of her more notable roles were in The 25th Hour, The Rundown, Sin City, and Clerks II.  I thought she was pretty good in Deathproof, too.

Rosario has acted off stage, too, like in the play The Vagina Monologues.  She’s also been involved with a lot of different charities, such as Global Cool and The ONE Campaign.

And she can sing a little bit, too – Rosario teamed up with Prince for a remix of “1999” and with OutKast for “She Lives in My Lap.”

Jon Abrahams as Steven

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Abrahams has been acting steadily since Kids, appearing in a mix of truly awful movies, television, and classic comedies.  His most notable movie roles are as Bobby in Scary Movie and, of course, Denny in Meet the Parents (keep it on the low down).  He also played Zach Fischer on Boston Public for a couple of seasons.  In 2006, he joined The Ellen DeGeneres Show as a DJ.

Harold Hunter as Harold

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The unique-looking Harold Hunter was huge on the skateboard scene, which is how he became involved with Kids to begin with.  Harold was sponsored by Zoo York and owned Rock Star Bearings Co.   Harold didn’t do much acting at all after Kids, but did appear for a few seconds in the awesome Spacehog video for “In the Meantime” as well as on an episode of Miami Ink.

Sadly, Harold died of a cocaine-induced heart attack in February 2006.

Harmony Korine as Fidget

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Korine actually wrote the screenplay for Kids with Larry Clark.  Korine followed up with directing the equally f*ucked up Gummo and then Julien Donkey Boy.  He continues to write and direct, his most recent film being Trash Humpers

Korine has also directed music videos (like Sonic Youth’s “Sunday”), dabbled in photographic art, and even wrote a novel called A Crack Up at the Race Riots.  You could say that Korine is something of a Renaissance Man.  He has a daughter with Rachel Korine, who has appeared in several of his movies.

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13 Comments

  1. This past week I watched a new show on MTV called Washington Heights about a group of friends from a New York City neighborhood of the same name. As I watched this show I thought this is “KIDS” the movie. The characters in both are so similar, raw, true and relatable. So I was curious to know what ever happened to the characters from “KIDS” excluding Rosario and Chloe who still act sporadically I ended up on your blog which is very good by the way.
    Like you I accidentally stumbled upon the movie late night. I remember it was World Aids Day(12/01/98) and I was home in South Africa. I wasn’t old enough to watch and I remember cringing as I watched the “sex and nudity” scenes. I was so impressed and taken by the movie and that’s why I have never forgotten the details and now I have it on DVD. If you can Watch Washington Heights and let me know what you think.

  2. I loved the film, always have, and since the first time I saw it I wondered who’s the guy playing the role of the taxi driver, trying to cheer up Jenny, I thought he was awesome!

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