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What Happened To The Boy From The NeverEnding Story?

It’s been 31 years since The NeverEnding Story hit cinemas, but what is the lad who played Atreyu - and the rest of the cast - up to now?

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Noah Hathaway – Atreyu

Noah Hathaway: then and now. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures / Getty Images
Noah Hathaway: then and now. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures / Getty Images

Hathaway’s story started in 1978, when he played Boxey in the original Battlestar Galactica movie and TV series aged just 7 years old. As Atreyu in The NeverEnding Story, he got to wear that badass golden AURYN emblem, although we’re sad to say that was probably his career high point.

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Aside from the odd curio – e.g. he played a character named 'Harry Potter’ in 1986’s trashy horror Troll – Hathaway’s career stalled, with only one film credit in the 90s (he spent his time becoming a black belt in Shotokan Karate).

However, Hathaway’s career might have a happy ending after all – he returned to acting in 2012’s Sushi Girl alongside Mark Hamill and has a role in Tom Savini’s new horror movie, Nightmare City. He didn’t get to keep AURYN, though – Steven Spielberg nicked it.

Barret Oliver – Bastian

Barret Oliver: then and now. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures / Twitter
Barret Oliver: then and now. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures / Twitter

A boy with a name like Bastian Balthazar Bux was always going to be destined for great things, but actor Barret Oliver quickly realised he was not going to meet his destiny in Hollywood. After being hand-plucked by Tim Burton to star in his 1984 live-action Frankenweenie short, Oliver memorably played the title android in D.A.R.Y.L. and starred in both Cocoon movies.

A hint that he wanted to try something a little different comes from the title of his last feature film credit, the 1989 comedy Scenes From The Class Struggle In Beverly Hills (we’re laughing already).

Oliver soon realised still images were more his thing, and he established a career in print and photography – he’s had work exhibited in museums and galleries and had his first book published in 2007, although we’re promised the story actually does have an ending this time.

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Tami Stronach – The Childlike Empress

Tami Stronach: then and now. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures / Getty Images
Tami Stronach: then and now. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures / Getty Images

With Scottish/Israeli parents, young Tami Stronach moved to America with her parents in 1978 after her father got a job as an archaeologist. Unfortunately her fledgling film career wasn’t to last; no sooner had The NeverEnding Story, um, ended, her parents took her out of Hollywood after hearing too many horror stories about child actresses.

Tami actually released a single in the same year as The NeverEnding Story titled Fairy Queen but it didn’t chart. She’s since joined an Israeli dance troupe in the US called The Neta Dance Company who perform in New York and have toured Australia.

Making her return to acting, Stronach is to star in a Czech fantasy movie called Posledni z Aporveru, not coming to a cinema near you soon.

Deep Roy – Teeny Weeny

Deep Roy: then and now. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures / Getty Images
Deep Roy: then and now. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures / Getty Images

From humble beginnings, Gurdeep Roy – known as 'Deep’ – has built himself a towering career on the strength of his diminuitive size. After playing the rather-patronisingly-titled snail messenger Teeny Weeny in The NeverEnding Story, Roy made further forays into Hollywood fantasy, hooking up with Tim Burton in the likes of Planet Of The Apes, Big Fish and Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, where he played all of the Oompah-Loompahs.

You might also know him as coral-headed alien engineer Keenser in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek movies, opposite Simon Pegg’s Scotty in the Enterprise’s engine room (not that you’d recognise him under all those prosthetics). He was also in Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen but hey, you can’t win them all.

Alan Oppenheimer – Falkor (voice, obviously)

The voice behind Falkor, Alan Oppenheimer: then and now. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures / Getty Images
The voice behind Falkor, Alan Oppenheimer: then and now. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures / Getty Images

Oppenheimer proved to be a very versatile addition to the cast of The NeverEnding Story – not only did he provide the voice of ice white luckdragon Falkor (though he didn’t return for the two sequels), he voiced characters named Rockbiter and G'Mork, as well as narrating the entire movie.

A multitude of roles followed, both live-action and voiceover: he played different roles in three different series of Star Trek, starred in Trancers 5: Sudden Deth (only worth mentioning because of the intentionally misspelled title) and has voiced all manner of videogame characters.

An example of his versatility? Just last year he lent his voice to TV cartoon Adventure Time while also narrating the Du Pont family video in slow-burning Oscar hopeful Foxcatcher.

Gerald McRaney – Mr. Bux

Gerald McRaney: then and now. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures / Getty Images
Gerald McRaney: then and now. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures / Getty Images

In 1984 McRaney was best known for playing Bastian’s workaholic dad in The NeverEnding Story, but just five years later, he’d land the role that would define his entire career: the role of MAJOR DAD.

Since then he’s blazed a trail through TV’s heartland, with roles in The West Wing, Deadwood, Jericho, CSI, Justified and most recently House Of Cards alongside Kevin Spacey.

Still channeling Major Dad, McRaney put his military screen experience to good use as the main villain in The A-Team and just this year he landed a plum role in Will Smith’s rom-con comedy Focus.




This article originally appeared on Yahoo Movies UK