See 8 Former Disney Channel Leads, Then & Now
We’re quickly catching up to the “future” of Phil of the Future. The Disney Channel comedy turned 20 this month, and costars Raviv Ullman, Amy Bruckner, and Aly Michalka recently reunited for an Instagram pic celebrating two decades’ of friendship.
Ullman, for his part, told E! News recently that he’d “never say no” to a Phil of the Future reboot. “We had such a good time,” he added. “I’m not going to be the one to turn that down.”
While some of Disney Channel’s most famous alums continue their rise in the ranks — think Zendaya, Selena Gomez, and Miley Cyrus — scroll down to see what Ullman and more of the channel’s 2000s and 2010s leads are up to.
Even Stevens’ Christy Carlson Romano
Romano has segued into podcasting as host of Iconic With CCR and co-host of Even More Stevens Podcast and I Hear Voices. She and her husband, Brendan Rooney, are the team behind the podcast company PodCo. And Romano also lent her voice to the 2023 audio drama We’re Alive: Descendants.
Phil of the Future’s Raviv Ullman
Earlier this year, Ullman starred in the play Galilee, 34 at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California. In his Instagram bio, Ullman says he has directed productions at Long Beach Opera and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and served as artist-in-residence at Opera Omaha.
Good Luck Charlie’s Bridgit Mendler
Mendler earned a master’s degree from MIT in 2020 and a J.D. degree from Harvard Law earlier this year, according to her LinkedIn profile. Now she’s the CEO of Northwood Space, a startup with a vision for “a data highway between Earth and space,” as she explained to CNBC this February.
Shake It Up’s Bella Thorne
Thorne has ventured behind the camera, directing her own music videos as well as the 2019 adult film Her & Him and the 2023 short film Paint Her Red. Coming up, she’s directing the feature films Color Your Hurt and Ash Beneath the Current, according to Variety.
A.N.T. Farm’s China Anne McClain
McClain has now starred as Jazmine Payne in more than 160 episodes of the BET sitcom House of Payne, and she’s headed back to the Disney Channel this summer with Descendants: The Rise of Red, the fourth TV movie in the Descendants franchise. Previously, she starred as Jennifer Pierce in the CW series Black Lightning.
Dog With a Blog’s Genevieve Hannelius
Hannelius, who got a bachelor’s degree from Sarah Lawrence in 2021, is the founder of the vegan, cruelty-free nail polish company G Polish, according to her LinkedIn profile. She’s still acting, too, with roles in the 2022 romantic drama film Along for the Ride and the 2023 comedy-drama Sid Is Dead.
I Didn’t Do It’s Olivia Holt
Holt moved on from her Disney Channel fame with starring roles in the TV series Cloak & Dagger and Cruel Summer. In 2023, she played Roxie Hart in the Broadway musical Chicago. And coming up, she’ll join Mason Gooding in the horror rom-com film Heart Eyes, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Bizaardvark’s Madison Hu
Hu, who recently studied creative writing at Columbia, reconnected with Bizaardvark costar Olivia Rodrigo in the music video for Rodrigo’s song “bad idea right?” Additionally, Hu recently appeared in the horror film Night Shift and recurred in the TV series The Brothers Sun.
From TV Guide Magazine
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