Peter Pan cast now – drug battle, tragic deaths, cancer and ditching fame

The live-action Peter Pan movie, which was not associated with Disney, released in 2003 to box office failure – and some of its cast members would go on to have difficult lives away from the screen too.

The Hollywood film, released on December 24 in the UK, told the familiar story of the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up and was generally praised by those who did watch it.

Sadly, it was released a week after The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and the same day as Cheaper by the Dozen, which both proved to be too much competition at the cinema.

With a budget of $130million (£98m) to produce, it made just $122m (£92m) at box office – which is by no means a number to be frowned upon, but it was also not a commercial success.

But what have the cast members been up to since? Daily Star has taken a look.

Jason Isaacs as Captain Hook

The biggest name on the cast was Jason Isaacs, as the terrifying villain Captain Hook.

The 58-year-old has had a glittering career, starring as Lucius Malfoy in the second Harry Potter film a year before Peter Pan was released, and staying with the franchise until it ended in 2011.

The Liverpool-born star hasn’t stopped working since then, and has appeared in titles such as The OA, Sex Education and Star Trek: Discovery.

Away from screens, in 2020, Jason revealed he had been battling a drug problem for “decades”.

It started when he was just 12 and a bartended slipped him and his friends a bottle of Southern Comfort.

He said: “I just know I chased the sheer ecstatic joy I felt that night for another 20 years with increasingly dire consequences.”

Jason went on to get the help he needed and became sober, but told his fans not to congratulate him.

He said on Twitter: “Please don’t anyone congratulate me or tell me they’re proud of me. I am and was useless by myself. Pride’s the worst part. If you feel the desperate need to click, retweet it to let other people know there’s a solution out there.”

Jason is married to documentary maker Emma Hewitt and they have two daughters, Lily and Ruby.

Jeremy Sumpter as Peter Pan

Jeremy Sumpter started his career in the spotlight when he was 11, and won the role of Peter Pan when he was 13 – and did almost all of the stunts himself.

He got into the role by practising sword fighting for up to five hours a day, as well as gymnastics and weight-lifting.

Of course, at that age, he was growing quickly and filming tricks had to be used to make it look like Captain Hook still had a height advantage.

Despite doing well as Peter Pan, Jeremy, now 32, hasn’t gone on to enjoy a dazzling career and has instead appeared in smaller productions since then.

His biggest role after the movie was as JD McCoy in Friday Night Lights, and his most recent acting credit was in 2019’s Stakeout, though he does have three titles in pre-production, with two set for 2022 releases.

Back in December 2015, Jeremy announced his engagement to Lauren Pacheco, but almost a year later in October 2016 they called things off.

Rachel Hurd-Wood as Wendy Darling

Rachel Hurd-Wood’s portrayal of Wendy Darling is still one of her most recognisable roles, however the 31-year-old did appear as Rachel Maddox in Clique between 2017 and 2018.

Peter Pan was her first acting role, and she has since starred in the likes of Solomon Kane, Dorian Gray and Perfume: The Story of a Murderer.

Despite not having a huge list of acting credits, Rachel is a big supporter of various charities and a card she signed at the Peter Pan London premiere was auctioned off in 2009.

And according to the StarCards charity founder Paul Brett, her card was the most popular signing.

Outside of work, Rachel is married to Russ Bain, and they have a three-year-old son, Liam, and a daughter, Stella, who was born in April 2021.

Nowadays, having not acted since 2019, Rachel’s Instagram feed is filled with homely snaps of her enjoying her family life.

Lynn Redgrave as Aunt Millicent

The late Lynn Redgrave OBE appeared as Aunt Millicent in the movie – a character created especially for the script.

She was a member of the Redgrave family of actors, with her sister being Vanessa Redgrave, who has won numerous awards including an Oscar, two Golden Globes and a Tony Award.

Lynn had a long career spanning five decades, and she appeared in the likes of Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, Confessions of a Shopaholic and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Sadly, away from acting, Lynn had a tragic life, with health problems stemming from bulimia and breast cancer.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2002 and had a mastectomy and a course of chemotherapy.

Tragically, she died from breast cancer on May 2, 2010 at the age of 67.

She was laid to rest in Lithgow, New York – the same place as her mother and niece Natasha Richardson, who died aged 45 in 2009 after a skiing accident.

Richard Briers as Mr Smee

Richard Briers was already a household name when he played Mr Smee, thanks to his role of Tom Good in BBC sitcom The Good Life, which ran from 1975 to 1978.

He also appeared in four series of Monarch of the Glen as Hector MacDonald and even had a small role in Spice World as the Archbishop of Canterbury.

During his career, he became President of Parkinson’s UK and helped launch other charity campaigns too.

Richard died on February 17, 2013 at the age of 79 after suffering a cardiac arrest.

He had previously quit smoking in 2001 after being warned he would end up in a wheelchair, and was diagnosed with emphysema in 2007.

Richard was married to actress Ann Davies, 87, who has appeared in titles such as Doctor Who and Doctors.

Their daughter Lucy, 54, is also an actor, who has had roles in Our Girl, Red Dwarf, Casualty and Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

Olivia Williams as Mrs Mary Darling

Olivia Williams played Darling-family matriarch Mary, but already had countless acting roles under her belt.

She went on to appear in X-Men: The Last Stand, Hanna, Anna Karenina and Friends.

The 53-year-old’s next major role is as Camilla Parker Bowles in the fifth and sixth seasons of Netflix smash-hit The Crown.

Olivia is married to actor and playwright Rhashan Stone, and they have two daughters together.

In 2018, Olivia was diagnosed with VIPoma – a rare tumour which overproduces a hormone in the intestines.

She first started experiencing symptoms in October 2014 though, such as swollen hands.

But it wasn’t until 2018 that she had a biopsy on a tumour in her pancreas, and she wrote for Femail that she believes if she had been more famous an LA doctor who was treating her may have been more sympathetic.

He later told her it was cancer in a rather blunt email.

Olivia went on to have surgery while also working as an actress, with half of her pancreas, spleen, gallbladder and some of her liver were removed.

And she later went on to become an ambassador for Pancreatic Cancer UK.

Harry Newell and Freddie Popplewell as John and Michael Darling

Harry Newell played middle Darling child John, while Freddie Popplewell played the youngest child Michael.

Peter Pan is their only ever acting credit, with both of them ditching their chances at fame afterwards.

Neither Harry, who is now around 30, nor Freddie, who is now 27, have active public social media profiles.

Freddie sister Lulu played Daisy in Love Actually and has since gone on to enjoy a comedy career.

Meanwhile, his other sister Anna stuck with acting and enjoyed lead character roles in The Chronicles of Narnia franchise as Susan Pevensie, and Reign as Lady Lola.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk