Back in the mid-1990s, The Secret World of Alex Mack seemed to pass a lot of kids by.
But in the subsequent years, the teen sci-fi drama has garnered something of a cult following, often mentioned by fans from both sides of the Atlantic calling for a full reboot. For most, The Secret World of Alex Mack 20 Year Reunion, released as a TV movie on YouTube and Vimeo in 2019, seemingly failed to scratch the itch.
The original series, created by Ken Lipman and Thomas W. Lynch, first aired on Nickelodeon on October 8 1994, 29 years ago today. It ran for four seasons, with 78 episodes in total, ending in January 1998. In the UK, it reached a wider audience when it was broadcast on Channel 4’s The Bigger Breakfast during school holidays.
READ MORE: AI reveals what ’27 Club’ would look like today – from Janis Joplin to Kurt Cobain
For all the latest celebrity news, go to our Showbiz page.
(Image: Nickelodeon)
It followed the adventures of Alexandra ‘Alex’ Mack, a teenage girl who develops superpowers after being accidentally drenched with an experimental chemical called GC-161, made by a shady factory in her town. All of a sudden she finds herself able to shoot electricity from her fingers, dissolve into water and move objects with the power of her mind.
She largely keeps her new powers a secret, revealing them only to her older sister Annie and best friend Ray, although some side effects, such as turning bright yellow when she’s nervous, present the odd challenge. Here, we’ve taken a look at what came next for the show’s young stars…
Larisa Oleynik (Alex Mack)
When the show ended, Larisa looked all set for superstardom. Within months, she’d bagged a leading role in 1999 movie 10 Things I Hate About You opposite Heath Ledger and started dating another of the film’s young stars, Joseph Gordon Levitt. She also appeared in 21 episodes of TV sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun with her then-love interest.
Then she threw something of a curve ball. Larisa took a break from acting professionally to study at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, New York. She graduated in 2004 and later described the move as “the best decision I’ve made”.
(Image: Image net)
She already had a string of acting credits under her belt when she beat 400 other girls to land the part of Alex Mack. She’d appeared in a stage production of Les Miserables and TV shows, Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, and River of Rage: The Taking of Maggie Keane, before taking on the role of Alex.
While The Secret World of Alex Mack was running, she also appeared in TV shows, including The Adventures of Pete & Pete and Boy Meets World, as well as movies, The Swan Princess and The Baby-Sitters Club, so she was seemingly ready to step out of the limelight for a while.
(Image: AMC/Lionsgate)
After college, she picked her acting career back up, starring in movies including Bringing Rain and Pope Dreams. On TV, she’s appeared in Malcolm in the Middle, Without a Trace, Mad Men, Hawaii Five-O, Pretty Little Liars, The Healing Powers of Dude and most recently, Erin & Aaron.
Larisa, now 42, has never been married and doesn’t have any children. In 2013, she got a three-year restraining order against a stalker who was so obsessed he changed his last name to Oleynik. Josh Hathaway wrote love letters for her and repeatedly called her mum’s home. In Larisa’s legal filing, she said: “I am worried he is unstable and could snap at any moment,” reported TMZ.
Meredith Bishop (Annie)
A trained jazz dancer and classical ballerina, Meredith played Alex’s older sister Annie. After the show, she continued to act, appearing in episodes of TV shows including Felicity, Scrubs and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. She’s also worked in theatre, with roles in productions such as Atonement, The Concept of Remainders, AfterMath and Better.
To many, though, Meredith, 47, will be recognisable from TV commercials, having appeared in ads for KitKat and Bud Light. She also starred in the Government Employees Insurance Company ‘Reality Show’ commercial, which featured a young couple competing in a fake reality TV show called Tiny House. The Reality House advert was listed in the top 10 most popular GEICO commercials of all time.
Darris Love (Ray)
Darris, who played Alex’s best pal Ray, continued to act after the show ended. He’s appeared in a string of indie films and mainstream TV shows, including ER, Shameless and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He was also one of two actors who brought late rapper Tupac Shakur to life in 2015 movie Straight Outta Compton. Marcc Rose appeared on screen, while Darris did the rapping.
Also a director, producer and activist, Darris was arrested at gunpoint at a Los Angeles mall and held for seven hours after he was mistaken for a burglary suspect in June 2018. He was shopping at The Americana at Brand mall with his girlfriend Ayesha Dumas when he was surrounded by sheriff’s deputies who were chasing a suspect.
Darris later told a press conference: “It’s been hard sleep from having a gun pulled on you… slammed to the ground, knee on your neck. When you got 12 police officers coming at you with guns drawn and you freeze for a moment but then you have to realise if you do anything wrong, breathe wrong, look wrong – you could be dead.”
(Image: Getty Images for BET)
Officers at the mall were unaware Dumas was with Love, but moved in on her car as she waited for his return.
The sheriff’s department said an officer had seen Darris, who “closely resembled” the suspect, running near where their pursuit of the suspect had ended. Darris’s attorney, James Bryant, said the couple were considering filing a claim with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department before a civil lawsuit.
On Christmas Eve 2022, Darris was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanour domestic violence after he allegedly hit his girlfriend during an argument, reported TMZ. The outlet said he spent several hours in jail, but was later released after posting $20,000 bond.
His girlfriend alleged that the fight happened when she went to his home in Los Angeles, California, to pick up some items. She was “not injured and there were no visible marks,” according to TMZ.
Darris, 43, is very active on Instagram, where he frequently posts videos, promoting his religious beliefs and motivational material. In 2023, he’s had acting credits in movie Kings of LA and a podcast series called 3 Brothas and a Shot of Milk. His last TV show credit came in It’s Always sunny in Philadelphia in 2017.
Natanya Ross (Robyn)
By the time Natanya was 21 she was “deep into a heroin addiction”. And her drug and alcohol problems all but ended her burgeoning acting career, which had started when she was just six months old.
Natanya began acting in TV commercials at six months old and had racked up tens of appearances in films, TV shows and on stage by the time she landed the role of Alex’s friend Robyn Russo. After the show ended, she appeared in Beverly Hills, 90210 and Boston Public, but was soon forced to put her acting career on hold.
In September 2022, she told eBaum’s World: “I was probably around 21 years old and I was very deep into a heroin addiction at that point that I had covered up for as long as I could. My alcoholic and addictive tendencies started really manifesting around 16. Like I said, my desire was just to like be f****d up all the time.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Now 41, she’s clean and sober, and has helped another former child star, Shaun Weiss, through his addiction issues. She took part iin the Alex Mack 20 Year Reunion and has also said she’d like to act again in the future.
On overcoming her demons, she said: “It took me like a decade, you know? There was a good 10 years where I was just so far off the radar. It took me a full 10 years and a lot of life-changing, heartbreaking experiences to wake up at around 30 years old and say, ‘I have to get ahold of this. I have to get sober. I have to change my life.'”
Alexis Fields (Nicole)
Sister, Sister, Moesha, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Kenan and Kel – Alexis was seemingly on a mission to appear in every 90s teen sitcom after Alex Mack came to an end. In more recent years, though, she’s stepped away from the screen to focus on her family and try her hand at interior design.
Alexis is the younger sister of another former child actor, Kim Fields of Good Times fame. Their mother is actress Chip Fields-Hurd. She referenced her famous family in her Twitter bio, saying: Ain’t she that actress chick? Ain’t she that other actress chick’s sister? Didn’t her mama burn Penny with that iron? Yup. Now what?”
She has two children with Kevin Jackson, who she was married to for 17 years. In 2022, Yahoo Entertainment reported she had filed for divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences”. She’s active on social media, where she once had a spat with former Destiny’s Child member Farrah Franklin.
Scott (Jason Strickland)
Lucky Jason’s character was the boyfriend of Alex’s love rival, Jessica, who was played by Jessica Alba. After the show ended, he made the jump from acting to production, directing commercials for mainstream brands including Baskin Robbins and AT&T.
Jason, 46, worked with James Cameron, Keanu Reeves, and Halle Berry on the acclaimed 2019 documentary 2nd Unit: Invisible Action Stars and now runs his own company, In The Light Productions. He recently shared an image on Instagram, showing himself working with A-list star Margot Robbie.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
