AN 80s child star looked unrecognisable as she posed with a fan 36 years after starring in an iconic movie – but can you guess who she is?
She rose to stardom when she took on the role of high-schooler Amy Szalinski in the 1989 Disney film.
An 80s child star looked unrecognisable as she posed with a fan 36 years after starring in an iconic movie – but can you guess who she is?[/caption]
Amy O’Neill starred in the much loved 80s movie – Honey I Shrank The Kids[/caption]
In 1994 she stepped away back from mainstream acting and joined the circus skills troupe Girls On Stilts[/caption]
Fans were delighted to meet the star
A fan posted an image of herself posing with 80s icon Amy O’Neill and captioned it: “Meeting Amy O’Neill! Childhood dream come true!
“Sometimes when you meet your childhood heroes, you cross your fingers, hoping that they’ll be nice.
“And I gotta tell ya – #AmySzalinski all grown up was everything I hoped she’d be!
“Everyone I’ve ever talked to about the movie, “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,” is as enthusiastically joyful about the film as I am.
“And I do hope they get to meet Amy and Thomas, so @thats4ent (90sCon), @galaxyconrichmond, @galaxyconraleigh, @fanexpophiladelphia please bring Amy O’Neill and Thomas Wilson Brown.
“So that everyone who loves the film can experience the same joy I had!”
Fans were quick to comment on the post and one wrote: “Great picture of you two!”
Another added: “That is so cool.”
While a third said: “Wow Amy That’s Beautiful I Love It Looks Sweet Well Done and Congratulations.”
Meanwhile, another fan who attended a Comicon event posted an image of himself and Amy along with his artwork.
He captioned the image: “@rockettowncomiccon Day 2 is underway – I shared my Honey I Shrunk the Kids print with the one and only “Amy Szalinski.
“Thanks so much for the chat and picture, Amy! I hope to see you at more shows in the future- and I forgot to mention, great hat!”
Amy replied to his post and wrote: “Thank you for the beautiful artwork Brett!”
Another fan replied and said: “I love Amy Szalinski. I’m very curious to hear you talk about your experience filming popcorn 1991.
“You were replaced by Jill Schoelen as the star of the movie, about halfway through filming. I would love to know what happened.”
Amy, once again, replied and explained: “Interesting inquiry! There was an upset in the middle of filming Popcorn on location down in Jamaica.
“Alan Ormsby, the writer and original director who cast me as his lead was suddenly replaced by a first time director who’d been an actor in the movie Porky’s.
“The character I was portraying radically changed and Jill Schoelen was flown down to take over the new vision the producers had for the film.
“I didn’t take it personally. I’d been cast in it for Alan Ormsby’s vision.”
Amy’s career started at a young age
American actor Amy was born in Pacific Palisades on July 8, 1971 and was best known for her role in the film.
But Amy began auditioning for roles at the age of ten, first appearing at the age of 13 in an episode of Mama’s Family.
She continued to land guest spots, as a teenager on television shows such as Matt Houston, Night Court, Highway to Heaven, The Twilight Zone, and Family Ties.
At the age of 15 she won a regular role on the 1986 season of the long-running soap opera The Young and the Restless.
And three years later she made her feature film debut in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
In the movie, Amy’s character Amy is shrunk by her scientist father (Rick Moranis).
She was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her performance, but lost to Gaby Hoffmann for Field of Dreams.
She then went on to star as Pandra in 1992’s White Wolves: A Cry in the Wild II and played minor roles in such shows as Murder She Wrote and Gabriel’s Fire.
Joining the circus and fire breathing
In 1994 Amy stepped away back from mainstream acting.
Instead, she joined the circus skills troupe Girls On Stilts, where she juggled, performed fire breathing and walked on stilts.
Since then, she has appeared in a couple of small productions including the TV show Baskets and the short film The Follower.
Amy also loves meeting fans at convention shows and signing events around the world.
The fan posted how thrilled she was to meet the 80s star[/caption]
Amy was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her performance in the film[/caption]