He Was a '90s Heartthrob Known to Millions, but He Left Hollywood & Became a Father of 3 – His Story and Photos

He landed an acting career by chance, drawn in mostly by the promise of less school. For more than a decade, he worked steadily and built a devoted fan base. But there was something he valued more than staying in the spotlight.

He started acting before he turned 10 and spent the next decade in front of the camera. With lead roles in high-profile productions and back-to-back credits across film and television, he became a familiar presence to viewers throughout the late '90s and early 2000s.

Over time, his appearances tapered off and eventually stopped. Today, he is married, raising three young children, and working outside the entertainment industry. In 2024, he returned to the screen for the first time in over a decade, prompting a wave of excitement from longtime fans.

He was born on October 3, 1982, in San Diego, California. His entry into acting wasn't planned. He tagged along with his older sister, who was pursuing roles, and caught the attention of agents. He said, "Agents thought I was a cute kid."

By the time he was 10, he had been signed and was soon cast in his first professional job. He was cast in a regular role on the long-running NBC soap opera "Days of Our Lives." He remained with the show for two years. Acting initially appealed to him for practical reasons.

With a private tutor on set, he was able to cut his school hours in half, something he found far more appealing than spending full days in a traditional classroom. As his early career picked up, so did the perks: airport limousines and hotel stays became part of his routine, giving him a taste of the industry's lifestyle from a young age.

Despite the rapid start and exposure to a fast-paced industry, his mother maintained a strict balance between work and home life. She allowed him to attend premieres and socialize but kept him grounded and away from the party scene.

He avoided common pitfalls faced by young actors, crediting a strong upbringing and clear moral boundaries as the reason he steered clear of trouble during those years. By the time he was 12, he had already built a foundation that would carry him into a busy and visible career through his teenage years.

After his early success on daytime television, he moved quickly into a wide range of family-focused projects across network TV and cable. Between 1995 and 2001, he built a steady string of lead roles in made-for-TV movies and series that positioned him as a central figure in late-'90s teen entertainment.

He played Danny in Disney's 1995 remake of "Escape to Witch Mountain" and took on lead roles in network dramas such as CBS's "A Season of Hope" and NBC's "In the Line of Duty: Kidnapped." In 1996, he starred opposite Robert Hays in "Christmas Every Day" and appeared with Beau Bridges in "A Stranger to Love."

A year later, he took on the iconic character Wally Cleaver in Universal's "Leave It to Beaver," working alongside Christopher McDonald and Janine Turner. His momentum continued with voice work in "Toy Story" (1995), where he voiced Sid, the toy-destroying next-door neighbor.

That performance became one of his most widely recognized contributions and led to further voice roles in major projects, including "Tarzan" (1999), the TV series "The Legend of Tarzan" (2001), and Disney's "Recess" franchise.

In 1998, he starred in "Brink!," one of the first Disney Channel Original Movies. His role as soul skater Andy Brink helped solidify his standing among the network's teen audience. The film remained popular long after its release and continued to be referenced in pop culture decades later.

By 1999, he had also become a regular presence in television series. He starred in ABC's "Odd Man Out" and Disney Channel's "So Weird," then returned in 2002 as a lead in ABC's miniseries "Dinotopia." In 2004, he joined the cast of the sitcom "Complete Savages," which was executive produced by Mel Gibson.

That same period saw his most high-profile theatrical role to date. In 2001, he was cast in "The Princess Diaries" as Josh Bryant, the character who briefly dated Anne Hathaway's protagonist before being publicly embarrassed. The film's success introduced him to an even wider audience and cemented his image as a teen heartthrob of the early 2000s.

Production on the film coincided with his 18th birthday. The cast surprised him with a beach party in Malibu and gifted him a surfboard, a moment he later described as closely mirroring the beach party scene from the movie itself.

Following the success of "The Princess Diaries," his visibility surged, and with it came a solidified status as a teen heartthrob. His image as Josh Bryant—blond, confident, and smug—became closely associated with him offscreen. While many assumed the role boosted his dating prospects, he later revealed it often had the opposite effect.

"Girls would definitely want to wait a few extra dates just to make sure I wasn’t really that guy. It did not work out in my favor," he noted. During this time, he continued to appear across both cable and network television. In addition to recurring and guest roles, he built a reputation for versatility.

He played a roommate to David Spade's character in an episode of "8 Simple Rules," appeared in an Emmy-winning episode of "ER," and portrayed a prep school murderer in "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." He also guest-starred on "Charmed" and "Malcolm in the Middle."

Though fans often assumed he kept in touch with former co-stars from "The Princess Diaries," he clarified that he wasn't in contact with most of them. He joked that despite common speculation, there was no group chat between him, Anne Hathaway, or Mandy Moore.

The only peer he remained close with was Patrick Levis, who co-starred with him in both "Brink!" and "So Weird." He said, "I'm not the best person at staying in touch. If I was [sic], I'm sure I would definitely stay in touch with all of them. But, maybe there will be a little reunion."

By the early 2000s, he had become a familiar presence across multiple networks, with a career that balanced leading roles, voice work, and notable guest appearances. But by 2004, his regular appearances began to slow. While he remained active in the industry, the types of roles available to him became fewer and more scattered.

He starred in the short-lived ABC sitcom "Complete Savages," made additional guest appearances on popular shows like "Bones" and "Family Guy," and continued some voice work, including reprising his role as Sid in "Toy Story 3" (2010). But unlike earlier in his career, the consistency that had once defined his filmography was no longer there.

He later explained that the entertainment landscape was different at the time. Without streaming platforms and the broader role availability that came with them, opportunities for mid-tier working actors were limited. Casting was highly competitive, and extended stretches would pass without a single audition he fit.

At the same time, he had long known he wanted to build a large family, and life in Los Angeles required dependable income. Acting no longer offered that kind of stability. When he was 25, he took a job with a commodities brokerage firm.

That decision marked the beginning of a new career path that would eventually lead him into a lifestyle far removed from his earlier public profile. Although acting was no longer his main focus, he didn't rule it out entirely.

He said he still enjoyed performing when the opportunity arose, as long as it wasn't a demanding process. Still, after the release of "Toy Story 3," he stepped away from the screen and quietly exited Hollywood.

Having started working in finance in his mid-20s, the former child star gradually transitioned into a management role. The change gave him the stability he had been looking for, and it aligned with his long-held goal of starting a family.

He met his future wife, Angela, through a colleague who introduced them without sharing last names, knowing they would likely try to look each other up beforehand. When they met at the restaurant, Angela immediately recognized him and said, "Oh my gosh, no way. That's you."

Angela is a licensed real estate agent in Los Angeles, with a background in sociology from UCLA. She comes from a family of property developers in Taiwan and is fluent in Mandarin. Her work spans residential sales, investment deals, and exchange transactions.

According to him, her social media occasionally draws attention due to his past career, which she finds amusing and useful. "It helps business—and she gets a kick out of it," he said. By 2024, Erik von Detten was living a very different life from the one that made him a recognizable face in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

He and his wife Angela were raising three children, then aged 1, 3, and 5. With full-time work and daily responsibilities at home, his time was focused on parenting and professional life. He described being "knee-deep in diaper duty and crying kiddos."

He shared his excitement about the future, specifically, teaching his kids how to rollerblade once they were old enough, a nod to his role in "Brink!" He remained fully outside the entertainment industry during this period, except for a few low-pressure projects.

He once performed in a local holiday play in Santa Monica, an experience he said he enjoyed without the high expectations that once came with his name. He also accepted a cameo role in a Netflix pilot that required only a single day of filming.

Opportunities like that—brief and manageable—were the only kind he would consider. While he didn't show his children his past work at that time, he joked that it would eventually become part of their routine. "It's going to be like mandatory watching," he laughed.

Though Eric had enjoyed most of the roles he played, he noted one Hallmark film he would likely skip. In the movie, his character gave the lead female role an STD, something he found embarrassing in retrospect.

In 2024, Erik returned to the screen with a role in the TV movie "My Acting Coach Nightmare." It was his first on-screen appearance in over a decade and marked a quiet re-entry into the industry he had left behind in 2010.

Earlier in the year, Erik had made a brief appearance on social media. On February 24, he posted a video to Instagram, saying, "This is my once-every-five-years Instagram post," before giving a short update on his life with Angela and their three children.

Comments flooded in beneath the clip. "How have you not aged at all? You look the same as like 20 years ago. It's insane," one person wrote. Another called him a "90's Heartthrob 😍."

Others added, "Still 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥," "Looking good," and "Wow you look great!! Very elegant!!! You seem to be doing well!!!" More comments included, "Oh Erik your so adorable the little lip puffing [sic]. So cute," and "how have you not aged one day!!!🔥"

Though he hadn’t returned to acting full-time, the post and appearance reminded many fans of the roles they grew up watching. The response underscored how lasting his work had been, even years after stepping away from the screen.

During a past interview, Erik said, "My hat's off to actors who are able to maintain a steady career for 30 years," adding that talent alone isn't always enough in such a competitive field. For the 42-year-old '90s heartthrob, walking away wasn't about leaving acting behind, but about building something consistent for the future he wanted.