13 ’80s Movie Stars You Never See Anymore

’80s movies aren’t short on big-name actors, but while a few of those stars are still big names today, many are less frequently seen. Some occasionally still act, while others have stepped away from acting entirely. Here are 13 ’80s movie stars you never see anymore.

’80s Movie Stars You Rarely See Today

Why aren’t these stars acting today? The time span between now and their heyday is a factor – after all, it’s over 30 years since the 80s ended, But some, such as Phoebe Cates (Gremlins, Princess Caraboo) made an early exit. Here’s a where-are-they-now of ’80s movie stars.

1. Rick Moranis

Rick Moranis (Spaceballs, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Ghostbusters) was one of the ’80s most prolific actors, often playing a smart and/or geeky character, or some variant thereof. He exited show business when his wife tragically passed away, so he could focus on raising his children. Moranis has done a little voice-acting since then but has mostly stepped away from his former career. He was set to return for a Honey I Shrunk the Kids reboot, but the project appears to have been shelved.

2. Judge Reinhold

He may not have been an official part of the “Brat Pack,” but Judge Reinhold was a regular fixture in ’80s movies, comedies in particular. Reinhold was the lead in the body-swap movie Vice Versa and played Billy Rosewood in the Beverley Hills Cop movies. He recently returned to that latter role in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, but his other appearances have been more sparse.

3. Daryl Hannah

Sorry, Ariel, you’re not the more memorable mermaid. Daryl Hannah’s Madison, who she played in Splash, is etched into the minds of millions upon millions of ’80s moviegoers. Hannah also counted Blade Runner among her many roles, though you may not have recognized her as Priss under that makeup. Since then she’s played Angela Turing in Sens8, though her movie roles have been of the Z-movie variety (Shark Storm, Zombie Night).

4. Phoebe Cates

Phoebe Cates featured in many an ’80s movie, from Fast Times at Ridgemont High to Bright Lights, Big City. Gremlins fans will remember her as Kate Beringer and for her deeply disturbing Christmas story. However, while Cates acted well into the ’90s, she stepped away in 2005, to run her own (via Decider), Blue Tree, in New York City.

5. Michael Biehn

Michael Biehn may not think of himself as an ’80s movie star (via Hollywood Reporter), but with major roles in Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, and others, and his rugged good looks, it’s hard not to see him as such. Granted, those last three are all James Cameron movies, but the point stands. However, while he’s had a few roles since then, his career has been relatively quiet. Cameron has suggested he didn’t get bigger roles because he didn’t want to play Hollywood’s game; he just wanted to do a job and go home.

6. Emilio Estevez

Emilio Estevez was part of the Brat Pack, a group of high-profile actors who played teens despite sometimes being well into their 20s. He featured in The Breakfast Club, St Elmo’s Fire, Young Guns, The Outsiders, and several other ’80s classics. He also played alongside Samuel L Jackson in the excellent Lethal Weapon-skewering Loaded Weapon 1. Since the ’80s, he’s not exited acting entirely, but many of his efforts have involved writing and directing, including the lauded Robert F. Kennedy biopic Bobby.

7. Kelly LeBrock

Kelly LeBrock was regarded as one of the ’80s biggest sex symbols and became the object of desire for Gene Wilder’s mild-mannered worker (Woman in Red) and a pair of computer nerds (Weird Science). She became a spokeswoman for Pantene and married Steven Segal, who she later started alongside in Hard to Kill.

She’s had the occasional role since then, but, speaking to the NY Post, she explained she left Hollywood because she didn’t like the lifestyle. “Hollywood wasn’t a place where I wanted to raise my children. My divorce was very much in the press. And I’m just not a Hollywood girl. Never have been. I never really liked the attention,” she said.

8. Steve Guttenberg

Star of Cocoon, Short Circuit, and several Police Academy movies, to name a few, Steve Guttenberg was one of the busiest actors in the ’80s and also the early ’90s. But, speaking to MovieWeb, it sounds as if he would have traded in a portion of success to spend more time with family. He’s had acting jobs since the 2000s, but not much in the way of lead roles, though he did have a disturbing turn in 2020’s Heckle.

9. Molly Ringwald

Another Brat Pack-er, Molly Ringwald is best known for starring in John Hughes movies Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink. However, she didn’t ditch acting in the ’90s and instead moved to France to pursue acting there, not least because she spoke fluent French and had a French husband. More recently, you may have seen her as Joanne Carson in the TV series Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.

10. Corey Haim

Unlike some of the other actors in this list, there’s a tragic reason we no longer see Corey Haim (The Lost Boys, Silver Bullet, License to Drive) on our screens. Haim capitalized on his ’80s fame with the show The Two Coreys, joining forces with Lost Boys co-star Corey Feldman. However, he died of pneumonia in 2010.

11. Tom Berenger

Tom Berenger isn’t your conventional ’80s movie star, but he was a frequent fixture in many films of the period. He appeared alongside Christopher Walken in The Dogs of War and won a Golden Globe for his supporting role in Platoon. He shifted to mid-budget action movies (sometimes straight to video) in the ’90s and has largely remained in that niche since.

12. Ally Sheedy

Ally Sheedy is another former Brat Pack member, and like Molly Ringwald, she featured in John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club. She starred alongside Matthew Broderick in the ’80s classic War Games and was Number Five’s unintentional savior in Short Circuit. Her career slowed down post-’90s, and while you may not have seen her headlining major movies, she had a regular role as protagonist Samantha Fink’s mother in Single Drunk Female.

13. Paul Hogan

If you’re wondering who Paul Hogan is, you won’t have seen the Crocodile Dundee movies. These fish-out-of-water action comedies launched Hogan to stardom. This led to roles in Almost an Angel, where he played a man who believed he’d been given a second chance by God, and Lightning Jack, where he was an Australian outlaw. However, his roles tailed off, possibly because he doesn’t have the greatest range, and his movies had the ’80s written all over them.

And those are 13 ’80s movie stars you never see today. And if you’re wondering where have all the movie stars gone, Netflix could be to blame.