What happened to the chubby one? The cast of Stand By Me reunite, 25 years after filming iconic movie

By Daily Mail Reporter


Reunited: Stand By Me's former child stars, front from left, Jerry O'Connell, Corey Feldman and Wil Wheaton with Richard Dreyfuss, back left, and director Rob Reiner at the launch of Blu-ray DVD version of the movie


Lined up, side-by-side, they look like slightly uncomfortable businessmen who didn't all get the memo about the dress code.

And if their faces seem familiar, that's because these are the former child stars of iconic Eighties movie Stand By Me.

A quarter of a century since they starred in the 1986 coming-of-age movie, the actors and director reunited in Los Angeles today.


Stars Jerry O'Connell, Corey Feldman and Wil Wheaton were all at the event to launch the Blu-ray DVD version of the film. They were joined by Richard Dreyfuss, who narrated the movie, and the director Rob Reiner.

Noticeable by his absence, however, was River Phoenix, for whom fame came at a high price.

Arguably the most promising of the young stars, he died of a drug overdose outside an LA nightclub in 1993 at the age of just 23.

In the movie O'Connell was the chubby, bullied boy. He is now unrecognisable, having slimmed down and grown into a tall, slender actor who has gone on to find success as a TV star in series such as Sliders.

As they were: Wheaton, the late River Phoenix, Feldman and O'Connell in a scene from the iconic Eighties coming-of-age movie Stand By Me


Wheaton went on to portray of Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

While his role on Stand By Me helped Feldman become a heart-throb in the Nineties, with starring roles in films like The Lost Boys alongside Keifer Sutherland.

But back in 1986 the four were young teens enjoying the last few days of their childhood, hoping for fame and fortune as they filmed what for most was their first movie.

Based on a novella by Stephen King, Stand By Me was based around a writer, Dreyfuss, reflecting on his youth.

Rejected by his father following the death of an older brother, young Gordie, played by Wheaton, finds solace in the company of his friends Chris Chambers, played by Phoenix, Teddy Duchamp, played by Feldman and Vern Tessio, played by O'Connell.

With all four boys having their own concerns, they set off on an adventure - to find the body of a boy killed by a train.


Source:dailymail