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Every family has a Louis, or so the Disney channel has said, and every family wants a Ren. For three years, the Stevens family of Sacramento, California entered the homes and hearts of many 90s kids with their hilarious storylines, lovable quirks and of course, relatable sibling rivalry. It was hard for many fans to pick a side to cheer for, Ren or Louis, because they both had such likeable qualities. Family sitcoms based around the kids' daily dramas has been done too many times to count but the Stevens has something special. Each character had a charm and uniqueness that was all their own. Even though the show ran for a relatively short time, it quickly became a cult classic among its faithful young Disney channel following.
The cast and directors received multiple Young Artist Awards and nominations, Daytime Emmy Awards and nominations, Directors Guild of America nominations and even scored a BAFTA (British Film Academy Awards). The show's directors used fast motion photography in every episode which set it apart from other shows and gave it a rare characteristic besides the beloved claymation opening... who hasn't wished that TV remote controls could double as lightsabers? We've rounded up the Stevens crew and all of their friends, and some enemies too, to find out what the actors behind them are up to these days.
Naya Rivera As Charlene, The Angry Girl Out For Revenge
Even if you never considered yourself an official "Gleek", you probably know Naya best from the hit musical comedy-drama TV show, Glee. But back in 2002, Naya played Charlene on Even Stevens. Charlene was a girl who got played by a Louis Stevens lookalike, so she decided to track "him" down, found Louis instead and took out her revenge by slamming her foot down on his. After her run-in with Louis, she won roles on 8 Simple Rules, The Bernie Mac Show, CSI: Miami and of course, as we all know, Glee. Since Glee ended in 2015, she's worked on projects like Devious Maids, American Dad! and Mad Families, a 2017 comedy starring Charlie Sheen and Leah Remini.
Shia LaBeouf As Louis Stevens - The Coolest, Quirkiest Kid
Shia LaBeouf was on top of the world when he starred as goofy troublemaker Louis Stevens from 2000 to 2003. He played the scrappy little dude that every kid wanted for a friend because a fun time was always guaranteed with Louis Stevens. Sadly, we're not quite sure what kind of a time would be guaranteed today with Shia LaBeouf. But we can guarantee you that it has the potential to be on the bizarre side. Shia's spiral into the weird began in 2014 at a Berlin press conference with his now infamous "I Am Not Famous Anymore" paper bag over the head incident. After his success with Even Stevens and Transformers, Shia succumbed to the struggle that many child stars do after they believe their career is hitting the skids. We hope that Shia will be able to find some peace and happiness and reclaim his fun side soon. He made Louis Stevens a lovable, unforgettable character.
Gary LeRoi Gray As Nelson Minkler - Ren's Smart Buddy And The Voice Of Reason
Nelson played Ren's oldest, dearest and most allergic friend. He was also able to name everything that he was allergic to in French because he spoke it fluently. If Nelson has always looked familiar to you but you've been unable to place him, it's probably because he played another Nelson on a famous TV sitcom. From 1991-1992, Gary played the role of adorable Nelson Tibideaux, twin to Minnie and son of Cliff Huxtable's daughter, Sondra on The Cosby Show. Before his Even Stevens days, Gary was involved with shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Matters and Party of Five. Since then, this 31-year-old has been keeping very busy with his work on CSI: Miami and voicing talents on The Fairly Oddparents and is still acting to this very day. Busy guy.
Jim Wise As Coach Terry Tugnut - The Coach Who Played Favorites
True fans of the show will inevitably think of Coach Tugnut's voice yelling, "Stevens!" in his distinct manner anytime someone messes up or causes trouble. Terry Tugnut was a tough nut to crack on the show, having zero patience for Louis and his shenanigans. On the other hand, the coach adored Louis' older brother, Donnie. He lived for dodgeball and had a passion for food as he used to weigh over three hundred pounds. Since the show, Jim Wise has been on Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby and lent his voicing talents to Hotel Transylvania and the singing voice of Spongebob Squarepants as Jim is an accomplished singer and composer. He actually wrote songs for The Even Stevens Movie and That's So Raven. Who knew?
Margo Harshman As Tawny Dean - The Goth Girlfriend
Margo played the role of Tawny Dean, the tough-talking, goth-dressing, take-no-prisoners best gal pal to Louis until she finally became his girlfriend in later episodes. Girls and boys alike who watched the show loved Tawny for her no-nonsense attitude. Though she had no problem raising trouble with Louis, she also could put him in his place when necessary. Since the show wrapped, Margo has been very active in Hollywood. For one year, she played Alex Jensen on The Big Bang Theory but is probably better known for her active role on NCIS as Delilah Fielding. She's also been featured in a few movies and can be seen on shows like Bones, CSI, House and Modern Family where she played Jungle Tanya, the party entertainer who brought her beloved reptiles (and scorpion) to Luke's birthday party.
Christy Carlson Romano As Renee "Ren" Stevens - Daughter Perfection Personified
As the other half of the brother-sister duo that the show's concept was based on, Christy Carlson Romano's face was a well-known one around the Disney channel in the early 2000's. Midway through her success with Even Stevens, Christy began work as the voice of the main character on the popular Disney cartoon, Kim Possible. A fan favorite among young girls at the time, Christy's acting career soared with TV shows and even horror movies. The kids who loved Christy's work then are now adults who help contribute to her big social media following where she posts about her daily life. Now a married mother of a young daughter, Isabella, Christy is still working under the bright lights and just finished work on a movie called Blood Circus. Based on the title, we're not sure perfectionist Ren would have approved of that. On the up side, it looks like the actress has aged maybe two months since her days as Ren so way to go, Christy!
Tom Virtue As Steve Stevens - The Mostly Understanding Father
Tom Virtue played the hilariously named Steven "Steve" Stevens, father to the dueling brother and sister and their airhead of an older brother. Tom is one of those guys who you have undoubtedly seen more times than you could imagine on your favorite TV shows and movies but probably didn't place him right away. His IMDb page is full of so many credits, we don't know where to start. He has been in a little bit of everything from The King of Queens, Crossing Jordan, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Cold Case, CSI: Miami, Southland, The Office and Two and a Half Men. He was also in a Transformers movie with his former TV son, Shia LaBeouf. Next time, you're watching TV, see if you can spot Tom!
Lauren Frost As Ruby Mendel - Ren's Pal And One-Girl Gossip Stop
Lauren Frost gave life to gossipy Ruby Mendel who was Ren's absolute BFF. Ruby always had crushes and could fall in love with a boy in first period and be over him with a new crush by lunchtime. She never failed to bring fun, or drama, into Ren's life but she also could be counted on to be straightforward with Ren in stressful situations. Since her role as Ruby ended, Lauren has continued to work in TV movies and mini-series projects and graduated from Second City Hollywood and Upright Citizens Brigade. Her website says that she is currently a script writer, producer, actor and singer/songwriter plus the co-creator and executive producer of Funny Women Fest in Los Angeles.
Eric "Ty" Hodges As Lawrence "Larry" Beale - Ren's Nemesis And Louis' Prank Rival
If you grew up as an Even Stevens fan and Ren was your idol, there's a good chance that you naturally despised Larry Beale, Ren's arch nemesis. Unfortunately for Ren, Larry was as witty and charming as he was diabolical in his need to compete with her and take her down though he rarely got the chance to see his evil plans to fruition. Though when it came to prank feuds with Louis, Larry sometimes got the upper hand. Since the show ended, Larry has appeared in TV shows and movies like Material Girls, Blues, A Girl Like Grace, which is he starred in and also directed. We can't find that he has worked as an actor since 2015. Maybe he's hanging up his hat as an actor and has decided to sit in the director's chair from now on?
Danica McKellar As Sandrine, Donnie's French Date
Danica played Donnie's French-speaking date, Sandrine in Season 2. Donnie tried desperately to prepare for the date by attempting to learn French in one day by listening to an audiobook until he learned that Ren's pal, Nelson spoke perfect French and assigned Nelson to the task of translator. Danica had a spot-on French accent for the role and her character didn't fall victim to Donnie's smooth charm. If she looks familiar, it's because she's best known for playing Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years. But since her appearance on Even Stevens, Danica has been crazy busy with roles on TV shows such as The West Wing, NCIS, NYPD Blue, How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory. She's also starred in her fair share of Lifetime and Hallmark movies and lent her voice to cartoons like King of the Hill and for seven years she voiced a few characters on Young Justice. Most recently, Danica starred in Coming Home for Christmas, a Hallmark movie which is set to be released soon. Besides all of this (whew!) she has also written a series of books aimed at young girls to help them understand math better.
Nick Spano As Donnie Stevens - The Good-Looking Dummy
Donnie was the cute, athletically talented older brother who had everything a person could want in life except for common sense. He was often irritated with his brother and sister's bickering and had no time to referee their fights because he was busy being overly concerned with his appearance. He once videotaped his shirtless self, lifting weights in his bedroom and sat down to watch it with a bowl of popcorn. Since hanging up the role of the high school hero and legend, Nick appeared on many TV shows like Monk, Alias and had a recurring role as Ray Wachowski on Beyond the Break. Today, Nick is living a charmed life based on his Instagram account where he can be seen dressed in a toga costume and giving a foot massage to a "goddess" at a goddess celebration and sharing a meal with a group he jokingly calls "El Bearded Banditos." He started an organization, Recreation Cafe, which is "a community to play, create and inspire."
A.J. Trauth As Alan Twitty - Louis' Cool Best Friend And Partner In Crime
Twitty was the sidekick and best bud ever to Louis who always had his back and was ready to bail him out of the sticky situations Louis was known for getting into. Twitty usually went along with his buddy's crazy plans though would have rathered spent his time focusing on the ladies of Lawrence Jr. High who adored him back. After the show ended, A.J. got busy working on other sitcoms with everything from Reba to Rules of Engagement. He has done a few TV movies as well and is active with his acting career as of this year. Twitty's luck with the ladies transferred off of the small screen for A.J. to real life when he married his true love, actress Leah Pipes (The Originals) in 2014. As Twitty would say, "sweet, dude!"
Donna Pescow As Eileen Stevens - The Natural Mother And Political Powerhouse
You'll likely remember Eileen Stevens as one of the busiest moms in TV sitcom history. But running campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives as a state senator can really wreak havoc on one's schedule. If anyone was up for the job of playing the mom of beloved Disney characters, it's Donna Pescow. She might even be considered overqualified for the part as this lady is something of a sitcom queen. Donna shot to fame in 1977 after starring in Saturday Night Fever with John Travolta. Before that, she was featured on General Hospital and One Life to Live. But many 80's kids will recognize Donna as the mother of her half-alien daughter, Evie from Out of This World. Playing the role of Mrs. Stevens couldn't have been anything other than a piece of cake for Donna who is active in her career to this day. Most recently, she's been featured on an episode of New Girl earlier this year.
Fred Meyers As Thomas "Tom" Gribalski - Everyone's Favorite Geek
If you're not that familiar with the show, think of Fred's character, Tom, as a kind of Screech from Saved By The Bell in the Even Stevens world though on a much more subtle level. Though officially deemed a nerd, Tom was accepted by Louis, Twitty, Tawny and the gang just as Screech was but when it came to most all inner circle pranks, Tom was always the go-to target. But what's a prank among friends? In real life, we find that Fred's acting career stopped approximately ten years ago with Hallowed Ground in 2007. Before that, he played roles on TV shows like Boston Legal and That's So Raven and movies like Raise Your Voice and Dirty Deeds. We hope that this former Disney kid is doing well today and he'll forever be remembered as a gentle nerd who was a friend to all.
Kenya Williams As Monique Taylor - The Modern Cheery Southern Belle
If you've watched even a handful of Even Stevens episodes and Kenya's face doesn't look familiar, her voice as Monique Taylor would immediately ring some bells for you. Monique was captain of the cheer squad and so delightfully upbeat, your face would hurt just looking at her big, perma smile. Kenya nailed Monique's syrupy sweet Southern accent to perfection as well as the role of the cheer captain who lived and breathed for back springs, pom poms and cheer routines. After the show ended, Kenya worked on the TV drama, The Shield in 2006. In 2013, Kenya tried a different role in Hollywood and produced an episode of the TV series, The Search. We bet that Kenya took her producer duties seriously but with a positive attitude just like her former TV counterpart would. As Monique and her peppy cheer squad would say, "B-E-P-E-R-K-Y. Be perky! Be perky!"
Steven Anthony Lawrence As Bernard "Beans" Aranguren - The Lovable Little Neighbor Boy
Beans, though only a recurring character, might be one of the most well-known faces of Even Stevens. To compare Beans to another famous face of another syndicated sitcom, his character's situation is very similar to Jaleel White's Steve Urkel on Family Matters. Without a doubt, Steve was the star of the show but it wasn't supposed to be that way. Steve was just supposed to be the annoying neighbor, a recurring but not main character. But thanks to Jaleel's acting skills, the audience went wild for Steve just as thanks to Steven Anthony Lawrence's acting skills, audiences couldn't get enough of Beans and his hilarious antics. Steven's acting career seems to have ended for now at least, in 2014. He was in movies like Cheaper by the Dozen, Kicking & Screaming, shows like Weeds and Eagleheart. In December of 2015, social media was set on fire with photos of the boy known as Beans as Santa's Helper at the Sunvalley Shopping Center in Concord, California. Steven was super gracious, complying with every Even Stevens fan's request for selfies. Cool Beans!
George Anthony Bell As Conrad Wexler - The Biased But Funny Principal
Lawrence Jr. High School Principal Conrad Wexler, portrayed by George Anthony Bell, was many things, some good, some bad, but fair wouldn't be at the top of Principal Wexler's list of qualities. For example, he loved Ren, his student assistant and generally treated her better than the other students. On the other hand, he treated Louis like a major nuisance (which he sometimes was) and tried hard not to get driven to madness by Louis and his gang of pranksters. After the show ended, George stayed with the educator role by landing a recurring spot on Gilmore Girls as Professor Bell. He also played a preacher on the movie, The Ladykillers and has had roles on TV shows like Cougar Town, Grey's Anatomy and currently, Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life.
Eric Jungmann As Ivan - The Cronie To The Nemesis
In Season 1 of Even Stevens, Eric played Ivan, who served as a "yes man" to the extremely competitive Larry Beale, Ren and Louis' rival and in the later couple of seasons of the show, Eric can be seen backing up other kids who wanted to take the Stevenses down like Blake Thompson, for example. Since his role as a cronie ended, Eric's been plenty busy in Hollywood. He had a recurring role on Night Stalker of Jain McManus. He's also had roles on CSI, Cold Case, Veronica Mars, Bones, NCIS, True Blood, Criminal Minds, Castle and Major Crimes, just to name a few. Whew! Now, how's that for a cronie? Maybe it pays to say yes to other people so much!
Lisa Foiles As Carla And Krysten Leigh Jones As Carla And Marla - The Wannabe Rens
Lisa Foiles (top) and Krysten Leigh Jones played the duo, Carla and Marla, who were obsessed with Ren, the school's perfect student. Both Carla and Marla strived to be just like Ren and worked with her and Ruby on the student newspaper staff. Since the show ended, Lisa kept on with her spot on Nickelodeon's All That which she had started before Even Stevens and worked on other shows including Leverage, movies including Shiver and Your Friends Close. Most recently, she was featured on the TV show, Game Shakers in 2016 and she currently hosts UFC Minute. Krysten kept very busy after the show ended, acting on TV shows like Joan of Arcadia, Fatherhood, Unfabulous, The Bernie Mac Show and Without A Trace. She was also featured in the movies, Akeelah and the Bee, Remember The Titans and The Neighbor. We don't see that she has acted since 2007.
Brandon Davis As Bobby Deaver - Ren's Dreamboat Boyfriend
Young girls who grew up watching the show and idolized goody-two-shoes Ren had just one more reason to want to be her when another character was introduced - her dreamy boyfriend, Bobby Deaver. Though Bobby was only featured in a storyline that lasted seven episodes, he made a pretty big impression on the show. Sadly, Ren was forced to end the relationship when Louis revealed videotaped proof that showed Bobby kissing Mandy "Always Gets Her Man" Sanchez, one of Ren's rivals. Brandon is known both as Brandon Davis and Brandon Jack James professionally and had a recurring role as Andrew Novelli on First Monday and also appeared on NCIS. Most recently, he starred as Tom in 2016's comedy, The Importance of Doubting Tom.
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