Strollerderby

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to the Kid From 'Sixteen Candles'?

Posted by Jen Chaney

In his first role in a major motion picture, 1979's "Kramer vs. Kramer," he received an Academy Award nomination. He was 8-years-old.

His name is Justin Henry, and as notable as that accomplishment was, most Gen Xers are more likely to remember him for playing Molly Ringwald's ultra-sarcastic younger brother in "Sixteen Candles." With so much attention focused on the wacky high jinks of Long Duk Dong and the smoking hotness that was Jake Ryan, Henry's spot-on turn as Mike Baker doesn't often get the love it deserves. I mean, who else could have said, "I gotta sleep under some Chinaman named after a duck's dork" with such authenticity?

So where is Justin Henry these days? Turns out he's still acting, albeit with a lower profile. He reportedly took a break from the Hollywood scene during the early 1990s to attend Skidmore College, then returned a few years later to star in John Frankenheimer's TV movie, "Andersonville." Since then, he's appeared in an episode of "E.R." and a few smaller films, including last year's straight-to-DVD feature "The Junior Defenders." That decidedly random flick co-starred Ally Sheedy, Brian O'Halloran of "Clerks," Pauly Shore (wha?), Florence Henderson (double wha?), Peter Tork (super-duper-quadruple-wha?) and -- Get the frak out of here! No, you get the frak out of here! -- Michael Dukakis. OK, I need to rent this movie ASAP.

Henry also looks pretty much the same, if you ask me. As Mike Baker would say: "Classic."

Rich or Rehab appears every Tuesday morning on Strollerderby.

Related Posts:

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to the Boy From 'Escape to Witch Mountain'?

Rich or Rehab: What's Happening With Dee From 'What's Happening!!'?

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Gordie From 'Stand By Me'?

 

 

 


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Comments

 

MomofBeans said:

Who cares about this kid?! I want to know what happened to Jake Ryan. Oh, Jake Ryan. How I long for you, even now.

July 15, 2008 11:08 AM
 

kayare said:

Jake Ryan quit acting to become a carpenter. I'm ashamed to admit that I love VH-1's "Where Are They Now?" shows...

July 15, 2008 2:39 PM
 

Sheri said:

Oh, Jake freaking Ryan.....He made that movie worthwhile.

Ever watch ER and say, hey, there's Long Duk Dong????  

July 15, 2008 7:10 PM
 

Manjari said:

I loved Jake Ryan too.

July 15, 2008 7:49 PM
 

MomofBeans said:

He's a carpenter?? That's so hot.

July 16, 2008 6:54 AM
 

CoolAuntieTina said:

My dad's a carpenter...so not hot!! haha. But then again, he's not Jake Ryan. sigh.

July 16, 2008 1:40 PM

About Jen Chaney

Jen Chaney is the movies editor and a DVD columnist for washingtonpost.com. Her byline has appeared in The Washington Post, People magazine, USA Today and the Utne Reader as well as various other newspapers around the country. She is the mother of a one-year-old boy, who has not yet learned the word Xanadu. But he will. Trust us, he will.

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