2000s Teen Movie Heartthrobs: Where Are They Now?

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2000s Teen Movie Heartthrobs: Where Are They Now?

Attention anyone who had posters of the cute guys from Bring It On, Raise Your Voice or Sleepover on your wall growing up: We have an update on your favorite leading men of the 2000s. Oliver James Hutson made a name for himself starring opposite Amanda Bynes in 2003’s What a Girl Wants and Hilary Duff in 2004’s Raise Your Voice. Jesse Bradford, meanwhile, managed to make brushing your teeth sexy as Cliff in 2000’s Bring It On, which also starred Kirsten Dunst. “I loved that it was a wordless scene and it creates this tension … they clearly have feelings for each other and it’s this weird banter that really plays out through the way they brush their teeth!” director Peyton Reed told Entertainment Weekly in 2015. “There’s a moment where Kirsten kind of blocks her spitting [the toothpaste] and it was just really cute, and I was really pleased with the chemistry they had in that scene together.” Starring in 2003’s Freaky Friday and 2004’s A Cinderella Story, it’s safe to say Chad Michael Murray earned the right to give a “PSA for High School Heartthrobs” during an interview with E! News in July 2019. (Not to mention his appearances in Gilmore Girls and Dawson’s Creek and starring on the first six seasons of One Tree Hill.) [jwplayer xfsGucM1-l3ahXupL] “I have graduated from playing the high school heartthrob and I would be doing a disservice if I didn’t show some insight I learned along the way,” he began before referencing A Cinderella Story, which also starred Duff. “One thing you absolutely should not do is run off the field during your football game just to kiss a girl in the stands you’ve been Catfishing for weeks. You will lose your dignity and your friends and probably the game. Just wait until the game is over, OK?” He added, “And if you go to a masquerade ball and the girl you see almost every day is wearing a small mask … and her entire face is exposed, but you still can’t recognize her, you should probably see an eye doctor!” Murray went on to reference Freaky Friday, the 2003 film he appeared in with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. “If you have a crush on your classmates’ mom, act on it and then get rejected, don’t start dating her daughter,” he said. “There is a whole high school full of girls out there, figure it out!” Scroll through for an update on your favorite 2000s movie stars:

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2000s Teen Movie Heartthrobs: Where Are They Now?

Attention anyone who had posters of the cute guys from Bring It On, Raise Your Voice or Sleepover on your wall growing up: We have an update on your favorite leading men of the 2000s. Oliver James Hutson made a name for himself starring opposite Amanda Bynes in 2003’s What a Girl Wants and Hilary Duff in 2004’s Raise Your Voice. Jesse Bradford, meanwhile, managed to make brushing your teeth sexy as Cliff in 2000’s Bring It On, which also starred Kirsten Dunst. “I loved that it was a wordless scene and it creates this tension … they clearly have feelings for each other and it’s this weird banter that really plays out through the way they brush their teeth!” director Peyton Reed told Entertainment Weekly in 2015. “There’s a moment where Kirsten kind of blocks her spitting [the toothpaste] and it was just really cute, and I was really pleased with the chemistry they had in that scene together.” Starring in 2003’s Freaky Friday and 2004’s A Cinderella Story, it’s safe to say Chad Michael Murray earned the right to give a “PSA for High School Heartthrobs” during an interview with E! News in July 2019. (Not to mention his appearances in Gilmore Girls and Dawson’s Creek and starring on the first six seasons of One Tree Hill.) [jwplayer xfsGucM1-l3ahXupL] “I have graduated from playing the high school heartthrob and I would be doing a disservice if I didn’t show some insight I learned along the way,” he began before referencing A Cinderella Story, which also starred Duff. “One thing you absolutely should not do is run off the field during your football game just to kiss a girl in the stands you’ve been Catfishing for weeks. You will lose your dignity and your friends and probably the game. Just wait until the game is over, OK?” He added, “And if you go to a masquerade ball and the girl you see almost every day is wearing a small mask … and her entire face is exposed, but you still can’t recognize her, you should probably see an eye doctor!” Murray went on to reference Freaky Friday, the 2003 film he appeared in with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. “If you have a crush on your classmates’ mom, act on it and then get rejected, don’t start dating her daughter,” he said. “There is a whole high school full of girls out there, figure it out!” Scroll through for an update on your favorite 2000s movie stars:

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Erik von Detten

The Princess Diaries actor, who was also known for his role in the Disney Channel Original Movie Brink!, stopped acting after voicing the character of Sid in Toy Story 3. Von Detten revealed in an interview with E! News in March 2021 that he works in finance and is married with one child — and another on the way.

“My wife is just a baby-making machine. We literally just have to hold hands,” he told the outlet. “Thank God she was born to have babies and she does great during the whole pregnancy. She doesn't get sick at all. Our first birth with our daughter, we got to the hospital at, like, 10 p.m. They gave her the epidural and then we went to sleep and she woke up and had the baby an hour later. It was the smoothest pregnancy.”

Von Detten added that his movies will be “mandatory watching” for his kids, noting that he would be interested in acting again. “Someone wrote a cameo for me for a Netflix pilot, like, a year ago. It was just one day of shooting and it was fun,” he said. “So, if there's a script with a role that doesn't require an arduous audition process, I'm definitely open. It's just not a consistent career.”

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Oliver James Hutson

After his roles in Raise Your Voice and What a Girl Wants, Hutson starred on BBC One’s The Innocence Project and several TV movies before he stepped out of the spotlight.

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Ben Feldman

Another one of Duff’s leading men, Feldman costarred in The Perfect Man in 2005. He’s gone on to have a success TV career, starring on the NBC sitcom Superstore. He also had roles in Mad Men, The Mindy Project, Drop Dead Diva, A to Z and Silicon Valley.

He married actress Michelle Mulitz in 2013 and they share two children.

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Jesse Bradford

The Bring It On star is also known for 2002’s Swimfan and had recurring roles on several TV shows, including The West Wing, Shooter and Teachers.

He married Andrea Watrouse in 2018 and they are expecting a baby girl in 2021. 

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Matthew Goode

The English actor played Mandy Moore’s love interest in Chasing Liberty in 2004. In addition to his several film roles — including 2014’s The Imitation Game — Goode is known for playing Henry on Downtown Abbey and Finn on The Good Wife.

Goode and wife Sophie Dymoke share three children.

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Marc Blucas

The same year Chasing Liberty dropped, Blucas and Katie Holmes starred in another movie about the president’s daughter: First Daughter. The Buffy alum went on star on USA’s Necessary Roughness for the first two seasons before becoming a Hallmark Channel stable. 

He married journalist Ryan Haddon in 2009.

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Jake McDorman

The Aquamarine and Bring It On 3 actor went on to star on ABC Family’s Greek, CBS’ Limitless, ABC’s Manhattan Love Story and the short-lived Murphy Brown revival.

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Riley Smith

Smith appeared as Ashley Olsen’s love interest, Jim, in 2004’s New York Minute. He has since appear in 90210, True Blood, Nashville, Frequency, Life Sentence and currently stars in The CW’s Nancy Drew.

He shares a daughter with Real World alum Ashli Robson.

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Jared Padalecki

Before taking on the role of Mary-Kate Olsen’s love interest in New York Minute, Padalecki was known for his role as Dean on Gilmore Girls. In 2005, the actor landed the role as Sam Winchester in Supernatural. The series ran for more than 300 episodes and concluded in 2020. 

Padalecki, who is set to star in the reboot of Walker, Texas Ranger, married actress Genevieve Cortese in 2010. They share three kids.

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Chad Michael Murray

One of the ultimate 2000s hunks, Murray is best known for his role as Lucas Scott on One Tree Hill. He returned to his teen drama roots for a stint on Riverdale in 2019. He also appeared in several Hallmark Channel TV movies.

Murray married Sarah Roemer in 2015 and they share two kids.

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Shane West

West starred alongside Moore in 2002’s A Walk to Remember. He went on to have series regular roles on ER, Nikita and Salem.

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Jonathan Bennett

After winning our hearts as Aaron Samuels in 2004’s Mean Girls, Bennett had a recurring role on Veronica Mars and appeared in Cheaper by the Dozen 2. The actor also hosted several shows for the Food Network and competed on Dancing With the Stars and Celebrity Big Brother. Bennett made history for his role in 2020’s The Christmas House, which was the first Hallmark movie to prominently feature a same-sex couple.

Bennett got engaged to boyfriend Jaymes Vaughan in November 2020.

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Sean Faris

Faris appeared in the Alex PenaVega movie Sleepover in 2004. He also had a recurring role on Pretty Little Liars as Gabriel Holbrook and has starred in multiple made-for-TV movies in recent years.

Faris married actress Cherie Jimenez in 2017.

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Luke Mably

Mably played Julia Stiles’ love interest, Eddie, in 2004’s The Prince and Me. The English actor has since guest-starred on several American TV shows, including NCIS: New Orleans and SEAL Team.

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Tom Welling

While he may be best known for his role as Clark Kent in Smallville, Welling will also always be the eldest Baker son in 2003’s Cheaper By the Dozen. In addition to reprising his role in the 2005 sequel, Welling appeared in TV shows Lucifer and Professionals and the movie Draft Day.

Welling married Jessica Rose Lee in 2019 after his divorce from Jamie White was finalized in 2015.