It's true: the highlight of 'Casper' was a young Christina Ricci. The star is now 40, of course, but she's had a long and illustrious career, just like fans knew she would from the moment the '90s movie started rolling. Of course, back then, kids watching the movie didn't realize the things that adults today do...
But anyway, the other lead in the film is, arguably, Casper the ghost himself. And as fans will recall, the formerly living boy remains a see-through character through most of the movie. Except for in a limited section, of course.
Yes, that dreamlike scene where Casper and Kat dance together features a real human boy. The thing is, it's not the same person who voiced Casper McFadden.
That credit goes to Malachi Pearson, a now 39-year-old (so he was about the right age for 14-year-old Casper back in 1995) actor with a few other '90s movies to his name. Pearson hasn't had an acting gig since 2000, as an extra on 'Malcolm in the Middle,' per IMDb.
However, the angelic-looking child who stole the show as human Casper has gone on to other projects. And it probably had something to do with the fact that he actually appeared in the movie as a human and not CGI.
The actor who played dancing Casper is Devon Sawa, a now 42-year-old actor from Canada. Back in the '90s, Devon also acted in other era hits like 'Little Giants,' 'Now and Then,' and even 'Final Destination.' BTW, Christina Ricci was also in 'Now and Then,' so the pair had two projects together the same year!
But get this: in 2000, he even played Stan in Eminem's video album 'Eminem: E.' Yep, childhood Casper grew up to be Stan...
After that, Sawa's career only continued ticking upward. He's been in a ton of other films, plus TV series like 'Nikita' with guest appearances on 'Hawaii Five-0' and 'NCIS: Los Angeles.' But Devon's IMDb also hints at even more upcoming projects: he's got three in post- and pre-production at the moment, plus earned an acting award for 2020's 'Hunter Hunter.'
Not only has his career been going swimmingly, but Devon Sawa is also married (to wife Dawni since 2013) and has two kids, who are currently somewhere around ages 7 and 5.
The most adorable thing? Remember Devon's line (his only line) in 'Casper'? He asks Kat, "Can I keep you?" Well, prepare for waterworks, because Devon got his daughter a necklace with the line in script.
Clearly, Devon's never forgotten his role in the film, and he's not one of those actors who seems to regret his time in the spotlight for a childhood role. Fans haven't either, even if they weren't sure exactly who the dream sequence Casper really was.