Checklist: 4 Nineties Actors Resurfacing In The Noughties

   It is my 22nd birthday today. As someone who grew up in the 1990s I know that there are certain characteristics that most 90s kids share. For example:

• The ability to identify the vintage of an episode of The Simpsons from seeing the opening titles alone.
• The overwhelming urge to clap four times at the appropriate moment of I'll Be There For You by The Rembrandts. 
• When clearing out old stuff in our rooms, we still often find POGs .

   As I took stock of my formative years this morning, I started thinking about actors from 90s films that have generally struggled in the 00s yet have reappeared in the last couple of years. Here are five...


1. Daniel Stern

   His memorable felonous double-act with Joe Pesci in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost In New York will come to mind when anyone thinks of the American comedic actor. Wild-eyed and generally dishevelled looking, Stern was reportedly considered to play Back To The Future villain Biff Tannen. He is also known for playing other notable roles in 90s comedies such as City Slickers and Bushwacked. His post-90s career has not been quite as prosperous, however Stern landed roles in Drew Barrymore's Whip It in 2009 and Paul Haggis' 2010 crime drama The Next Three Days. It appears that one half of the 'Wet Bandits' has had something of a reinvention.

2. Jeff Daniels

   A very similar story to the above. Another man made most famous by his double-act, Jeff Daniels' partnership with Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber (1994) came after his appearance in Jan de Bont's Speed (1994). His everyman looks are infused with a subtle kind of charm, but unlike Carrey, Daniels has rarely been a leading man choice. The 1990s also saw him work for Disney in 101 Dalmations and the less impressive My Favourite Martian.Up until Noah Baumbach's autobiographical offering The Squid and the Whale (2005), Daniels had been somewhat cast into obscurity. His leading role in Baumbach's film seemed to reintroduce him to the higher-end directors and producers. One of these was George Clooney, who cast Daniels in 2007's Good Night And Good Luck. Since this impressive performance, Jeff Daniels has had strong showings in acclaimed films such as State of Play (2009) and Away We Go (2009).

3. Kieran Culkin

   Macauley's brother made his debut in Home Alone (1990), playing Mac's bed-wetting cousin Fuller McCallister. Throughout the decade he reprised this role in the sequel (1992) and appeared in both Father of the Bride films (1991, 1995) and had roles in The Cider House Rules (1999) and She's All That (1999). Culkin then played the lead in the very well-received Igby Goes Down (2002), however it was another six years before his next appearance. That came in the form of Lymelife in 2008. Star-studded indie film Paper Man (2009) was next for Kieran (a film that also featured Jeff Daniels) and the middle Culkin brother was thrust back into the mainstream eye in Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim Vs The World (2010). Although it seemed unlikely in the 90s, Kieran Culkin has well and truly eclipsed his older brother, establishing himself as an exciting young actor with ever-growing credibility.

4. Chris O'Donnell

   This man is often recognised as having played Robin in Joel Schuhmacher's highly-criticised Batman films (1995, 1997), having initially made his name starring alongside Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman (1992). O'Donnell rounded off the decade in mediocre mountaineering adventure Vertical Limit (2000), before dropping under the radar for the first half of the decade. Resurfacing in 2006, O'Donnell has benefitted from TV roles in the likes of Grey's Anatomy and NCIS to receive parts in more prominent films such as Max Payne (2008) and the sequel to Cats & Dogs (2010). With a permanent role secured in NCIS: Los Angeles, the prospects of more big screen time for Chris O'Donnell look pretty good.  

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