As a child of the ‘90s, there are certain works of cinema that just stick with you; like Toy Story, which forever revolutionised animated cinema with its groundbreaking computer generated imagery; or Jurassic Park, which did something similar, but in a live action setting; and of course, Titanic, which took these advancements and produced one of the greatest marriages of spectacle and drama ever put to film, solidifying the megastar status of its leads Kate Winslet and Leonardo di Caprio in the process.
At the turn of the century, then, I was just about old enough to recognise the popularity and success of Final Destination, which released in March of 2000, and was certainly aided with an impressive marketing campaign that had audiences overlooking the negative critical reviews (though I personally enjoy the Final Destination franchise). The film was a major commercial success, grossing $112.9 million USD on a budget of $23 million, and for the film’s lead, Vancouver actor Devon Sawa, it was meant to be the next career step for the former child star, slightly similar to what Titanic did for DiCaprio, but obviously on a much smaller scale. This, however, did not come to pass, and it was partly Sawa’s own choice.
Sawa made his film debut in 1994’s Little Giants as he turned 16, starring Ed O’Neill and fellow Canadian Rick Moranis. However, it was his next role, where the then-teenage actor played the human version of Casper McFadden in 1995’s Casper, which was a live action adaptation of the cartoon of the same name. Sawa was immediately labelled a “heartthrob” and had significant roles in films such as The Boys Club and Wild America (1997), A Cool, Dry Place and Around the Fire (1998), and of course he played the lead role in the cult classic Idle Hands (1999).
While Sawa would go on to depict the titular character in the iconic music video for Eminem’s “Stan” in the latter part of 2000 after Final Destination’s success, his career began to wind down despite what was a triumphant year for the actor. This partly ties into Sawa’s rejection of the “heartthrob” label he had attained from Casper, even admitting to The Independent in 2022 that he intentionally “had to smoke pot in movies”, as well as doing a hip-hop music video like “Stan”, to get away from the label he had come to resent. Sawa also told US Weekly in 2017 that by the age of 25, he had stepped away from the film business for the next five years, unsure if he would ever return, as he “was just burnt out,” having worked as an actor since the age of 11.
It was only by a happy accident that Sawa would return to acting, as someone at his talent agency, who was unaware of his early retirement, sent him and audition for Max Payne (2008). While he didn’t land the role, the casting director was impressed with Sawa nonetheless, who met with him after and helped the actor realise, “this is what I love. This is what I really want to do…. I don’t know why I stepped away in the first place.”
Sawa would go on to feature in numerous productions in the time since, with many of his feature films being direct-to-video, while also occasionally appearing in television roles during this period. The actor’s biggest recent success was as a main cast member playing multiple roles in the acclaimed horror comedy series Chucky, which is a continuation of the mainline series of movies featuring the legendary killer doll.
While Chucky concluded in May after three seasons, Devon Sawa has nonetheless kept busy, appearing in two film productions in 2024, Consumed and All the Lost Ones, the latter of which featured fellow famed Canadians Steven Ogg and Douglas Smith. Next year, he will be appearing in the romantic comedy slasher Heart Eyes, and here’s hoping that Sawa sees continued success after his years of ups and downs, and that we see more work from the actor similar to that of Chucky.