The Goonies is an adventure comedy film released in 1985, written by Steven Spielberg. It tells the story of a band of kids who live in Astoria, Oregon. They attempt to save their home from demolition by following a 17th-century Spanish treasure map, in the hope of finding gold.
The Goonies over the years has become somewhat of a cult film. So much so that in 2017 the movie was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
The Goonies Cast – Then And Now
SEAN ASTIN – MIKEY
Then: Sean Astin made his film debut at the age of 13, taking on the role of Mikey Walsh in The Goonies (1985). While Most Goonies fans will always remember him as the child who found the remains of One-Eyed Willy. It’s fair to say Sean Astin has had a stellar acting career ever since.
Now: In the 1990s Astin appeared in movies such as Memphis Belle, Toy Soldiers, and Courage Under Fire. However, it wasn’t until the early 2000’s that Astin got the role of a lifetime, playing Samwise Gamgee in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings. The part would see him win numerous awards including a Saturn Award and Sierra Award.
After Lord of the Rings, Sean Astin continued on the big screen in movies such as 50 First Dates and Click. More recently he has been seen in some major TV shows including 24, Big Bang Theory and as Bob Newby in Strange Things.
Astin is married with three children, one of whom had a cameo role in Lord of the Rings.
JOSH BROLIN – BRAND
Then: Josh Brolin played Brand, the older brother of Mikey. Reluctant to get involved in The Goonies adventure, he ultimately becomes an integral part of their success.
Now: Like Sean Astin, joining The Goonies cast was Brolin’s big screen debut. However, after The Goonies he only had one more big-screen role in the movie Thrashin’ (1986) before a near-decade away. Appearing in only TV and stage roles over the next ten years or so.
In 1996 Brolin returned to the big screen and went on to roles in movies such as Hollowman (2000), Grindhouse (2007), No Country For Old Men (2007) and American Gangster (2007). He was also Oscar-nominated for his role in the biopic Milk (2008).
In more recent years he has played Agent K in Men In Black 3 and Cable in the X-Men universe, with a significant role in Deadpool 2. However, it’s probably fair to say his most prominent role is that of Thanos in the Marvel universe.
Brolin was active in stock trading throughout his 20’s, and he briefly considered retiring from acting.
In 2014 he explained he made a large amount of money over a three-year period in his 20’s. “Fear and greed, that’s all that there is. And I traded very specifically. I found momentum stocks that had room to breathe, and I just grab a little of the breath.”
He was also co-founder of the now-defunct stock trading website MarketProbability.com
JEFF COHEN – CHUNK
Then: Jeff Cohen played the role of the ever-eating, clumsy, Chunk. Unfortunately for him, he wouldn’t go on to have the successful acting career that Sean Astin and Josh Brolin had. It’s probably fair to say the ‘Truffle Shuffle’ is the very pinnacle of his career.
Now: While Cohen never did another big-screen movie after The Goonies, he did appear in a few TV roles. His last appearance was in the TV movie Perfect Harmony in 1991.
After retiring from acting Cohen attended the University of California, Berkeley, earning a B.S. in Business Administration in 1996. After his time at Berkeley, he received a degree from the UCLA School of Law in 2000 and became an entertainment lawyer in LA.
In 2002, he co-founded Cohen & Gardner LLP in Beverly Hills. Also being named in The Hollywood Reporter’s “Next Generation: Hollywood’s Top 35 Executives 35 and Under”.
Since 2014 he has periodically written about business, legal and political matters for The Huffington Post and CNBC.
COREY FELDMAN – MOUTH
Then: Before joining The Goonies cast as Mouth, Corey Feldman had appeared in Gremlins (1984) and Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter (1985).
Now: His career throughout the 1980s and 1990s was a stellar one. He appeared in Stand By Me (1986), The Lost Boys (1987), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I and III (1990 & 1993) and Maverick (1994) as well as many other movies.
However by 2000, while still getting regular movie roles, they were generally in poor productions and independent films. Since 2000 Corey has gone on to release numerous a handful of music albums and appear in multiple reality TV shows in both the USA and UK.
In 2018 Feldman was stabbed by three men and immediately hospitalized. The Los Angeles Police Department later stated they did not see and lacerations on his abdomen.
JONATHAN KE QUAN - DATA
Then: Jonathon was born in Saigon, South Vietnam. Now known as Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He was forced to leave his country as a child when the Army of the Republic of Vietnam lost during the Fall of Saigon. His family were selected for political asylum and emigrated to the USA.
At the age of 12, he became a child actor after getting the role of Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). A year later, in 1985, he took on the part of Data in The Goonies.
Now: However, after such a great start as an actor, he didn’t appear in another American movie for six years. The next time was appearing in Breathing Fire (1991) and Encino Man (1992). The rest of the time he was making appearances in Chinese and Hong Kong productions.
He did, however, have a reoccurring TV role in season five of Head of the Class (1990-1991). But by 1992 his acting career was at an end.
After Jonathon had finished high school, he studied at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. Then later studied at the University of Manchester, England.
He would later work as a stunt choreographer for movies such as X-Men (2000) and The One (2001).
KERRI GREEN – ANDY
Then: Kerri Green played the role of Andy, Brand’s love interest and ultimately Mikey’s first kiss. Andy gets brought into ‘The Goonies’ by accident after getting caught up in the drama. Initially scared, she quickly hardens and begins to hold her own.
The Goonies was Kerri Green’s first big-screen role, also appearing in ‘Summer Rental’ alongside John Candy the same year.
Now: In 1986 she gained critical acclaim for her performance in Lucas, where she played the center of a love triangle between Carey Haim and Charlie Sheen. However, her next film ‘Three For The Road’ (1987) did not fare so well.
For the next few years, she never appeared on the big screen. She spent her time studying art at Vassar College, where she was roommates with the brother of Marisa Tomei.
While she did get back into acting in 1992 after a five-year break, her career never really got back on track. Only appearing in a handful of movies, most of which were for TV. She did, however, have small roles in Murder, She Wrote and ER.
Eventually Green co-founded a film company called Independent Women Artists.
MARTHA PLIMPTON – STEF
Then: Martha Plimpton played the role of the tomboy Stef. She is a friend of Andy who also unexpectedly gets caught up with The Goonies. Unlike Andy, she has a tough exterior, and soon forms a friendship with Mouth.
Now: The Goonies was Martha’s third movie role having appeared in Rollover (1981) and The River Rat (1984). After The Goonies she has continued to perform regularly in movies, TV, and theatre.
Her body of work includes theatre in New York, London, and Seattle. TV shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Law & Order and The Good Wife. As well as movies such as Parenthood (1989) and 200 Cigarettes (1999).
Outside of acting, Martha is an abortion rights campaigner who has lobbied Congress on behalf of Planned Parenthood.
ANNE RAMSEY – MAMA FRATELLI
Then: Anne Ramsey played the role of Mama Fratelli, the brains behind the criminal Fratelli family. Not only was she the brains, but she also had a vicious streak that made her sons look like saints in comparison.
Anne began her Hollywood career in the 1970s, appearing in both TV and movies throughout the decade. Some of her notable work included appearances in Wonder Woman and Little House On The Prairie. During her career, she also appeared in seven movies with her husband, actor Logan Ramsay.
Now: After her appearance in The Goonies, she continued to work solidly. In 1987 Anne Ramsey was nominated for an academy award for her role in ‘Throw Momma From The Train’. However, just a year later, in 1988, she would die from illness at the age of 59.
ROBERT DAVI – JAKE FRATELLI
Then: Robert Davi is an American actor, singer, and entertainer who played the role of Jake Fratelli. The older and far nastier Fratelli brother, he would drive Sloth mad with his operatic singing.
Davi’s acting career started in the mid-70s with roles in TV shows such as Charlie’s Angels. His role in The Goonies was only his second big screen part, having appeared a year earlier in City Heat.
Now: Since his role in The Goonies, Robert Davi has gone one to appear in Licence to Kill (1989), Predator 2 (1990) and The Expendables 3 (2014) as well as dozens of other TV shows and movies.
In 2011 Davi released his first album ‘Davi Sings Sinatra – On The Road To Romance.’ The album received positive reviews and reached the top 10 of the Billboard Jazz charts.
JOE PANTOLIANO – FRANCIS FRATELLI
Then: Joe Pantoliano played the role of Francis Fratelli, the slightly less scary Fratelli family member.
Before The Goonies Joe had appeared in a handful of movies. Including a role as a pimp in the Tom Cruise movie ‘Risky Business.’ However, all of his best work came in the years after The Goonies.
Now: Appearances after The Goonies included The Fugitive (1993), U.S. Marshals (1998), The Matrix (1999), Memento (2000) and Bad Boys II (2003), to name but a few. He has also made TV appearances in The Sopranos and Sense8 as well as dozens of others shows.
Pantoliano and his wife Nancy have four children. In 2007 he announced on the National Alliance on Mental Illness blog that he had been suffering depression for a decade but only recently diagnosed. Rather than struggle in private, he decided to speak out about it.
JOHN MATUSZAK – SLOTH
Then: John Matuszak played the role of Sloth, a disfigured Fratelli brother who is locked away and out of sight. He ultimately becomes friends with Chunk and plays a part in the Goonies rescue at the end of the movie.
Before turning to acting, John played American football in the NFL. He spent most of his career with the Oakland Raiders, winning two Super Bowls before retiring in 1981. He also appeared in the 1978 World’s Strongest Man, where he placed ninth.
Matuszak acted in both TV and movie roles throughout the 1980s after transitioning from his career as a professional athlete. The Goonies however, is what he is best remembered for.
Now: In 1989, at the age of 38, Matuszak died from acute propoxyphene intoxication, an accidental overdose of the prescription drug Darvocet. Traces of cocaine were also found in his bloodstream.
MARY ELLEN TRAINOR – MRS WALSH
Then: Mary Ellen Trainor was a relative newcomer to acting when she got her role as Mrs. Walsh, mother to Mikey and Brand, in The Goonies. In 1984, the year before The Goonies was released, she had appeared in small roles in Romancing The Stone and The Stone Boy.
Now: After appearing in The Goonies, she would go on to have a career in TV and movies. Featuring in films such as Lethal Weapon (1987), Die Hard (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Lethal Weapon II (1989), Back to the Future Part II (1989), Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), Forrest Gump (1994) and many more popular movies.
However, despite appearances in a long list of great movies, Trainor wasn’t seen on the big screen again after 2007.
Unfortunately, Mary Ellen Trainor died in May 2015 at the age of 62 after battling illness. Her last ever role was in 2008, in the TV movie McBride: Requiem.
KEITH WALKER – MR WALSH
Then: Keith Walker played the role of Mr. Walsh, father of Mikey and Brand. His role in the movie was a small one, appearing only in the final few minutes.
Now: Keith had many film and TV roles over the years, however, he is possibly best known as a writer and producer. He co-wrote the screenplay for Free Willy, also set in Astoria, and wrote for television series including Quincy and M*A*S*H.
Following a short illness, Keith Walker died in 1996 at the age of 61.
ROSALITA – LUPE ONTIVEROS
Then: Lupe Ontiveros played the role of Rosalita; the Spanish maid hired to assist the Walsh family in packing and moving home.
Born in El Paso, Texas, Lupe began her TV and film career in the 1970s and worked consistently throughout her career. Both before and after joining The Goonies cast.
Now: Later roles in her career included appearances in TV shows such as Weeds, Desperate Housewives and Family Guy. She continued to act right up until her death from illness in 2012 at the age of 69.
