What The Cast Of Sonny With A Chance Is Doing Today
The following article mentions mental health struggles and substance misuse.
If you were a fan of any of the Disney Channel's original programming when you were a kid, there's a good chance you wondered what it would be like to be a Disney Channel star. "Sonny with a Chance," a sitcom that aired from 2009 to 2011, attempted to answer that question for its young viewers. The series starred Demi Lovato as Sonny Munroe, a Midwestern girl who gets plucked from obscurity to join the cast of "So Random!," a sketch comedy show. She must learn to handle the ups and downs of child stardom alongside castmates Tawni Hart (Tiffany Thornton), Nico Harris (Brandon Mychal Smith), Grady Mitchell (Doug Brochu), and Zora Lancaster (Allisyn Snyder). She also has to navigate a love-hate relationship with Chad Dylan Cooper (Sterling Knight), the egotistical lead of teen drama "Mackenzie Falls," which shoots at the same studio.
After Season 2, Lovato announced she would be leaving "Sonny with a Chance" for the sake of her mental health. The Disney Channel decided to nix the series and instead turn "So Random!" into a real show composed of sketches starring Thornton, smith, Brochu, Synder, and Knight. Although "Sonny" and "So Random!" have been off the air for years now, its actors have stayed busy both onscreen and off. Here, we review what they've been up to in the past decade.
Demi Lovato is a world-famous musician
Following "Sonny with a Chance," music became Demi Lovato's primary creative outlet. Her first album after "Sonny" was "Unbroken," which featured singles "Skyscraper" and "Give Your Heart a Break." Since then, she's continued to crank out album after album. Her most recent release is "Revamped," which consists of rock-heavy covers of some of her older hits. She has been nominated for two Grammy awards (for album "Confident" and Christina Aguilera collaboration "Fall in Line"), and performed at the ceremony in 2020.
In 2018, Lovato was hospitalized for a heroin overdose. She opened up about her past struggles in a 2021 YouTube Originals docuseries, titled "Dancing with the Devil." The show sheds light on Lovato's near-death experience via interviews with Lovato and her family and friends, including "So Random!" alum Matthew Scott Montgomery. In a statement, she spoke about her choice to address her addiction and recovery publicly. "I'm grateful that I was able to take this journey to face my past head-on and finally share it with the world," she said.
In 2023, Lovato announced that she would be stepping into the director's chair with a project near and dear to her heart — "Child Star," a documentary film that highlights the challenges that children experience when growing up in the spotlight. According to a press release, it aims to "reach beyond the traditional narratives seen in op-eds and tabloids to consider the changing nature of growing up in an increasingly connected and public world."
Tiffany Thornton hosted a radio show before switching careers again
After leaving "Sonny with a Chance" and wrapping up "So Random!," Tiffany Thornton remained in the entertainment industry, but in a different capacity: she took on a job as a radio host for Hot Springs, Arkansas, station KLAZ 105.9. There, she co-hosted morning show "Kramer and Tiffany." Around the same time, she remained in touch with the Mouse by writing blog posts for disneybaby.com.
In 2016, Thornton stepped away from the radio station due to the difficulties of balancing the early-morning schedule with her parenting duties. She began working in a more low-key role as a recruitment advisor at Champion Christian College. Judging by her social media, she seems overjoyed at the sense of purpose and fulfillment that the job provides. "I absolutely love working here and seeing how God moves in the lives of these students," she captioned a 2017 Instagram post showing the sign outside her office. "Plus, they come to my house a few times a semester for a big get together where I make chicken spaghetti, salad and banana pudding for dessert," she wrote next to a smiley face.
During a virtual "Sonny with a Chance" cast reunion, Thornton revealed that she is no longer a member of the Screen Actors' Guild. Sometimes she wonders about returning to the acting world — she remarked that she'd be into doing a Hallmark movie — but ultimately, she's happy with her quiet life in Arkansas.
Sterling Knight has had a number of TV and film roles
Since his "Sonny with a Chance" and "So Random!" days, Sterling Knight has remained in the TV game. His first major role after leaving Disney was on ABC Family's "Melissa and Joey," where he played Zander. "Zander is the nicest lovable idiot, I think," he said in a 2014 interview with BuddyTV. "He's not the brightest bulb in the batch. He constantly puts his foot in his mouth, but he's very well intentioned and he wants good things for people. He just kind of ends up messing things up every once in a while and can't really get his foot out of his mouth. He's been really fun to play."
In 2014, Knight also played the part of Billy on "The Hotwives of Orlando." The series, which streamed on Hulu, served as a scripted parody of the popular "Real Housewives" franchise. His other credits since then include "In the Rough," a webseries about rising tensions at a rural golf club, and "Crowded," an NBC sitcom about a couple of empty nesters whose adult daughters decide to move back in with them. Most recently, he acted in 2022's "It Snows all the Time," which follows a man who gets dementia and the family members trying their best to support him.
Knight devotees might be happy to know that he is active on Cameo, where he films personalized videos for fans, often making amusing quips and playing the guitar for them. "Actor/Texan," his bio reads. "I'm into fitness, food, and fast cars."
Brandon Mychal Smith has played both Little Richard and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle
Much like Sterling Knight, Brandon Mychal Smith has continued to act. Following "So Random!," he played fictional rapper Lord of Da Bling in the 2012 Disney Channel Original Movie "Let It Shine." Shortly after, he stepped into the shoes of a real musician: He portrayed the legendary Little Richard in 2014's "Get on Up." Since then, he's had recurring roles on shows like "One Big Happy," "Sweet/Vicious," "Relationship Status," and "You're the Worst."
One of the most notable characters Smith has taken on has been that of Michelangelo from the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" franchise. He voiced the green avenger in the "Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" animated series, as well as in the accompanying movie and shorts. "Michelangelo is an amazing guy. He is the party. He is the best pizza-maker out of the whole crew," Smith said in a 2018 promo video for the show. "He's the little brother, but he's the most fun. He likes to DJ. He likes to skateboard. He likes extreme sports. He is the lightning bolt of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I relate to Michelangelo a lot... I would say that me and Mikey are two peas in a pod."
Smith's most recent project is "Sick Girl," a 2023 comedy directed by Jennifer Cram. He starred alongside Nina Dobrev as a character named Leo.
Doug Brochu loves podcasting, brewing, and games
Doug Brochu has been busy since his time on "Sonny with a Chance" and "So Random!" Shortly after "So Random!" was cancelled, he moved on to AwesomenessTV, where he hosted web series "Shove It." In 2013, he teamed up with friend Ryan Moran to start a podcast, titled "Beardomancy." According to its SoundCloud page, the pod covers "everything ranging from comics, camping, Dungeons and Dragons, music and more."
In 2016, he moved cross-country to New York City for an exciting business venture: He and fellow Disney alum Dylan Sprouse (from "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody") opened All-Wise Meadery, a brewing company dedicated to mead, which is considered the world's oldest alcoholic beverage. According to a Times Square Chronicles article, Brochu became interested in brewing after buying his father a home brewing kit as a gift. He experimented with different fermented beverages before developing a particular fondness for mead. During this time, he and Sprouse also shared a YouTube channel called Pug Crawl. "A goofy gang of goobers," the channel's page reads. In keeping with this description, Pug Crawl features livestreams of Brochu and Sprouse playing Dungeons and Dragons with their friends.
Brochu has since left All-Wise behind. He now works as a Live Producer for Esports engine, a company that describes itself as "delivering industry-leading turnkey esports operations." "Very excited for the future of this industry and to keep growing with it!" he wrote in his job announcement on X.
Allisyn Snyder became a YouTube personality and producer
Allisyn Snyder (née Arm) was a fan favorite on "Sonny with a Chance" and "So Random!" due to her goofy sense of humor. She's continued to make people laugh in the years since. In 2014, she posted her first YouTube video as satirical personality Astrid Clover, described on an accompanying Facebook page as "so underground, you'll need a shovel." As of this writing, the channel has 365 videos and over 10.7k subscribers.
Snyder returned to the TV comedy world with a role on Peacock series "A.P. Bio," playing high school student Heather. Her primary interest since leaving Disney, though, has been filmmaking. In 2015, she teamed up with now-husband (and fellow Disney actor) Dylan Snyder to form Watch the Footage Productions. In 2023, the production company released "Howdy, Neighbor!," an LGBTQ horror film that takes place entirely on computer screens. The thriller was written by and stars Matthew Scott Montgomery as a former child actor who ends up living next to a fan. He's joined onscreen by several other Disney alums, including Debby Ryan, Alyson Stoner, Kevin Chamberlin, Tim Bagley, and former "So Random!" costars Shayne Topp and Damien Haas.
In a 2021 essay penned for Talkhouse, Snyder emphasized the importance of film in her life. "There's nothing I love in this world more than film," she said. "It's how we pass down stories, reworking and reinterpreting them... I want to tell stories. I need to."
Nancy McKeon has appeared on Dancing with the Stars and Animaniacs
Nancy McKeon appeared in a recurring role on "Sonny with a Chance" as Sonny's mom, Connie. It makes sense that McKeon would feel drawn to the part — much like Sonny, she herself was a child star, acting on "The Facts of Life" in the '80s.
Although McKeon has preferred to keep a relatively low profile, she opted to perform on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2018. Although she was initially nervous to accept the offer, her kids encouraged her to go for it — and she was glad she did. "This isn't something that I would normally do. It really is outside my comfort zone," she told ET. "I just decided, you know what, I'm going to scare the living life out of myself and say yes and just show up every day and see what happens. Everything changes and moves you, so I'm also excited about all the changes and all the different things that I'm learning in this venture as well." McKeon had a brief but fun run as the third contestant eliminated.
Since then, McKeon has provided voices for the reboot of "Animaniacs" on Hulu. She has also acted in several episodes of "Panic," a horror series that aired on Amazon Prime in 2021.
Michael Kostroff stays busy in the biz
On "Sonny with a Chance," Michael Kostroff played Marshall Pike, the goofy but helpful executive producer of "So Random!" Before his stint on Disney, he had a number of impressive credits — he participated in the Broadway tours for "The Producers" and "Les Misérables," and even had a role on HBO's "The Wire." Thus, it makes sense that he's stayed busy since then, frequently appearing on shows as a guest star or recurring character.
Following "Sonny with a Chance," Kostroff was cast on the wildly popular "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." He played Evan Braun, a defense attorney who faces off against the protagonist in eight episodes. His next major role was on "The Deuce," an HBO series that examines the porn industry as well as the drug epidemic in 1970s New York City. More recently, he starred alongside Morgan Spector, Zoe Kazan, and Winona Ryder in HBO's "The Plot Against America," based on the book of the same name by Philip Roth. His character, Shepsie Tirchwell, was a theater manager living in an alternate version of the 1940s where Charles Lindbergh became president.
For many years, Kostroff shared his acting expertise with Hollywood hopefuls and local thespians alike as a columnist for Backstage.com. His articles covered a variety of dilemmas that actors might face, from memorizing lines to perfecting one's resume to negotiating a raise to handling intimate scenes on set.
Daniel Roebuck is passionate about his career and his faith
Daniel Roebuck occasionally popped up on "Sonny with a Chance" as Mr. Condor, the executive producer of "Mackenzie Falls." Since then, he's had an assortment of exciting roles, largely in the action and horror spheres. In 2012, he became a part of the television phenomenon that was "The Walking Dead" when he was cast as a mysterious character named BJ in "Cold Storage," a web series released between seasons two and three of the show. In 2015, he acted in Prime Video series "The Man in the High Castle" (based on the Philip K. Dick book of the same name), about an alternate world in which the Axis Powers won World War II.
In addition to being passionate about acting, Roebuck is a devout Christian. In 2014, he hosted a show called "Classic with Daniel Roebuck" on Catholic TV channel New Evangelization Television. In each episode, he spoke about faith and the entertainment industry with actors from New York's Catholic community.
In 2020, Roebuck and his wife Tammy founded A Channel of Peace, a faith-based production company. In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, he explained that it was a nonprofit, with all proceeds from the films going toward the filmmaking process. "I'm not put on this earth to make money. I'm put on this earth to make a difference," he said. "We want to remind the world that we need to work for a common good."
Genevieve Hannelius landed her own Disney show
Genevieve Hannelius, also known as G., had a recurring role on "Sonny with a Chance" as Mr. Condor's daughter Dakota, who happens to have a major crush on Chad Dylan Cooper. After her stint on the show, Hannelius got her very own Disney Channel sitcom: "Dog with a Blog," which ran from 2012 to 2015. It followed the adventures of Avery Jennings (Hannelius) and her step-brother Tyler James (Blake Michael), two step-siblings whose life in the suburbs is totally normal except for the fact that their dog Stan can talk — and not only that, he has a blog (as the title suggests). Hannelius also got a sweet voice acting gig as the voice of Rosebud in the "Air Buddies" series — funnily enough, also about talking dogs.
In 2017, Hannelius scored another major role. She played class president Christa Carlyle in "American Vandal," the popular Netflix mockumentary series that served as a parody of true crime shows with a high school setting. In an interview with Decider, Hannelius looked back fondly on the shooting environment. "It was really fun for me... there was always laughing going on on set, especially because of the improv nature of it," she said. Although she enjoyed bringing Christa to life onscreen, she clarified that she has very little in common with her in real life. "She's very passionate. I think that's the only thing I can take from her," she said. "I don't think I want to be like Christa."
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