The Olsens Weren't The Only Twins To Leave Hollywood Behind For Good

You may not have realized it, but Hollywood habitually hires twin child actors to play the same character. It's a great way for studios to get around child labor laws and deal with the unpredictable moods of children on set. However, even though many child actor twins find fame at a young age, they don't always stay in the business. 

One of the most famous examples is Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who began their careers as child actors as six-month-old babies on the show "Full House." After rising to fame throughout their childhood and starring in numerous films and TV shows, the Olsen pair eventually left Hollywood as teenagers. 

After starting their successful minimalist clothing brand, The Row, the pair began turning down roles. "I was reading scripts, and ultimately I just said to the people who are representing me, 'I need to do things 100 percent. I don't feel like I can give you 100 percent of my time,'" Ashley told Allure. And the Olsen twins aren't the only ones who have decided not to keep acting as adults. Let's take a look at some of the lesser-known twin stars who left Hollywood behind.

Mara Wilson may be the most famous child star from the 1996 classic "Mathilda," but two other child actors played the same role in the film. Amanda and Caitlin Fein are twins who played the toddler version of Mathilda. The pair went on to appear in numerous other projects together throughout the '90s and 2000s, including "Deep Impact," "The X-Files," and "Surviving Christmas." However, Caitlin's last role came in 2013, and her sister's in 2014.

These days, Caitlin appears to be working as a production assistant, with credits on "The Loud House" and "Bixler High Private Eye." Her LinkedIn profile also lists her as an animation writer and script reader. "I'm a TAG television writer who writes animation and character-driven comedies/dramedies with a genre twist," reads her bio. "I take inspiration from messy, ambitious young women who need to accept the chaos around them. Also ghosts." 

According to her Instagram, she also appears to be married. As for Amanda, her Instagram bio states that she is now a freelance writer. Her Coverfly bio reads, "Now, Amanda writes genre-bending comedies about independent, complex women learning to embrace their realities and those around them." It sounds like both Amanda and Caitlin grew up to love reading and writing almost as much as the character that brought them fame as children.

Back in the '70s, Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush were two of the most famous twins around, thanks to their joint portrayal of Carrie Ingalls in the popular "Little House on the Prairie" series, which they began at the age of three. It remains one of their only roles to date. 

In 1983, one year after the show finished, Lindsay appeared in an episode of "Matt Houston." That same year, Sidney took on a role in an episode of "Hambone and Hillie." Since then, the pair have left acting behind.

Sidney went on to work as a sales system administrator for a builder. "I never thought I would have an IT type job but that's what I do," she said to The Malibu Times in 2015. She and her sister also take part in reunion events. Lindsay went on to marry Danny Sanchez, whom she had met on set as a child. Her Twitter bio states that she is a "Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Proud Line & Air Force Mom, Actress, Equestrian, Sports Fan, and Friend."

Evan and Luke Kruntchev became child actors when they landed the role of Boyd, son of Kristin Baxter and Ryan Vogelson, in seven episodes of "Last Man Standing," the Tim Allen-led Fox series. This was followed by the role of Harrison Morgan, Dexter's son, in "Dexter" — the pair appeared in 25 episodes of the serial killer drama. Then, the pair landed another coveted role when they played Parker in 47 episodes of "Days of Our Lives." Parker was the son of Chloe Lane and Philip Kiriakis and the subject of a fierce custody battle.

Since then, however, the twins appear to have given up acting, and their last episode was released in 2015. Recently, the pair seem to have drifted out of the spotlight, presumably to grow up away from the public eye. But who knows, maybe we'll be seeing them on our screens again one day in the future.

James and Travis Riker were babies when they landed their first role as the son of Scully and Mulder in "The X Files" in 2001, and the pair appeared in eight episodes of the show. Since then, the duo has largely stepped away from acting. However, as of April 2023, Travis is set to appear in a small background role in the film "Chuck Hank and the San Diego Twins," alongside Troian Bellisario and David Arquette.

Instead, the young twins have become models in publications such as Elle UK and Teen Vogue. In 2016, they spoke to the Daily Mail about their careers. "We were so lucky. [Model] Paloma [Jackson] submitted my photos and I got chosen at 12 years old to be in a 16 page fashion editorial for Elle UK," James said. Added Travis, "We've stayed good friends with the photographer Kai Z Feng who took all the photos. We love his work."

These days, the twins are active on social media. Travis has over 600,000 followers on TikTok, where his bio states he is "just a kid making pop punk," while his brother has over 30,000 Instagram followers. According to his bio, he's currently playing soccer at Cal State.

Shane and Brent Kinsman started when they played mischievous twins Nigel and Kyle in the "Cheaper by the Dozen" movies in 2003 and 2005. From 2004 until 2011, the pair starred in "Desperate Housewives" as twins Porter and Preston Scavo, sons of Tom and Lynette. The pair later played twins in a 2008 episode of "ER." Since 2011, however, both have moved on to other things.

According to Shane's Instagram, he is an avid fisher, a Jiu-Jitsu competitor, an amateur musician, and a fan of motorcycling. Brent appears to have similar interests. On his Instagram, he can be found motorcycling and practicing Jiu-Jitsu, too. The sporty pair also took part in a triathlon in 2021.

In 2022, the twins spoke to "Rave It Up TV" about turning to sports and their potential return to acting. "We stopped acting when we were 12," said Brent. "And so that's when we picked up baseball and football." The twins went on to explain that they were hoping to re-enter the industry and were even working on their own script. While these twins left the industry for a while, who knows — we might see them on our screens again before long.

Ella and Jaden Hiller had a very short career as child actors. After playing a small role in "Surrogate" as babies, they found fame as the baby version of Lily (daughter of Cam and Mitchell) in "Modern Family" in 2010. However, after just four episodes, they were replaced by Aubrey Anderson-Emmons.

The twins were first cast after their father, Doug, saw a Craigslist ad. "We sent in a picture and they were cast. It was crazy," he told Woman's Day. Their mother, Michelle, went on to explain that as they didn't have any connections in the industry, they weren't paid huge amounts. "They got $200 per girl per day," she said. "All the money they earned went into their college funds." 

As the girls' parents explained, they eventually decided to take them off the show because they clearly didn't enjoy acting. "We told the producers the girls wouldn't be coming back," Michelle said. "They tried to get us to change our mind and they offered us better and better terms." Apparently, they were offered $34,000 an episode, but they still turned it down. Now, the two twins have officially "retired."