What The Boy From Mrs. Doubtfire Looks Like Now

In November 2018, Mrs. Doubtfire turned 25 years old. To celebrate the milestone anniversary, the cast reunited on Today and shared anecdotes about their time on set. Actors Lisa Jakub, Matthew Lawrence, and Mara Wilson — who played children Lydia, Chris, and Natalie, respectively — aren't children anymore, but they reminisced with clarity. "It's a bit of a time warp," Jakub expressed. "I mean, there's a sense that no time has passed."

Notably absent was the late Robin Williams, but the star's larger-than-life presence could still be felt by his former castmates. Jakub revealed, "One of the most powerful things for me about working with him is that he was very open and honest with me talking about his issues with addiction, depression, and that was so powerful to me at 14."

Similarly, Lawrence said Williams was a "guiding force" and, as a 13-year-old actor, that may have been just what he needed. Lawrence will turn 40 in February 2020 — which is around the same age Williams was when he starred in the iconic film — but the former child actor's career took a different trajectory. Here's everything he's been up to since his big blockbuster debut.

Lawrence wasn't even old enough to attend kindergarten by the time he started acting. When he auditioned for Mrs. Doubtfire, he'd already been in the business for some eight years, and, well, child actors have a reputation for, shall we say, losing it.

Lawrence's younger co-star, Mara Wilson, explained why she thinks this happens (via Smithsonian Magazine). "A year in a kid's life seems like an eternity, and they think anything happening now will happen forever," she professed. "Years of adulation and money and things quickly become normal, and then, just as they get used to it all, they hit puberty — which is a serious job hazard when your job is being cute."

Thankfully for both Wilson and Lawrence, they had their on-screen dad/nanny to help them. "I'll never forget it. [Robin Williams] called me aside and this was not joking Robin, this is serious Robin. 'Don't do [drugs] Matthew,'" the star divulged to Page Six. "There are moments when that voice prevented me from doing anything wrong." The impact Williams had on Lawrence was no doubt profound.

In 2006, Matthew Lawrence's older brother, Joey, became a contestant on Dancing With the Stars, a show on which professional dancer Cheryl Burke also starred. When the cast went on tour the following year, Matthew and Burke had the opportunity to get to know each other better. "I'll never forget it actually," the Mrs. Doubtfire actor told Yahoo! Lifestyle. "I just saw this little head popping out from the crowd and I was like, 'Who is that?' I was captivated." Without her heels, Burke appeared shorter than the other dancers and apparently more noticeable. Burke told the publication, "I just thought he was very handsome," calling him a "good-looking dude." She then had Matthew's brother introduce them. 

Matthew and Burke dated for about a year, before calling it quits in February 2008. "We broke up and we didn't even run into each other once, which is crazy because we used to live very close," Burke admitted.

Don't feel too bad if you didn't catch any of Lawrence's work post-Boy Meets World. We were all still mourning the loss of our favorite show — and our crush on Jack Hunter, Shawn's older brother. In 2015, a decade and a half after Boy Meets World ended, a spinoff, Girl Meets World, was announced. At the time, Entertainment Weekly confirmed that "Matthew Lawrence will bring his perfect hair and 6 percent body fat to the Disney spinoff." 

Unfortunately, Lawrence wasn't cast as a series regular. Ahead of the show's premiere, Entertainment Weekly revealed that he would only be reprising his role for one episode of the second season. That's not to say we wouldn't all hold out hope for more appearances in future seasons. Sadly, though, Girl Meets World met its end after just three seasons — and Jack Hunter never did appear in the show's subsequent episodes. Sigh. RIP Jack.

It's no secret that Matthew Lawrence has some incredible pipes. He's showcased his powerhouse vocals several times throughout his acting career, treating us to musical numbers on Gimme a Break, Brotherly Love, and Boy Meets World. In 2017, he put his musical talents to good use with his brothers, launching the single "Lose Myself" under their band name, Still Three. "Making music is so much fun, so why not do it with the two fellas I have the most fun with?" Lawrence's younger brother, Andy, told People. "It just made sense."

The brothers had been teasing a single for a while, announcing back in 2014 that they were working on a musical project together. As of this writing, "Lose Myself" is the only track they've released, but the brothers have promised us more music in the future. It seems to be, after all, in their blood. "We started out as a musical family — acting kinda redirected us," Lawrence said. "It feels good to get back to our roots."

If all of their projects, including the new TV show, thenew movie, and the new music, take off, we might just be seeing a lot more of the Lawrence bros.

Some celebs are quick to endorse politicians or make their political views known, but Matthew Lawrence has been pretty quiet on that front. While we may not know who he voted for in the 2016 presidential election, we do know one issue that he did support: marijuana legalization. Several states legalized marijuana in 2016, and Lawrence was all for it.

When asked earlier that year about the use of recreational marijuana among professional athletes, Lawrence wasn't sure if it should be allowed. "Well, that's a tough question, man," he told The Paparazzi Gamer. "It's a slippery slope in the sense that what do you legalize, what do you not. I mean, we all like the fair competition of it... so that's, you know, that's cool."

However, he added that, when it comes to the average citizen, he's got no problem with marijuana. "Weed, I mean, for me, I'd say legalize it," he said. "It's not hurting anybody."

Cheryl Burke isn't the only one from Matthew Lawrence's past who has stayed in touch. Although the Disney spinoff series Girl Meets World was not quite the success that many fans and cast members might have hoped, the men behind the characters Cory Matthews and Jack Hunter have remained friends in real life. In July 2018, Ben Savage took to Instagram to congratulate Lawrence on his engagement. E! News reported that Savage was actually in attendance at Lawrence and Burke's engagement party in Los Angeles, Calif., making for a very small — but very appreciated — reunion. Three months earlier, Savage also reunited with two other former co-stars, Rider Strong and Will Friedle, who played Lawrence's brother and Savage's brother, respectively.

Although we wish we could be #blessed with a Boy Meets World reunion every day, we'll just have to take what we can get.

In November 2018, Matthew Lawrence and Cheryl Burke were busy planning their wedding. "We're gonna go scouting for venues. We already have two in mind," the Dancing With the Stars alum confirmed to Us Weekly. She explained that they have a date in mind, but are making sure they can secure a venue first. In an earlier interview with the publication, Burke revealed that she and her fiancé plan on getting married in 2019, but they're not really in a rush. Burke gushed to Us Weekly that she and Lawrence "love each other so much." She continued, "I love him for his compassion for what I do and vice versa." 

In December 2018, Burke provided another update to Yahoo! Lifestyle about her upcoming nuptials to the former Mrs. Doubtfire star. Burke confirmed, "It's all really happening. I think once I send out this guest list, it's all really happening." On May 23, 2019, the couple tied the knot in San Diego, Calif., as reported by People.