One of the films that marked the childhood of millions of children in the eighties was The Neverending Story, released in Spain on December 6, 1984. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, who died last week at the age of 81, it was based on German writer Michael Ende's bestseller and was a box office success.
The story introduced us to Bastian, a lonely boy with no mother who is harassed by some schoolmates and one day decides to hide in a bookstore. The owner of the premises shows him an enigmatic book entitled The Neverending Story that arouses his curiosity and ends up taking the copy secretly.
Protected in the attic of the school, Bastian is immersed in an exciting reading that speaks of the danger that the Kingdom of Fantasy suffers due to Nothingness, a void that floods everything and destroys its inhabitants. As the action progresses, the protagonist is immersed in what happens in the book itself, participating in the adventures of the young warrior Atreyu to save Fantasia and the Childish Empress, who is torn between life and death.
The shooting of the film took place in Germany, in the Munich Bavaria Filmstadt studios. The film only portrayed the first part of the book, and Petersen altered several aspects of the plot that made Ende loathe the final cut.
Despite the disputes, the film swept the international scene thanks to its vindication of dreams and imagination, in addition to some brilliant special effects for the time and a powerful soundtrack by Giorgio Moroder, creator of Limahl's hit, which put voice to the main theme of the film. In fact, the song has become popular again thanks to its presence in the series Stranger things, set in the eighties.
Thirty-eight years later, we review what has become of its protagonists.
Born in Los Angeles on August 24, 1973, Oliver made his small screen debut in 1981 in the television series The Incredible Hulk, starring Lou Ferrigno. A year later he would take part in another mythical series: Fantastic car. Two years later he had a small role in the musical comedy Jekyll and Hyde...till laughter do them part. In 1984 he became the protagonist of Frankenweenie, Tim Burton's short film in which he was Victor Frankenstein, a boy who tries to revive his dog Sparky, hit by a truck.
Later he would achieve fame at the age of ten in the role of the shy Bastian. Following the success of The NeverEnding Story, he played a child prodigy in Simon Wincer's sci-fi film D.A.R.Y.L., a performance that earned him a Saturn Award for Best Young Actor.
His short film career continued with Cocoon (1985) and his second installment in 1988, alongside Steve Guttenberg, Jessica Tandy and Don Ameche. And between one project and another we saw him in the family telefilm Spot Marks the X (1986) and in the drama The Secret Garden (1987). Her last job was in 1989, in Scenes from the fight of the sexes in Beverly Hills.
Barret decided to end his career in the film industry in 1990 to give rein to his true passion: photography. About to turn 49, he is a renowned photographer and exhibits in several art galleries. In 2003 he worked as a publicity photographer on Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain, for which he received an award for one of the film's promotional shots.
In 2008 he published a book, History of Woodburytype, about the photomechanical processes in the 19th century. Barret once assured that he left the world of acting because he was no longer excited by what he did. In 2007 she participated in the documentary In the usual manner, where she can be seen doing his photographic work wearing an image in which he has long hair, glasses and a bushy beard.
Hathaway (Los Angeles, 1971) was already a popular child before playing Atreyu thanks to the movie Galactica, Universe at War (1978) and the television series Galactica: Battle Star, where he played Boxie. At the age of twelve he was chosen to star in his most important film role, that of the warrior who must save Fantasia.
To embody his character, the actor had to learn to climb and ride a horse. In addition, he had to show a vulnerable character. It is worth mentioning the scene of the swamp in which he cried when his horse Artax is engulfed by the mud. For his role he was awarded the Saturn for best child actor and was nominated for the Young Artist Awards.
During filming, Hathaway had several accidents and did not get along very well with some of the crew, especially Brian Johnson, director of special effects, who referred to him as "a pain in the ass." After his time in The Neverending Story, he took part in several episodes of the Simon series.
It wasn't until 1994, at the age of 23, that she appeared in a movie again, the forgettable drama To Die, to Sleep, and then retired from acting because she "wanted to lead a normal life." Hathaway changed the sets for the practice of various sports: martial arts, swimming, motorcycling and car racing. She achieved a black belt in several disciplines: Shotokan Karate, Tang Soo Do and American Kenpo. Tattoos are another of her passions.
In 2012 he returned to the cinema to participate in the independent thriller Sushi Girl, in which Mark Hamill also appeared. Since then he has appeared sporadically in various series. For 2023 he plans to release the thriller River beauty, by Robbie Lopez.
If the career of her co-stars didn't stand out too much after The NeverEnding Story, Tami's was even shorter. Born in Tehran in 1972, she was the only one of the three with no prior screen experience when she was chosen from 3,000 hopefuls for the character of the Childish Empress. With a Scottish father and an Israeli mother, she said in an interview that she ended up in the film by pure chance, since an agent who was a friend of her school teacher noticed her and encouraged her to appear for the casting.
Her parents, renowned archaeologists, let their daughter participate in the film because it was only going to be two months of filming, but then they separated her from the industry. The actress never thought about the success that the film would have. The young woman abandoned the world of acting and opted for dance, a discipline that she had practiced since she was a child.
Since then, his name has appeared in the credits of two Czech-produced titles: Fredy a Zlatovláska (2008) and Last Children of Aporver (2012). In 2018 she shot the drama Ultra Low and this 2022 she has to release Man
