Who is Courtland Mead?
Born on April 19, 1987 in Mission Viejo, California, USA, Courtland Robert Mead is a former actor, best known for his work in the 1990s when he became an established child actor. Some of the notable projects he worked on are ‘The Little Rascals’, ‘The Haunting’, ‘The Young and the Restless’ and ‘The Shining’.
Courtland Mead’s net worth
As of mid 2020, Courtland Mead’s net worth is estimated to be over $1 million earned from a successful career as a child actor with his numerous appearances in both movies and television shows, though his current employment is unknown.
Hofland Mede
Posted by Movie guy 24/7 On Thursday, April 18, 2019
Early life and career beginnings
Courtland’s life growing up was not like most kids as he was thrust into show business at the age of two supported by his parents and two sisters who were probably responsible for his early career path. He first appeared as minor characters in independent films such as “Only You” and “For Parents Only”. He made his television debut in an episode of “Baby Talk” in 1991.
In 1994, he made his first feature film appearance in “Dragonworld”, playing a young Johnny McGowan. The film was released direct-to-video, but it opened up more opportunities for him in the same year, when he was cast in “The little rascals”.
The film is an adaptation of the 1920s to 1940s short films called “Our Gang”, and follows the story of a group of friends and their misadventures. He played the role of Uh-huh, the group’s typographer, and was nicknamed for his constant use of “uh-huh” in response. Another movie he worked on was “Corrina, Corrina”, starring Ray Liotta and Whoopi Goldberg.
Television work and rise to prominence
Aside from movies, Mead eventually got consistent work in television, first appearing regularly on the soap opera “The Young and the Restless”, portraying Phillip Chancellor for a year.
The award-winning series is one of the few still airing on daytime television of many that competed in the 1970s to 1980s. It focuses on numerous families and characters that have been introduced, with the inclusion of new actors as others leave.
He only stayed on the series for a year and then had a regular role in “Kirk”, which he also worked in for a year. In 1997, he appeared in a television miniseries adaptation of “The Shining”, based on the Stephen King book of the same name, and emerged after dissatisfaction with the 1980 Stanley Kubrick version.
It was well received upon airing and won two Primetime Emmy awards, although the 1980 version is still the most popular. celebrated adaptation, with it being considered one of Kubrick’s best works, taking actor Jack Nicholson’s career to the next level.
Continue acting
As the 1990s progressed, Courtland found regular work on television doing commercials, most notably for Pizza Hut, the well-known American pizza chain. He was also a regular guest on television shows, mainly due to his work, which attracted attention on several fronts.
In 1995, he was cast in the Disney movie “Tom and Huck” which is based on the novel “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain, the title of which is a reference to Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. In the same year, he also voiced a puppy for the movie “Babe”, which is about a pig who wants to work as a sheepdog, and was based on the novel “The Sheep-Pig” written by Dick King-Smith.
With his work in “The Shining” he also became a regular in the horror genre, being cast in “Hellraiser: Bloodline”, the fourth film of the “Hellraiser” series, based on the work of Clive Barker, and the last film of the series to be released theatrically.
He also started exploring more voice roles after his work in “Babe”, lending his voice to “The Haunting”, based on the novel “The Haunting of Hill House”, which would receive another popular adaptation in recent years.
Voice acting and retirement
During the latter part of Mead’s youth career, he focused more on voice acting and worked on the animated film “An insect life‘, uttering the character Fly. The film is one of Pixar’s first efforts and was highly successful, receiving positive reviews and earning well at the box office. The film is inspired by the fable “The Ant and the Grasshopper”, and features the voices of Kevin Spacey and Hayden Panettiere.
Then he joined the cast of the animated series “interruption‘, voicing the character Gus Griswald throughout its run from 1997 to 2001. The show aired on Disney and followed the lives of six elementary school students, focusing on their interactions with each other and with other school people. The show was successful, so he voiced the character in two animated movies based on the show: “Recess: School’s Out” and “Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade”. One of his last projects before retiring was “Lloyd in Space”, in which he voiced the titular character for three years.
He quietly stepped away from the acting world in 2004, though he recently came back briefly in the direct-to-video movie “Never Hike in the Snow”. It is unknown if he plans to return to acting or if it was just a one-time thing.
Private life
Courtland is in a relationship with Chelsea Jean Whetstine and they have a child together; it is unknown if they plan to get married any time soon. He mostly keeps to himself and has no public online accounts, which has led to a lot of speculation. He has never spoken publicly about why he retired from acting, although it is common for many child actors to pursue other things even after their success, as acting can be a very stressful job.
