Brandon Baker went big and then he went home.

But when the former DCOM—Disney Channel Original Movie—star decided it was time to set the metaphorical surfboard down years after using it to hit the ski slopes in 1999’s Johnny Tsunami, his home was no longer in Southern California.

Having gotten his fill of Hollywood stardom—beginning with the titular role in 1998’s The Jungle Book: Mowgli’s Story—the 40-year-old decided to find himself in the vistas of Colorado.

“It was nice to move out here a decade ago to really decide who I wanted to be without being in somewhat of a quarter-life crisis,” Brandon told E! News in an exclusive interview. “That was hugely healing for me in my sense of self.”

Long before trading in the bright lights for crisp air, though, he was just a kid actor living an hour south of the City of Stars.

“I grew up in Orange County and viewed my life as separate from L.A.” Brandon explained. “My delineation was in my identity. Some people were like, ‘I am an actor.’ Mine was always, ‘I'm Brandon, and I also act.’”

He wasbooked and busy, too. In fact, he went to shoot his career-defining movie in between seasons of NBC’s teen sitcom One World, which saw him appearing on the Saturday morning lineup from 1998 until 2001. But being from California lent itself to a separate experience from Tsunami costars like Zenon actress Kirsten Storms, who had relocated to Hollywood from Orlando in the ‘90s. 

“There was that community of kid actors that I wasn't a part of,” Brandon explained. “I would leave set, travel back home an hour to Orange County and be back with my childhood friends.”

However, that didn’t keep him from forming other special bonds on set. In fact, he and Kirsten had a bit of a fling after starring in the DCOMtogether—with the help of their moms, of course.

“We were 13 at the time, so there were a couple of ‘dates’ in which someone's mom drove someone to the other mom's house,” Brandon shared, noting the hour-long commute between L.A. and the O.C. “I definitely had a crush on her.”

And, like his character Johnny Kapahala, he won that race too, revealing, “There was definitely a kiss that occurred in a stairwell in Utah as we were filming.” However, he admitted, “I was definitely more into her than she was into me.”

Not that he was short on admirers throughout his teenage years, though, due to Disney Channel’s propensity for airing his fame-making fare.

“People would come up to me like, ‘Oh, you're in that Johnny Tsunami TV show,’” he recalled. “I'm like, ‘Oh yeah, it was a movie.’ And they're like, ‘No, the TV show’s on all the time.’ And I'm like, ‘No, I think you've just seen it so many times that your memory believes it as such.’”

And though he kept shredding throughout his teens and 20s—a few episodes of Even Stevens here, a Tsunami sequel there—and graduated with a film degree from UC Santa Barbara, Brandon felt like he needed a change. So, he up-and-moved to Colorado.

Not knowing a soul in the Centennial State, he acknowledged that the first few months were “lonely” and “uncomfortable.” But once he got over that “hump,” he was able to start moving beyond the “identity of an actor” that he’d had since he was 11 years old.

“I can self-actualize out here,” he realized. “I can be whoever I want to be.” 

And as it turned out, who he wanted to be—at least professionally—was a total 180 from anything he could have expected: a wedding officiant for an elopement company.

“I’ve always loved love,” Brandon explained, noting he initially took the gig as a way to make extra cash, though it quickly snowballed into more of a full-time job. “I love it. I get to be in these beautiful places in Colorado. And sometimes folks will hire me for an adventure elopement where we go hiking, skiing or snowboarding to a specific peak, and then we'll marry [them] there.”

He added, “Every time that happens, I'm just like, ‘This is so crazy that this is my life.’”

It’s a memorable experience for the newlyweds and their families, too, since some of them—like one couple who flew him to Hawaii for their ceremony—hire Brandon specifically because he’s Johnny Tsunami. Meanwhile, others discover his not-so-secret identity mid-ceremony, which comes with its own laughs. 

The undercurrent in each of those scenarios, though, is that his notoriety often eclipses his anonymity—a fact he struggled to reconcile for much of his life. But if the last decade has given him anything, it’s a healthier perspective of his Disney Channel days, which he’s enthusiastic to admit “feels pretty good.”

“That is a portion of who I am, and certainly not all of who I am, but that part of my life has taught me so many things,” Brandon said. “It now feels pretty incorporated into my sense of self, and I love who I am, and I love my life, and I'm really appreciative for all of it.”

He’s also grateful for where he’s landed in his self-discovery journey because he knows that “has not been the case” for some other child stars. 

“Growing up being a kid actor is a very weird thing, and I'm thankful that I've had community around me to help me through that,” he shared, noting he’s also fortunate that “nothing truly bad ever happened to me, and I was able to get to where I am now.”

Beyond his wedding officiating duties, he spends his time hosting the new Flip Phone Confessional nostalgia podcast (don’t worry, he’s “well aware that there are way too many podcasts out there”) and doing freelance production for music festivals. He also spends his days with his wife Nina Crouse, who he married last year.

And now, after years out of the limelight, Brandon admitted he might be willing to dive back into the waves of acting.

“I feel like I have a better idea of who I am and who I wish to be,” he shared, reflecting on his last decade of personal growth. “The idea of playing someone else again sounds more appealing than it has in a while.” 

While he’s not sitting around waiting for casting directors to call, Brandon said he’s finally ready to give more of himself to the world. Do we hear a conch shell beckoning Johnny Tsunami 3?

For more about what former Disney Channel hunks are up to these days, keep reading…

Ryan is still acting, appearing in Model House in 2024 and Out of Exile in 2022. He played Ian Thomas on Pretty Little Liars, and was in quite a few horror movies. He married Kristen McMullen in 2014 and still celebrates St. Patrick's Day every year, thankfully.

Erik Von Detten is practically a Disney prince himself, with roles in Brink! and The Princess Diaries and voice roles in Toy Story, Recess and Tarzan. He took an extended Hollywood hiatus starting in 2010to start a family, but he returned to acting in the 2024 TV movie My Acting Coach Nightmare. The former Pup 'N Suds member and his wife Angela welcomed their first baby, a daughter named Claire, in May of 2019 and, welcomed baby no. 2 in 2021.

Sam played Val, leader of Team X-Bladz, in 1998's Brink!. In the years since, he's made appearances on shows including Veronica Mars, One Tree Hill, Modern Family, Desperate Housewives, CSI, and True Blood. Not too bad of a resume! He has two kids with estranged wife Betty. 

Superstar Proto Zoa is still acting to this day. He was in CBS All Access' Tell Me a Story, and two episodes of Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists as Sophia Carson's dad. Plus, we'd be remiss not to mention his run on 24 in 2002 and 2003. These days, he's stepped behind the camera and now serves as a director.

Post Zenon, he starred in Everwood from 2002 to 2006 and Rookie Blue from 2010 to 2015. But after 2015, he switched gears and started directing, particularly on CW shows such as Arrow, Riverdale, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl and Superman & Lois. He married Taylor McKay in 2018 and the pair share two children.

After playing Johnny Kapahala in 2007's Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board, he went on to star in two other films: 2013's The Formula and 2015's Up on the Wooftop. These days, he works as a wedding officiant for an elopement company. He married his wife Nina Crouse in 2024.

Since the 2001 movie, he's kept a steady stream of acting gigs, including Nancy Drew, Proven Innocent, Life Sentence, Frequency, Nashville, The Messengers, True Blood, 90210, Drive, Joan of Arcadia, 24 and maaaany more. He's also got a band called The Life of Riley.

His acting career hasn't been too eventful since The Thirteenth Year. These days Chez creates workout content on his social media and shares three adorable kids with wife Whitney.

Taylor hasn't done much since Eddie's Million-Dollar Cookoff in 2003, sadly, only really acting in the show Still Standing from 2002 to 2006. He's kept an incredibly low profile, not even having obvious active social media accounts.

Chris unfortunately hasn't acted since 2014. Before then, he played Declan on Kyle XY and also appeared in the DCOM Now You See It. He's married to actress Alexandra Picatto and together they have a young son.

Disney royalty JT was a cast member in The Mickey Mouse Club and channeled a male model in Model Behavior, acting as Jason Sharpe. In case you've been on a decades-long silent retreat or have been living on Mars, he's very much still a household name. He and wife Jessica Biel are parents to Silas and Phineas.

Robert Ri'chard has followed up 2000's Alley Cats Strike with a long acting career, including stints on Cousin Skeeter, Veronica Mars, Meet the Browns, The Vampire Diaries and Empire. Plus, he's made appearances on iZombie, CSI: NY, NCIS, and CSI: Miami. To this day, his IMDb continues to be filled with new projects, including the 2025 TV show Mind Your Business.

Kyle has also kept busy since leaving the bowling alley, starring in Netflix's The I-Land, as well as Being Human, Lost Girl and a 2012 episode of Arrow. He is currently part of the main cast of NCIS: Origins. He married actress Caity Lotz in 2023.

Taran played famous pop singer Jordan Cahill in the 2004 movie, and went on to be a Saturday Night Live cast member from 2010 to 2016. He also appeared on How I Met Your Mother with Cobie Smulders, who he married in 2012. They have two daughters, born in 2009 and 2015. 

After playing Lizzie McGuire's crush from 2001 to 2004, he moved on to real estate and married longtime girlfriend Allegra Edwards in November 2020. These days, he still acts in the occasional movie or TV series, and was even set to play Ethan again in the Lizzie McGuire revival (though the show was ultimately axed). And yes, he's still just as dreamy as he was way back when.

Lizzie McGuire's best friend Gordo only acted in two projects after starring in the hit Disney Channel show, with the last of his projects airing in 2008. He was set to reprise his role in the killed revival, too. He worked as a development professional at the Irish Arts Center in NYC until 2019, according to his LinkedIn. Nowadays, he works in fundraising. 

Zac Efron may always be Troy Bolton to many of us, but the HSM star went on to do quite a lot. He starred in 17 Again, Neighbors, Baywatch, The Greatest Showman, and even played Ted Bundy. He won a daytime Emmy in 2021 for his Netflix series, Down to Earth with Zac Efron, and starred in the critically acclaimed movie The Iron Claw in 2023.

During his time on Wizards of Waverly Place, David Henrie was also playing the son on How I Met Your Mother. And while he hit pause on his acting career in 2016, he co-wrote, directed and starred in 2020's This Is The Year. Now, he stars in and executive produces the Wizards revival Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.

He wed Maria Cahill in 2017, and their first daughter Pia was born in March 2019. Son James arrived in December 2020. They welcomed another baby girl in summer 2022.

Best known for romancing Hannah Montana in the 2009 flick, he went on to star as the titular character on CBS' MacGyver from 2016 to 2021. He's also been in two X-Men movies as Havok and played the boy next door in Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" video. 

In 2024, Till's longterm girlfriend Skyler Samuels revealed they had previously tied the knot and welcomed a child that year.

Apologies to Cole and Dylan for putting them in one slide, but where would Zack be without Cody? And Cody without Zack? The twins mostly took a break from acting to go to college between 2011 and 2017, but now they're both back in it and taking advantage of their new hunk status.

Cole starred in Riverdale and following his split from costar Lili Reinhart, he started dating Ari Fournier. He still acts, appearing in the 2024 dark comedy Lisa Frankenstein.

Meanwhile, Dylan continues to act and tied the knot with model Barbara Palvin in 2023.

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