IT may not be top of your Christmas watchlist, but festive classic Deck the Halls boasts a pretty stellar cast.
The 2006 film stars Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick as warring fathers determined to outdo each other’s elaborate Christmas lights display.
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Hollywood A-listers Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick starred in Deck The Halls back in 2006Credit: Rex
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The Christmas classic saw the two fathers fighting to prove who could put up the better lights displayCredit: Rex
The feel-good movie wasn’t a box office smash, but it did prove a hit with comedy fans.
And many of its lesser-known stars have gone onto bigger things – but like Christmas light displays, some shined brighter than others.
Here we reveal what the cast got up to next – from bagging a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to messy divorces and a horror injury.
Matthew Broderick – haunted by tragic car crash
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Matthew Broderick, now 59, has been married to Sarah Jessica Parker for 24 years
Matthew was already a leading star of the big screen before playing Christmas lights-loving dad Steve Finch in the 2006 film.
He previously landed the lead in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, voiced Simba in The Lion King and starred in films including Godzilla, Inspector Gadget and The Cable Guy.
In 2012, Matthew was subjected to a barrage of criticism after featuring in a Honda advert as the brand’s ambassador.
People were furious given Matthew had been involved in a fatal car collision years previously, and charged with causing death by dangerous driving.
The crash happened while he was on a secret romantic trip with Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Grey in Northern Ireland in 1987.
It killed a 28-year-old woman, Anna Gallagher, and her mother Margaret, 63. Matthew was later convicted of careless driving and fined $175.
Following the advert controversy, the son and brother of the crash victims, Mr Doherty, said he had forgiven him.
“It wasn’t the greatest choice of drivers knowing his past [but] I suppose at the end of the day it was years ago,” he told The Impartial Reporter.
Since then Matthew has landed roles in Rick And Morty, Manchester By The Sea, 30 Rock, Modern Family, and has appeared on Saturday Night Live.
The 59-year-old has been married to Sarah Jessica Parker since 1997. They have a son and also twin daughters from a surrogate.
Nicola Peltz – Beckham-to-be
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Actress Nicola is currently engaged to Brooklyn Beckham
The actress kicked off her acting career with Deck The Halls when she played Mackenzie at around 11 years old.
She also performed in the 2008 film Righteous Kill, alongside Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, but her scene was cut from the final edit.
Since then Nicola Peltz has landed a number of big parts in The Last Airbender, Transformers: Age Of Extinction and the TV show Bates Motel.
In recent years, the 26-year-old hit the headlines when she started dating Brooklyn Beckham, the son of England ace David Beckham and ex-Spice Girl Victoria.
Brooklyn proposed with a £250,000 ring last year and recently claimed they would have been married if the coronavirus pandemic “wasn’t a thing”. He also has a series of tattoo tributes to his bride-to-be.
Nicola has repaid the favour, previously showing off a tasteful inking of Brooklyn’s name on her back.
It seems there will be no expense spared for their nuptials, with the Beckhams’ worth an estimated £340million and Nicola’s businessman father and ex-model mother reportedly worth £1.3bn.
Kristin Davis – booze battle
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Kristin Davis seems to have barely changed since playing Kelly in Deck The Halls
Kristin, who played Kelly Finch, served as a voice of reason in Deck The Halls as she tried to convince her husband to abandon his petty feud with Buddy Hall.
The actress is arguably best known for her role as clean-cut Charlotte York in Sex And The City, and recently appeared in the sequel, And Just Like That.
Kristin has credited her acting success with saving her from alcohol addiction.
In 2018, she admitted she doesn’t think she’d be alive without SATC, adding: “I’m an addict. I’m a recovering alcoholic. If I hadn’t found acting… acting is the only thing that made me want to ever get sober.
“I didn’t think I would live to be 30. I started drinking very young and luckily I quit very young, before any success happened, thank goodness.”
Kristin has two adopted children Gemma Rose and Wilson and lives in Bentwood, Los Angeles.
Jorge Garcia – Lost star
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Jorge was known as the ‘Baby-Faced Killer’ while wrestling and later starred in Lost
The Nebraska-born actor, now 48, played Wallace in the festive film but has gone on to land much bigger roles.
He starred as Hurley in Lost for six years until 2010, Anton The Giant in Once Upon A Time and Steve ‘The Blitz’ Henry in How I Met Your Mother.
Jorge also appeared on the cover of Weezer’s 2010 album Hurley, which featured a photo of him and the band’s lead singer Rivers Cuomo.
Before becoming famous, he was nicknamed the “Baby-Faced Killer” while on a wrestling team.
Fred Armisen – bitter divorce
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Fred Armisen is best known for his comedy work including Portlandia
The comedian played Gustave in Deck The Halls but is better known for his other work including his appearances on Saturday Night Live.
He also voiced characters in American Dad, Archer, Bob’s Burgers, Robot Chicken, The Simpsons and many more.
So far one of the biggest hits for Fred, now 54, has been his hit US sketch show Portlandia, which he co-wrote and starred in.
Away from the cameras, he was married to Handmaid’s Tale star Elizabeth Moss but their relationship was far from a happy one.
In 2011, after she filed for divorce citing “irreconcilable differences”, he admitted to interviewer Howard Stern: “I think I was a terrible husband.”
Elizabeth told Page Six: “The greatest impersonation he does is that of a normal person.”
Fred later admitted to having “a problem with intimacy” and she described their two-year marriage as “extremely traumatic and awful and horrible”.
Alia Shawkat – racism row
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Alia starred in 79 episodes of Arrested Development after Deck The Halls
While her father was at war, Madison Finch – played by Alia Shawkat – was busy making friends and even gave a cheeky performance in Mrs Santa outfits alongside the Hall twins.
Since then, Alia has taken on a number of other roles but is best known for playing Mae ‘Maeby’ Funke in Arrested Development.
Last year, she came under fire when a clip of her singing the N-word along to Drake’s hit We Made It resurfaced.
The 32-year-old, who is also an artist, took to Instagram to say she was “deeply sorry” for the 2016 video and described it as “a careless moment”.
Danny DeVito – sex in The White House
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Danny DeVito, now 77, remains a fixture on TV screens today
Danny – who played Buddy Hall in the film – had a long list of hits behind him including One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Matilda, Batman Returns and Twins.
His career has continued to go from strength to strength, with the actor most recently winning acclaim as Frank Reynolds in It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.
Danny appeared in Jumanji: The Next Level, The Kominsky Method, The Simpsons and more – as well as a cameo in One Direction’s music video for Steal My Girl.
But the 77-year-old actor’s personal life has been a little more fraught and he’s become known for making shocking comments on TV.
He caused a stir after referring to then-President George W Bush as “numbnuts” and admitting to having had sex in The White House during a 2006 episode of The View.
Danny also admitted to “overindulging” with “illegal drugs” – most notably cocaine and acid – and wasn’t deterred from taking them in his later years.
“I wouldn’t make a habit of it. But it’s so beautiful… I would do it… Why not?” he told Rolling Stone in 2015.
Two years later, Danny and his wife of 35 years Rhea Perlman separated amid a flurry of claims about infidelity – which he sternly denied.
Despite splitting up, they have not started divorce proceedings because they get on too well – and Rhea claims they never will.
“We agree on enough things, so why [ruin] that with the yucky things that come with a divorce?,” she said.
The couple – who moved in just two weeks after first meeting in 1971 – have three children together – Lucy, Jake and Grace.
Kristin Chenoweth – horror injury
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Kristin Chenoweth went on to land big parts including in the hit musical Wicked
Kristin, 53, played Danny DeVito’s trophy wife Tia in the festive film.
In real life she boasts a few trophies of her own, including two Tony Award nominations.
The actress played April Rhodes in Glee, Maleficent in Disney’s live-action movie and cameos including in BoJack Horseman.
In 2012, Kristin starred in two episodes of The Good Wife before having to quit after a dangerous injury on set.
“Basically, a big lighting thing fell on me… and knocked me out cold,” she told People magazine.
The actress “couldn’t really form a sentence” after the accident, which left her with a five-inch skull fracture, cracked ribs and hip issues.
Thankfully Kristine recovered from her injuries and three years later was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
In 2017, amid the #MeToo movement, the star claimed she “made arm farts” and “tap danced” to escape unwanted attention and sexual harassment.
Kelly and Sabrina Aldridge – ditched acting
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Kelly and Sabrina Aldridge played the ‘hot twins’ in Deck The Halls
The Florida-born actresses were in their early twenties when they played hot twins Ashley and Emily Hall, who got caught in the middle of their dad’s holiday hijinks.
They both went on to star in the TV series Whittaker Bay and reprised their Deck The Halls roles before retiring from the big screen.
Now 37, the twins appear to no longer be acting; Kelly is a painter in Dallas and Sabina worked in real estate and wealth management before becoming a financial planner.
Dylan Blue – TV star
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Dylan is unrecognisable now and has had a few big parts since Deck The Halls
Dylan was 10 years old when he played Matthew’s son Carter Finch and reflected fondly on his time with the other stars.
He described Danny DeVito as “really fun” and insisted Frank Reynolds in It’s Always Sunny was a glimpse at the actor’s real personality.
Dylan shut down critics of Deck The Halls and told Metro: “If anybody hates it, they’re taking holiday movies too seriously!”
Since appearing in the film, he’s appeared in the TV series Big Lake, Law & Order and several short films.
SuChin Pak – racist taunts
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TV reporter SuChin played herself in the 2006 funny flick
TV reporter SuChin Pak, who plays herself in the film, brings a much-needed happy ending to the film when she reveals the Christmas lights display can be seen from space.
After Deck The Halls, the South Korean star continued to have an illustrious career as a journalist – having already made history as MTV’s first onscreen Asian star.
She covered the Sundance Film Festival, interviewed stars including Mariah Carey and George Lucas and later narrated shows including MTV Cribs.
However, SuChin also revealed she struggled with confidence during an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2007.
Last year, she claimed an MTV colleague mocked her reporting when they told a “room full of people that I looked like a ‘me sucky suck love you long time’ w***e”.
At first, the journalist was “afraid… to cause a fuss or be seen as difficult or ‘too sensitive’” but later fought to “have this person removed”.
She shared her experiences amid rising anti-Asian hate crime during the pandemic last year – ViacomCBS did not respond to SuChin’s claims.
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The Aldridge twins and Alia gave a cheeky Christmas performance in the film
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Brooklyn Beckham and Deck The Halls star Nicola Peltz are due to get marriedCredit: Getty
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Deck The Halls marks its 15 year anniversary. It was released in 2006
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