Rob Reiner's coming-of-age story has appealed to each generation with its timeless themes and remains one of the best movies about childhood. Set in 1950s Oregon, the film banked on its adult audience's nostalgia for an era of baseball cards and drive-in movie theaters. Revisiting the film today produces another kind of nostalgia for those who grew up in the era it was released, though. The young cast of Stand By Me would go on to star in films that defined a whole decade of cinema.

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Stand By Me True Story: Was It Inspired By Stephen King’s Childhood?

The Stand By Me book, The Body, draws from Stephen King's real childhood experiences. Here's the true story behind the Stand By Me source material.

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Wil Wheaton As "Gordie" Lachance

Date Of Birth: July 29, 1972

• Active Since: 1981

Actor: Born Richard William Wheaton III on July 29, 1972, in Burbank California, Wil Wheaton made his acting debut in the 1981 film A Long Way Home alongside Ordinary People's Timothy Hutton. Wheaton also voiced Martin in the animated children's film The Secret of NIMH, but he wouldn't gain international attention until he starred as "Gordie" in Stand By Me. He is probably most recognized among science-fiction fans for his portrayal of Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation. In June 2024, Wheaton announced his retirement from on-screen acting, focusing on his voice acting career going forward.

Character: Wil Wheaton plays a young Gordon "Gordie" Lachance as his adult self recalls the Labor Day weekend in which he and his best friends went searching for the body of missing local boy Ray Brower. Wheaton gives a powerful performance, particularly upon the traumatic discovery of Brower's body. The scene shows the impact of Gordie's grief over his older brother, Denny, whose death resulted in Gordie being ignored by their parents.

River Phoenix As Chris Chambers

Date Of Birth: August 23, 1970

• Active Since: 1980

Actor: Born in Madras, Oregon, River Phoenix started his career at age 10 acting in television commercials. He shot to fame as a teen actor, alongside his younger siblings Rain, Joaquin, Liberty, and Summer. His starring role in Stand By Me came just one year after his breakout performance in Explorers, which was also the film debut of his co-star, Ethan Hawke.

After a successful start in children's films, Phoenix began to take on more mature roles, most memorably performing in My Own Private Idaho, for which he won several awards. Phoenix's career was cut short after the actor's tragic death at the age of 23. He is nonetheless ed as a prolific talent. River Phoenix's final movie, Dark Blood, was released posthumously in 2012.

Character: In the film, Phoenix plays Gordie's childhood best friend, Chris. Gordie's recollection of that fateful weekend is inspired by his reading about Chris' fatal stabbing in the newspaper. Memories of their close friendship in childhood are therefore imbued with tragedy, adding weight to Gordie's closing remark: "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"

Corey Feldman As Teddy Duchamp

Date Of Birth: July 16, 1971

• Active Since: 1979

Actor: As a child actor, Corey Feldman became one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood. Born in Reseda, California, he began his career as a young child appearing in over 100 television commercials. Besides portraying Teddy in Stand By Me, Feldman had roles in popular 1980s films like Gremlins and The Goonies, where he acted alongside Sean Austin. With fellow Stand By Me alum, Kiefer Sutherland, Feldman starred in the cult black comedy horror, The Lost Boys. Feldman recently made a surprise appearance as The Masked Singer's Seal in the 11th season of the reality series.

Character: Teddy had a complicated relationship with his father, a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress which caused him to lash out against his son. Teddy's ear was burned off when his father shoved his head into a wood stove. Like all the four boys, Feldman's character in Stand By Me required a lot of emotional maturity for such a young actor. Interestingly, Feldman kept the prosthetic ear used in the scene up until 2021 when it was auctioned off in honor of the film's 35th anniversary.

Jerry O'Connell As Vern Tessio

Date Of Birth: February 17, 1974

• Active Since: 1986

Actor: Landing his role in Stand By Me aged just 11 years old, New York-born Jerry O'Connell's career didn't kick off until the late 1980s. His first starring role was as teen hero Andrew Clements in the Canadian science-fiction sitcom My Secret Identity. He reached the height of his fame in the following decade, appearing alongside Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire and in Scream 2 as Sidney Prescott's ill-fated boyfriend, Derek. O'Connell's varied career has seen him perform on Broadway, and he can currently be heard as the voice actor behind Commander Jack Ransom on Star Trek: Lower Decks.

Character: O'Connell played Vern Tessio in Stand By Me. The fourth member of the group was no less instrumental in the story: it is Vern who tells the group about Brower's body after he hears his older brother talking about it with a friend. O'Connell has been granted a small tribute in the town of Brownsville, Oregon, where parts of Stand By Me were filmed. A penny is embedded on the street in the location where Vern found one in the film.

Stand By Me ing Cast

Stand By Me Featured Notable Actors Like Kiefer Sutherland And John Cusack

Kiefer Sutherland as John "Ace" Merill: A young Kiefer Sutherland played Stand By Me's villain, the leader of the local gang who torments the young protagonists.

John Cusack as Dennis "Denny" Lachance: Gordie's older brother, Denny, is played by John Cusack. The actor made a name for himself starring in other notable coming-of-age dramedies, such as Sixteen Candles and Say Anything, ed for its iconic jukebox scene.

Richard Dreyfuss as adult Gordie: Credited as "the Writer", Stand By Me opens and closes with narration by the adult Gordie, portrayed by Richard Dreyfuss. Dreyfuss' prolific Hollywood career spanned three decades, kicked off by his role in George Lucas' American Graffiti. He is probably most well known today for portraying oceanographer Matt Hooper in Jaws.

Casey Siemaszko as Billy Tessio: While Siemaszko had ing roles in Stand By Me and Back To The Future, the Chicago-born actor would go on to star in the 1987 teen comedy Three O'Clock High as Jerry Mitchell. He would act alongside Kiefer Sutherland again in 1988, in the Western action film Young Guns.

Marshall Bell as Mr. Lachance: The actor who plays Gordie's grieving father had ing roles in several popular movies. His breakout performance was as the detestable Coach Schneider in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge. Bell can also be spotted as the hitman in the Arnold Schwarzenegger/Danny DeVito comedy, Twins.

s Lee McCain as Mrs. Lachance: s Lee McCain has been typecasted as the "mother" figure in several major films. She appeared alongside Stand By Me's Corey Feldman as Billy Peltzer's mother in Gremlins. She also played the mother of Kevin Bacon's character in Footloose.

Gary Riley as Charlie Hogan: Character actor Gary Riley has numerous film and television credits for minor roles. He appears briefly in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles stealing from the wallet of Steve Martin's character.

Bradley Gregg as Richard "Eyeball" Chambers: Gregg appeared alongside River Phoenix in two other films. He played another gang member in Explorers, and also appeared in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as Roscoe.

Bruce Kirby as Mr. Quidacioluo: Bruce Kirby's career as a character actor has seen him make multiple appearances in television shows. He appeared in six episodes of Columbo as Sergeant George Kramer. In the 2000s, he had one-off roles in notable shows like The Sopranos and The West Wing.

William Bronder as Milo Pressman: William Bronder served in the U.S. Army before turning to a career in film and television in the 1960s. His role as the junkyard owner in Stand By Me is typical of the kind of rough, working-class archetype he often portrays. His final role was as Wally Jatczak in the 2000 rom-com drama Return to Me, which starred David Duchovny and Minnie Driver.

Scott Beach as Mayor Grundy: Famed for his deep voice which landed him minor roles in several George Lucas films (including an uncredited stormtrooper voice in Star Wars) Scott Beach can be spotted as a German scientist in The Right Stuff. He also played Mr. Gordon in American Graffiti. He plays the mayor in Stand By Me.

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Stand By Me

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Release Date

November 26, 1986

Runtime

89 minutes

Director

Rob Reiner

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  Kiefer Sutherland
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Based on a Stephen King novella, and directed by Rob Reiner, Stand By Me follows the story of a group of young boys who set out on an expedition to find the dead body of another missing boy from their hometown. The film stars Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell, and is considered one of the most influential films of all time. 

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