Where The Ring cast are 20 years on – ‘drug death’ arrest to unrecognisable child prodigy’s unexpected career change
TWENTY years ago there was one video that no one wanted to watch - but packed cinemas with terrified fans.
The remake of the original Japanese flick, was released on October 18, 2003, and became an instant hit.
The film - where people who watch a video are given seven days to live - grossed $249million worldwide.
The cult horror featured a deadly video tape of drowned girl Samara who crawled out of the screen to kill whoever watched it.
The film follows journalist Rachel - played by Naomi Watts - who watches the tape and receives a chilling call telling her she has “seven days”.
While Naomi went on to have a glittering Hollywood career, not all of her co-stars were not so lucky. Here, we track what they’ve been up to.
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Naomi Watts - Rachel Keller
British-Australian actress Naomi, now 54, was cast as a lead in the cult film following her success in Mulholland Drive.
Naomi - who played investigative journalist Rachel - was hiding a secret pain as she rose to fame.
The Oscar-nominated actress last year revealed how her father Peter had died from a heroin addiction when she was just seven years old.
The Pink Floyd road manager was found dead in his west London flat after overdosing on the Class-A drug.
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She told Vogue Australia: “Having grown up losing my dad at a very early age, I think that's a story I know well; it's still sorting itself out at the ripe age of 52."
Her mum Myfanwy has previously said: "With Naomi, it's been an enormous help for her, films like 21 Grams... that emotion is buried in there, she uses it, she can work with that.”
Brian Cox - Richard Morgan
The Scottish actor had already conquered Hollywood with roles in 90s flicks Rob Roy and Braveheart after a long theatre career.
He played the tormented father of Samara - the main antagonist.
The 76-year-old told how in his twenties he caught the eye of Queen Elizabeth’s sister Princess Margaret at the Royal Court.
He told The Guardian: “She put her fingers on my shirt, and said: ‘This is a lovely shirt.’ And she started to run her fingers down the inside of my shirt. And I went: ‘Uh oh!’ What do you do when you’re being touched up by a royal?”
He continued: "She just kept saying: ‘You were so wonderfully hooded on stage. I wanted to know more about you…’ She was an extraordinary creature.
"I excused myself and said: ‘Thank you, ma’am,’ and it came to a natural end.”
The year The Ring came out, Cox married his second wife actress Nicole Ansari and went on to have two sons Orsin and Torin in addition to two children from his first marriage.
He told the Daily Record he needs some chemical assistance in the romance department: “Viagra has been a very great thing but testosterone is important, too. One should take advantage of whatever one can.”
Now Cox stars as foul-mouthed family patriarch Logan Roy in the Sky series Succession.
David Dorfman - Aidan Keller
Child actor and prodigy David left showbusiness behind for both a legal and political career - starting in his teenage years.
After starring in The Ring and its sequel as Naomi’s son Aidan - as well as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake - he was accepted into university at the age of 13.
He told Business Insider: "Being an actor, I was already accustomed to working in adult environments so college wasn't a shock.
“All things considered, I really enjoyed my time at UCLA."
By 18, he was accepted into the prestigious Harvard Law School.
He now - aged 29 - works as a lawyer for the US Government in the House of Representatives.
He still has found time for acting and appeared in a 2017 episode of Game of Thrones.
Martin Henderson - Noah Clay
Kiwi actor Martin played Naomi’s ex in the horror film - but has some interesting real-life love interests.
Martin - who went on to star in Grey’s Anatomy and Virgin River - is thought to have helped Demi Moore get over her split from Ashton Kutcher in 2012.
After the success of The Ring, the former Home and Away actor appeared in Britney Spears’s video for Toxic in 2003.
Last year he stood up for the star as she fought against her 13-year conservatorship.
He told PageSix: “She was such a genuinely good person.
“I felt so much of what was happening to her was because of the way she was hounded and treated.”
Daveigh Chase - Samara Morgan
After starring as the ghostly girl, Daveigh’s life went downhill with numerous arrests.
The 32-year-old was arrested in 2017 for joyriding in a stolen car.
The same year she was arrested after leaving a man dying of a suspected drug overdose outside an LA hospital.
Daveigh explained to cops she was trying to get the man help after spending a few hours with him and was not charged.
The man later died in hospital.
A year later she was charged with drug possession - but left jail after two hours when she posted bail.
Jane Alexander - Dr Grasnik
Jane, now 82, starred in All The President’s Men and went on to act in The Good Wife and Modern Love after playing a family doctor in The Ring.
However, the Oscar-nominated actress has struggled with her son’s child sex abuse image conviction.
Her son Jason - Jace for short - went on to direct Ally McBeal and also Law & Order.
In 2015, he was charged after his computers and hard drive were investigated.
The director escaped jail and received ten year’s probation for the charges.
He stayed married to actress Maddie Corman after going to rehab for sex addiction.
But the couple moved from Dobbs Ferry, New York, where they lived near Jane.
Jane now devotes her time to animal conservation.
Amber Tamblyn - Katie Embry
Amber - who played Rachel's murdered niece Katie - had her first movie role in The Ring aged 19.
She has since accused James Woods of trying to hit on her when she was 16.
In an open letter she wrote: "You tried to make it sound innocent. This is something predatory men like to do, I've noticed.
"I was just a girl. And I'm going to wager that there have been many girls who were just girls or women who were just women who you've done this to because you can get away with it."
The actor publicly branded Tamblyn’s accusation as “a lie”.
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The former General Hospital actress went on to marry comic actor David Cross - who is 19 years her senior.
In 2017, the pair had daughter Marlowe together.