Child star Danny Lloyd unrecognisable 40 years after starring in 'The Shining'

16 June 2023 , 14:47

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Danny played Daniel Torrence in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film 'The Shining' (Image: Warner Bros.)

Danny Lloyd was just six years old when he made his acting debut, starring as the young Daniel Torrence in the 1980 blockbuster hit 'The Shining,' produced by Stanley Kubrick.

The film, which was based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, became Lloyd's claim to fame — it grossed over $47million (£37million) at the box office and sparked an American cultural phenomenon.

Now, more than 40 years after the movie's premier, the child star is unrecognisable.

After starring in 'The Shining,' Lloyd pursued various other roles over the next six years, appearing as a young G. Gordon Liddy in the TV film 'Will: G. Gordon Liddy' in 1982.

Daniel Lloyd, the former child actor in classic horror movie The Shining, looks unrecognisable today (Coleman-Rayner)

That was his final appearance in front of a camera for more than 30 years.

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At age 14, Lloyd gave up his Hollywood dream "to go back to being a regular kid," he told The Sun.

He had tried to break into the industry, hoping his role in the movie would help him, but it didn't, he said.

"I definitely tried but I’m happy the way things went," he said. "A Hollywood life probably wouldn’t have been for me anyway."

Lloyd started working at a Walmart, near his Midwest hometown of Tremont, Illinois, then got a job on a pig farm driving a tractor and looking after the animals.

He starred alongside Jack Nicholson in the hit film (Corbis via Getty Images)

The money he made at those jobs helped him go to college.

Now, he lives outside Louisville, Kentucky, with his wife Jessi Bowers and their kids and teaches high school biology.

In 2019, he appeared in front of a camera one more time to make a cameo appearance in 'Doctor Sleep,' the sequel to 'The Shining.'

But the now-50-year-old didn't reprise his role as Danny Torrence, instead appearing as a spectator in a scene featuring a baseball game, according to Variety.

Scottish actor Ewan McGregor played Torrence instead.

Since the film's release, Lloyd has gone back to his teaching role and family life.

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It's unclear whether he'll make another screen appearance — but it isn't impossible.

Mollie Quirk