The Santa Clause: Where are they now?

Going into The Santa Clause, Tim Allen was best known as the comedian leading the hit ABC show Home Improvement. He would go on to star in movies including Toy Story (and its sequels), Galaxy Quest, and Christmas With The Kranks, not to mention two more Santa Clause installments. He also returned to TV in 2011 with the sitcom Last Man Standing, which will go into its final season in 2021. Allen is set to join his Home Improvement costar Richard Karn in the new building competition show Assembly Required for History in 2021.  

By the time The Santa Clause came his way, Judge Reinhold had already appeared in many beloved films, like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and the Beverly Hills Cop movies. After playing the patronizing psychiatrist stepfather Neal in the Christmas flick, Reinhold continued working mainly in film, and dipped into voice work on animated series including Teen Titans. Reinhold, who is active on Instagram, has slowed down his acting since 2017 but may return with Eddie Murphy for Netflix's Beverly Hills Cop 4.

Wendy Crewson played Laura, a woman caught between a husband who doesn't believe in Santa (Reinhold) and an ex literally turning into the Christmas legend (Allen). The actress was a staple in the Canadian entertainment industry prior to The Santa Clause and its sequels. She has gone on to star in hit films like Air Force One, and more recently landed on the Netflix shows Workin' Moms and October Faction in addition to 2020’s The Kid Detective with Adam Brody. 

Audiences watched Lloyd as Charlie grow from a little kid not believing in Santa to Santa's teenage son. Lloyd's previous claim to fame was playing the young version of Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage) on The Wonder Years, but after Clause, Lloyd would continue working as an actor on projects like Batman & Robin and the NBC show Jesse. He now runs a production studio out of Glendale, California.

Playing Bernard, the original elf in charge of Santa's workshop, David Krumholtz had previously been one of the breakout stars of the cult favorite Addams Family Values. The actor has continued to find steady work on projects like the Harold and Kumar movies, the HBO series The Deuce and HBO miniseries The Plot Against America, in addition to guest appearances on The Twilight Zone and Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens. 

Paige Tamada, who played The Santa Clause’s sweet, scene-stealing elf Judy, had previously guest-starred on Home Improvement. She would continue to make guest appearances on ’90s shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Ally McBeal before giving up acting around the turn of the millennium. She later graduated from U.C. Berkeley and now works as a retail industry executive.

Larry Brandenburg has one of the funniest scenes in The Santa Clause, arresting Kris Kringle himself, but it wasn't even the first big film he starred in that year. The veteran actor, now 72, went from roles in films like The Untouchables, Field of Dreams, and The Shawshank Redemption to later TV guest roles on shows like Monk, Grey's Anatomy, and NCIS. Brandenburg's acting career slowed down in 2010, but he is often mentioned in relation to retrospectives for the multiple beloved films he's appeared in, like Fargo.

Legendary character actor Peter Boyle played Scott's boss, who's disturbed by the ever-expanding holiday hero's transformative "bee sting." Doyle had been working long before The Santa Clause, on films like Taxi Driver and Young Frankenstein. He was best known now as the cranky patriarch on Everybody Loves Raymond, and died a year after the hit sitcom ended in 2005.

Playing a co-worker of Scott's, also disturbed by his transformation, TV actress Judith Scott would go on to have bigger roles on hit shows like CSI and Dexter. Scott continues to act, and can be seen in 2020’s Bad Hair, from Dear White People writer-director Justin Simien.

Adding to the list of characters in The Santa Clause shocked by Allen's character's transformation, Steve Vinovich played the good doctor guiding the Santa Claus-to-be through it. Vinovich had previously starred on TV shows like Valerie, and would continue to work mostly on the small screen after The Santa Clause, on shows like ER, The Young and The Restless, and Days of Our Lives. Vinovich continues to act, having most recently worked on the Epix show The Godfather of Harlem and the 2020 film Worth, starring Michael Keaton and Stanley Tucci.