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"I grew up in Westlake Villiage, a suburb of LA. There was a guy there who was a fighter and was like, 'I'll teach you to box.' I started a little bit of boxing, then it crossed over into jiu-jitsu. I was into it for a little while, but then I started doing basketball, baseball, team sports."

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Topping many "whatever happened to...?" lists would have to be Jonathan Lipnicki, the young scene-stealer from Jerry Maguire (1996), and star of Stuart Little (1999) and Stuart Little 2 (2002). The fact is, he's still acting, you just wouldn't easily recognize him these days. The chubby-faced nerdy young boy has now gotten into Mixed Martial Arts training, boasting a lean, muscular physique and a slimmer look than he's been famous for. And of course, he's a full-grown adult now, not a short little kid playing with a mouse.

Still At It

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While Lipnicki's recent acting work hasn't been as high-profile as the roles he landed in his childhood, he still boasts an impressive net worth of around five million dollars.

And in case you're wondering, that's all from his work as an actor. Although he trains in MMA, he's told interviewers that he's not really looking to go pro anytime soon. Though he's not ruling it out as a possibility at some point in the future, getting into fighting shape is a full-time job, and he's still getting enough work in front of the camera that he simply doesn't have time for it right now.

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MMA fighters tend to train all year round to stay in great condition. On an off-day they're still in way better shape than the vast majority of the general public. But in the weeks leading up to a fight, MMA combatants will trim extra pounds of water weight off of their bodies, spar all day, study their opponents and weight train. That's difficult to find time for when you're a busy actor.

Lipnicki is also deeply involved in charity work. He works as a speaker for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and works closely with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He is also an advocate for literacy, helping to raise money for the NBA's Read to Achieve program, and works with the Starlight Children Foundation. Not to mention the Nuts for Mutts and Pets and their Stars animal rights groups, and the Pediatric Chiropractic and Kids Day America group. He's been working with charities for the entirety of his career, earning a Heroes of 2001 award at just ten years ol from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

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Lipnicki may not be a movie star these days, but he stays very busy, featuring in half a dozen movies in 2017, including Pitching Tents, The Lake and Circus Kane, and showing up as a contestant on a 2019 episode of Worst Cooks in America.

While Lipnicki never became one of those stars who was being paid twenty million dollars a film, even with three Young Artist Awards under his belt, he's managed to do quite well for himself simply by staying busy and investing his money wisely. In Hollywood there are "movie stars," and there are working actors. Lipnicki proves that the latter doesn't need to be a struggle. You might not be living in a twenty room mansion with a collection of Lamborghini's, but you can do quite well yourself even without being on the poster.

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What's Next for Lipnicki?

For the time being Jonathan Lipnicki seems happy to simply take whatever work comes his way. Maybe with the trend for rebooting 80s and 90s franchises, another Stuart Little film could be right around the corner. Whether that should come to pass or not, Jonathan Lipnicki seems to be living his best life and enjoying whatever acting jobs he can get his hands on.

"I kind of became a gym rat. The more results I saw, the more dedicated I became. It is such a great feeling to see your hard work pay off."