I was an 80s child star in The Neverending Story and this is why I walked away from Hollywood

Virgin Radio

14 Jun 2024, 09:09

Tami Stronach, best known for starring in The Neverending Story, has revealed why she stepped back from the spotlight - and why she’s making her big comeback. 

The 80s child star was only 11 when she made her big screen debut as Childlike Empress in the fan-favourite movie in 1984, and the film was well received by movie goers and critics alike, taking home $100 million worldwide. 

While plenty of fans expected Tami to continue on the child star train and focus on more projects, the actress decided to instead retreat from public life, dedicating her time to a career in dance and theatre. 

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Now, 40 years on, Tami is back, taking on a starring role in new indie fantasy film Man and Witch: The Dance of a Thousand Steps, written and starring her husband Greg Steinbruner. 

It wasn’t an easy decision to make for Tami to front a brand new film, and during an exclusive chat with virginradio.co.uk, the actress revealed why it was important to carve her own path after finding fame. 

“I never walked away from acting,” Tami explained. “I was constantly acting, I was performing, I was dancing, I walked away from Hollywood. That just felt like the right thing to do at that time, but now felt like the right time to come back, because this project was something that I could do on my own terms. 

“It was something I could do with my family, and there's this wave of 80s nostalgia right now. It was in the zeitgeist, and it just kind of picked me up and carried me forward.”

Opening up behind her process of deciding to step away from the bright lights of Hollywood, the dancer admitted she was “running away from being a starlet,” as she wasn’t “comfortable embracing Hollywood fame.” 

She continued: “It's almost subversive to come back in your 50s and be like, I need space. I want to be seen. I deserve a story and there's so many women out there my age who kind of feel a cultural pressure to kind of recede, and it's super exciting to be like, ‘No way. Spotlight right here for all of us ladies’.” 

In Man and Witch, Tami plays the titular Witch, and it was role that piqued her interest after deciding to go towards “complex female characters”. 

The stage star added: “I feel like just being a kind of a middle aged person who has the right to have a second chance, who has the right to be flawed. She's kind of terrifying in the beginning. She's very banged up but she transforms, and we all deserve the opportunity to embrace our flawed selves and have the opportunity for love, even if we're not perfect.”

The official synopsis of Man and Witch reads: “When a lonely goatherd discovers that he has been cursed at birth to never take a wife, he makes a bargain with a reclusive witch to reverse the spell, only to find that if he can't complete her three impossible tasks, he will never find true love.”

The star studded cast includes the likes of Lord of the Rings actor Sean Astin, 80s icon Christopher Lloyd, Eddie Izzard, Jennifer Saunders and Bill Bailey. 

Keep up to date with the latest news on the release of Man and Witch on manandwitch.com