Real World Where Are They Now
We don't drink. We don't do drugs. But we do have an addiction: reality TV. And we're not talking about your fad reality shows, like "Tool Academy" or "A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila." We're talking about the hard-core, old school, relentless mother-of-all-reality dramas: MTV's "The Real World." That said, we have to admit we just haven't been getting the same buzz off the show in the last few years. Is it that 22 seasons about seven strangers... picked to live in a house... and have their lives taped just gets too redundant or (gasp) are we just getting to old to connect to an 18-year-old's breakup rants? No, that couldn't be it. Regardless, it makes us long for the rivalry of Puck and Pedro; the drama of Kevin and Julie; and the budding romance of Pam and Judd. As the latest season comes to a close, we decided to see what our favorite "Real World" cast members from past years are doing now.
Eric Nies - "The Real World: New York" (1992)Eric Nies was the egocentric model and breakout star of Season One: "The Real World: New York." The Jersey boy spun his reality-show fame into MTV superstardom when he became host of the network's version of "American Bandstand," called "The Grind." Bare-chested workout videos, the "Abaratus" (an elastic band that attaches to a door knob to build strong abs), and his own wellness philosophy, "Chi-Force," followed. So we were surprised when we realized that this once pompous, self-obsessed reality star has a kinder, much more altruistic side when he appeared on "Confessions of a Teen Idol" in 2008 and, just a few days ago, when he stripped nude and dove into a frozen lake to save a dog that had fallen through the ice.
Kevin Powell - "The Real World: New York" (1992) Kevin Powell was reality TV's original angry young black man. Who can forget the sidewalk screaming match between Kevin and Julie ("The Real World's" first stereotypical sweet and innocent Southern girl)? But in reality, Kevin is a sensitive poet and activist, who has gone on to curate the Brooklyn Museum exhibit "Hip-Hop Nation: Roots, Rhymes, and Rage" and produce the ten-city tour "State of Black Men National Townhall Meetings." Kevin has also waged two unsuccessful runs for Congress in New York. He didn't get Julie's vote back in '92: After the show ended, she moved home to Birmingham, got married, and had a kid.
Norman Korpi - "The Real World: New York" (1992) Not since Lance Loud on "An American Family" had a reality star been openly gay. Norm was a trailblazer for all the Pedro Zamoras and Dan Renzis to follow. Since leaving the New York loft, Norm has worked in commercial and production design (including a stint for the Academy Awards). He also founded the production company "Fruit Films," for which he codirected the mockumentary "The Wedding Video." The film was a behind-the-scenes look as Norm prepared for his wedding to Sky (played by actor Brien Perry). Besides being a comedic look at gay marriage, the movie also poked fun at reality TV fame, featuring many "Real World" alumni playing exaggerated versions of their small-screen "characters," including Sean Duffy ("RW: Boston"), Rachel Campos-Duffy ("RW: San Francisco"), Coral Smith, ("RW: Back to New York"), and Cory Murphy ("RW: San Francisco").
Beth Stolarczyk - "The Real World: Los Angeles" (1993) Perhaps the most annoying "Real World" cast member of all time (yes, worse than the lyme-disease infected Irene), Beth Stolarczyk was another reality star with film and TV aspirations. After leaving "The Real World: Los Angeles," she seemed addicted to the MTV spotlight, appearing in more "Real World/Road Rules Challenges" than we care to remember. Beth has spun her reality TV love jones into behind-the-scenes success, too, executive-producing the shows "Sexiest Women of Reality TV" and "Reality TV's Sexiest Vixens," as well as putting out calendars with the same theme. Yes, Beth put herself in the calendar: she was July 2006.
Jon Brennan - "The Real World: Los Angeles" (1993) Jon Brennan was the pure-and-innocent country singer wannabe who was not prepared for life in the city, a drunken Irishman sleeping in the same house, and the angry outbursts of the destined-to-be-kicked-out-of-the-house roommate, David. Since leaving the "Real World" and entering the actual real world, Jon still has country music dreams but hasn't had much success. And even though he's appeared on a couple of seasons of "The Real World/Road Rules Challenge," he usually lives a quiet life in his hometown of Owensboro, Kentucky, where he performs in church and continues to save himself for his future bride (as far as we can tell, he hasn't met her yet).
David "Puck" Rainey - "The Real World: San Francisco" (1994) Although he wasn't the first "Real World" cast member to get kicked out of a house (that was David on "The Real World: Los Angeles"), the always banged-up bike messenger was certainly the most obnoxious (let's just say we never want to hear the words "nose-picking" and "peanut butter" in the same sentence again). And his treatment of his AIDS-inflicted roommate, Pedro Zamora, was reprehensible. If you missed it on TV, you can check it out in the upcoming film "Pedro," which was produced by the same team behind "The Real World" (Bunim/Murray Productions) and written by Dustin Lance Black (who won the Academy Award for writing "Milk"). These days, Puck has settled down a bit. He got married on "Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Sexes," has two kids, manages a motorcycle shop, and runs a custom granite business.
Rachel Campos-Duffy - "The Real World: San Francisco" (1994) The original "Real World" Republican, Rachel Campos shocked her conservative "RW: San Francisco" fans by hooking up with the ultra-edgy Puck. But Rachel came to her senses in the ways of love and married "RW: Boston" alum Sean Duffy (now the District Attorney of Ashland County, Wisconsin). Rachel was in the running twice to be a cohost on "The View" (she lost out to Lisa Ling and Elisabeth Hasselbeck) but never made the cut. The mother of five still has found time to appear on such TV series as "Life Is Like" and "Lifetime's Speaking of Women's Health."
Pam Ling and Judd Winick - "The Real World: San Francisco" (1994) Although they were just friends on "The Real World: San Francisco," Judd Winick and Pam Ling bonded over their hatred of Puck and their affection for Pedro Zamora. Six years after leaving the house, Judd put on a gorilla suit, proposed to Pam, and she actually said yes. They welcomed their first child in 2004. Both continue to pay tribute to their former roommate Pedro, who died of AIDS in 1994. Pam is a doctor who specializes in HIV and AIDS research, and Judd lectures on AIDS and is a successful writer and illustrator who created the award-winning graphic novel "Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss, and What I Learned."
Jacinda Barrett - "The Real World: London" (1995) "The Real World: London" was, without a doubt, the most boring season of "The Real World" ever (except when the punk dude, Neil, got his tongue bit off). But do you remember the Australian model, Jacinda? Well, Jacinda Barrett is the only "Real World" star who has gone on to have a legitimate acting career. Sure, lots of alumni continue to appear in MTV reality shows, and some have even gone so far as to make a bad horror movie or two (anyone see "The Scorned"?), but Jacinda has broken the curse and made actual films that people have paid money to see, including "Poseidon" and "Ladder 49." Hey, we didn't say they were GOOD movies. We just said they were REAL movies.
Dan Renzi - "The Real World: Miami" (1996) Aspiring model Dan Renzi was the token drama queen on "The Real World: Miami," most famous for freaking out on Melissa when she opened his letter. After "The Real World" ended, he hit the reality circuit, including: "Love in the Real World (Real World Hook-ups)," "19 Degrees of Reality," and "MTV's Extreme Challenge 2001." These days Dan is an entertainment blogger. On his Website, "How Was Your Day, Dan?," he comments on anything from Paula Abdul's antics on "American Idol" to his trip to a Mexican nudist camp with his boyfriend. Seems Dan's no stranger to public displays after being arrested in 2004 for indecent exposure in a male adult movie cinema.
Rebecca Lord - "The Real World: Seattle" (1998) Rebecca Lord from the "Real World: Seattle" cast is one of the few "RW" stars that we could actually have seen ourselves hanging out with. She was kind of quiet and shy, she stayed rational during the whole Stephen-slapped-Irene drama, and she didn't embarrass herself too much during her on-air recording session with Sir Mix-a-Lot (hey, back off, it was 1996). After leaving Seattle, Rebecca started dating Rob Mailhouse, the drummer for Keanu Reeves' band Dogstar. When Dogstar broke up, Reeves and Mailhouse joined a new band called Becky with, you guessed it, Rebecca Lord on lead vocals. You know a band must not be great if they can't capitalize on the fact that they have a major movie star for a bass player, but Becky did have limited success singing the theme song for the kid's show "Jojo's Circus."
Ruthie Alcaide - "The Real World: Hawaii" (1999) Ruthie was the biggest hot mess in "Real World" history, constantly being dragged out of some Hawaiian bar in a drunken stupor, yet somehow you couldn't help but root for her. Maybe it was her stint at rehab during the season that warmed our hearts. Guess those lessons stuck. These days Ruthie spends her time touring college campuses and lecturing about the perils of alcohol and her experiences on "The Real World." She even made an alcohol awareness commercial for the Armed Forces Network.
Kelley Limp - "The Real World: New Orleans" (2000) Kelley Limp kind of lived up to her name on "The Real World: New Orleans." She didn't do much, and she was pretty much a wet noodle: not unpleasant, but not spicy or interesting. She didn't even hang at the house all that much after meeting a med student stud at a bar and spending most of her time at his place. After leaving the show, she decided not to follow the on-camera path, but did wind up married to an actor, Scott Wolf from "Party of Five."
Mike Mizanin - "The Real World: Back to New York" (2001) When Mike Mizanin was on "The Real World: Back to New York," he was constantly yammering about his dreams of becoming a pro wrestler. So it was no surprise when he became one in real life. "The Miz" made his in-ring debut in 2003 and went on to the WWE, where he won the World Tag Team Championship with partner John Morrison and the Slammy Award for Tag Team of the Year.
Clyde "Ace" Amerson - "The Real World: Paris" (2003) Let's face it, Ace was pretty much the cutest guy on all of the seasons of "The Real World," even if you don't usually go for the frat-boy type. After appearing in four "Real World/Road Rules Challenges" ("The Inferno," "Battle of the Sexes II," "The Gauntlet II," and "The Inferno III"), Ace opened a few bars in the Georgia area. And in a case of Reality worlds colliding, he has recently hooked up with ex-"Bachelorette" DeAnna Pappas.
