When Richard Linklater released “Boyhood” in 2014, moviegoers had never seen anything quite like it. Filmed over the space of 12 years, the coming-of-age classic followed a Texas family living through divorce, moving and growing up, with the cast returning at intervals to film episodes as the children grew up. The groundbreaking result came thisclose to winning the Oscar for best picture, with Patricia Arquette, who played the family’s mom, winning best supporting actress, and Ethan Hawke, who played the father, nominated for supporting actor. But what happened to the boy of “Boyhood” — Ellar Coltrane — and Lorelei Linklater, who played his sister?
Lorelei Linklater, the director’s daughter, is a painter and actress who has appeared in several independent films since “Boyhood.” Coltrane, now 31, says he lives “in the middle of nowhere,” and is pursuing several interests: He’s a volunteer fireman, he’s doing EMT training and is gets involved in occasional independent films. But though he’s had a few roles such starring in the indie “Shoplifters of the World Unite,” he’s not driven to pursue film and TV stardom. “I’ve moved on,” he says.
Unlike many child actors who experienced too much fame too early, Coltrane thinks he was spared that kind of pressure because the world didn’t see the finished product until he was 18 — although even then the amount of attention was somewhat overwhelming.
