# Erik von Detten
**Erik von Detten** (full name Erik Thomas von Detten; born 1982 in San Diego, California) is an American former actor and voice actor best known for playing the toy-destroying neighbor Sid Phillips in Pixar's *Toy Story* (1995) and for a string of Disney roles in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including Andy "Brink" Brinker in *[Brink!](https://www.edgepedia.org/brink)*, Josh Bryant in *The Princess Diaries*, and Clu Bell on the [Disney Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/disney-channel) series *[So Weird](https://www.edgepedia.org/so-weird)*.[1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12901-erik-von-detten?language=en-US) • [2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/von-detten-erik/) He left acting after a voice cameo in *Toy Story 3* (2010) and has since worked in finance.[3](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/toy-story-what-the-original-voice-cast-is-doing-now)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1982, San Diego, California, USA[1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12901-erik-von-detten?language=en-US) |
| Signature role | Voice of Sid Phillips in *Toy Story* (1995), reprised in *Toy Story 3* (2010)[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/von-detten-erik/) |
| Disney Channel roles | Andy "Brink" Brinker in *Brink!* (1998); Clu Bell in *So Weird* (30 episodes, 1999–2001)[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/von-detten-erik/) • [1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12901-erik-von-detten?language=en-US) |
| Film roles | Josh Bryant in *The Princess Diaries* (2001); Wally Cleaver in *Leave It to Beaver* (1997)[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/von-detten-erik/) • [4](https://wiki.kidzsearch.com/wiki/Erik_von_Detten) |
| Early career | Nicholas Alamain on *Days of Our Lives*, 1992–1993[5](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Erik_von_Detten) |
| Active years | 1991–2010, with a 2024 return in *My Acting Coach Nightmare*[4](https://wiki.kidzsearch.com/wiki/Erik_von_Detten) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/erik_von_detten) |
| Life after acting | Works in finance; married to real estate agent Angela von Detten[3](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/toy-story-what-the-original-voice-cast-is-doing-now) • [7](https://popcrush.com/what-happened-to-erik-von-detten-princess-diaries/) |
## Early career
Von Detten entered acting through his older sister, who was pursuing the business; agents thought he was a cute kid, and a selling point for him was on-set tutoring instead of a full school day.[8](https://www.eonline.com/news/1244384/whatever-happened-to-erik-von-detten-a-rare-conversation-with-your-childhood-crush) His film debut was a small role as a choirboy in *All I Want for Christmas* (1991), and at about age ten he joined the NBC daytime drama *Days of Our Lives* as Nicholas Alamain, a role he played from 1992 to 1993.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/erik_von_detten) • [5](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Erik_von_Detten)
Through the mid-1990s he appeared frequently in television movies, often playing the son of troubled main characters. He was Danny in the 1995 television remake of *[Escape to Witch Mountain](https://www.edgepedia.org/escape-to-witch-mountain-1995-film)* and Billy Jackson in *Christmas Every Day* (1996), in which a self-absorbed boy must relive Christmas repeatedly until he understands its meaning.[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/von-detten-erik/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/erik_von_detten) He received several youth-award nominations in this period, including a [Young Artist Award](https://www.edgepedia.org/young-artist-award) nomination for *Days of Our Lives* in 1994 and nominations for *Christmas Every Day* in 1997.[9](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/von-detten-erik-1982)
## Disney years
**Voice work.** Von Detten voiced Sid Phillips, Andy's destructive next-door neighbor, in *Toy Story* (1995), and later supplied additional voices in *Tarzan* (1999) and Flynt in *The Legend of Tarzan* television series (2001). He was also the recurring voice of Erwin Lawson on the animated series *[Recess](https://www.edgepedia.org/recess-tv-series)* from 1997 to 2001.[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/von-detten-erik/) • [1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12901-erik-von-detten?language=en-US) • [5](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Erik_von_Detten)
**Live action.** He played Wally Cleaver in the 1997 feature update of *Leave It to Beaver*, then took the lead as champion in-line skater Andy "Brink" Brinker in the Disney Channel Original Movie *Brink!* (1998), an adaptation of [Hans Christian Andersen](https://www.edgepedia.org/hans-christian-andersen)'s "Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates."[4](https://wiki.kidzsearch.com/wiki/Erik_von_Detten) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/erik_von_detten) He was a regular on the Disney Channel series *So Weird* as Clu Bell and starred on ABC's *Odd Man Out* (1999–2000) as Andrew Whitney, a role that exposed him to a wider audience.[1](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12901-erik-von-detten?language=en-US) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/erik_von_detten)
In 2001 he played Josh Bryant, Mia Thermopolis's self-centered classmate, in *[The Princess Diaries](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-princess-diaries-film)*, opposite [Anne Hathaway](https://www.edgepedia.org/anne-hathaway) in a cast directed by [Garry Marshall](https://www.edgepedia.org/garry-marshall).[3](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/toy-story-what-the-original-voice-cast-is-doing-now) • [8](https://www.eonline.com/news/1244384/whatever-happened-to-erik-von-detten-a-rare-conversation-with-your-childhood-crush) He then played Karl Scott as a main cast member on the television series *Dinotopia* (2002–2003) and Chris Savage on *Complete Savages* (2004–2005).[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/von-detten-erik/) • [5](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Erik_von_Detten)
## Departure from acting
After guest roles on shows such as *Charmed*, *8 Simple Rules*, *Malcolm in the Middle*, and *Bones* between 2003 and 2008, his last screen appearance for years was the voice of Sid in *Toy Story 3* (2010), a cameo in which Sid sings along to a heavy-metal riff on an MP3 player.[8](https://www.eonline.com/news/1244384/whatever-happened-to-erik-von-detten-a-rare-conversation-with-your-childhood-crush) • [10](https://92moose.fm/then-now-erik-von-detten/) In a March 2021 interview with E! Online, von Detten said he had been working in finance since stepping away from show business, and he described being open to a return if a suitable role arose without an arduous audition process; a cameo written for him in a Netflix pilot the previous year had not led to further work.[3](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/toy-story-what-the-original-voice-cast-is-doing-now) • [8](https://www.eonline.com/news/1244384/whatever-happened-to-erik-von-detten-a-rare-conversation-with-your-childhood-crush)
He married Angela von Detten, a residential real estate agent, and the couple have two children, Thomas and Claire Elizabeth.[7](https://popcrush.com/what-happened-to-erik-von-detten-princess-diaries/) In 2024 he appeared as Mark in the film *My Acting Coach Nightmare*, his first listed acting credit since 2010.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/erik_von_detten) In 2025, The Independent reported that he had been sued for fraud and elder abuse over his involvement in the purchase of gold coins.[11](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/news/erik-von-detten-elder-abuse-princess-diaries-b3070133.html)
## References
1. [Erik von Detten, The Movie Database (TMDB)](https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12901-erik-von-detten?language=en-US)
2. [von Detten, Erik, Disney A to Z, D23](https://d23.com/a-to-z/von-detten-erik/)
3. [Toy Story: What The Original Voice Cast Is Doing Now, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/toy-story-what-the-original-voice-cast-is-doing-now)
4. [Erik von Detten Facts for Kids, KidzSearch](https://wiki.kidzsearch.com/wiki/Erik_von_Detten)
5. [Erik von Detten, Disney Wiki](https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Erik_von_Detten)
6. [Erik von Detten, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/erik_von_detten)
7. [Whatever Happened to Erik von Detten?, PopCrush](https://popcrush.com/what-happened-to-erik-von-detten-princess-diaries/)
8. [What Happened to Erik von Detten? A Rare Conversation With Your Childhood Crush, E! Online](https://www.eonline.com/news/1244384/whatever-happened-to-erik-von-detten-a-rare-conversation-with-your-childhood-crush)
9. [Von Detten, Erik 1982–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/von-detten-erik-1982)
10. [Then + Now: '90s Teen Star Erik von Detten, 92 Moose](https://92moose.fm/then-now-erik-von-detten/)
11. [Princess Diaries star Erik von Detten sued for elder abuse over gold coins, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/news/erik-von-detten-elder-abuse-princess-diaries-b3070133.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames D to Di*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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