During the 1990s, it felt like Thora Birch was all set to be the next big star in Hollywood after roles in Patriot Games, Hocus Pocus and Clear and Present Danger led to her stand-out turn in American Beauty in 1999.
The critically-acclaimed black comedy Ghost World soon followed in 2001 and saw Birch nominated for a Golden Globe. However, that proved to be her last notable role, even though she continued to star in the likes of political satire Silver City and horror movies Dark Corners and Train, among others, throughout the 2000s.
As she told The Guardian in 2014, Birch didn't step back from acting during this period as some people assume. "I was always working, it's just that no-one was paying attention," she explained.
Arguably, the most notable thing that happened to Birch during this period of her career was getting fired from an off Broadway revival of Dracula, which was set to be her American stage debut.
It was alleged that her father Jack – who was also her manager – had threatened another actor during a rehearsal, although he denied making a threat. At the time, Birch said she was "in a state of shock" over the incident which happened just four days before Dracula was set to open.
After starring in 2012 comedy-drama Petunia, Birch did take a break from acting as she obtained a degree in Legal Studies from Kaplan Online College.
"I was going through an exploratory phase in my life. I was like, 'OK that was a chapter, is there any other type of chapter I'd like to explore?'," she told Romper.
"I educated myself and it taught me a lot, but it also brought me back to who I really am, which is somebody who does love being a part of the storytelling process through these wonderful mediums that we have of film and television and cinema."
Birch's return to the screen was started with a guest role as software engineer Morgan in the first season of sci-fi drama Colony, appearing in two episodes before she was replaced by Bethany Joy Lenz in the second season due to scheduling conflicts.
On the big screen though, Birch has starred in four movies this year alone, starting with romcom The Competition alongside American Pie's Chris Klein.
She has also filmed roles in drama adaptation The Etruscan Smile starring Brian Cox, thriller Above Suspicion alongside Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke and political thriller Affairs of State.
Birch will next be seen in drama The Last Black Man in San Francisco, alongside Danny Glover and American Horror Story's Finn Wittrock, and she was also recently cast in thriller Kindred Spirits as a single mother whose life is turned upside-down by the return of her sister.
Obviously the most important thing that Birch has been involved with recently is the 25th anniversary celebrations for Hocus Pocus, reuniting with co-stars Omri Katz and Vinessa Shaw, as well as director Kenny Ortega, at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
It's hard to believe Hocus Pocus was a flop when it was first released now that it's put a spell on all of us.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter account.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
