Exclusive
IN THE WHEEL WORLD
Sleepless in Seattle kid Ross Malinger seen for first time in 20 years after ditching Hollywood & is now a car salesman
The former child actor revealed why he doesn't speak publicly anymore
SLEEPLESS in Seattle child actor Ross Malinger has been spotted for the first time in decades.
Photos exclusively obtained by The U.S. Sun show Malinger, now 39, running errands in his hometown of Los Angeles.
7
7
7
The former actor shot to fame as Tom Hanks’ son Jonah Baldwin in the much beloved 1990s romantic comedy when he was just eight years old.
California native Malinger also starred alongside Kirstie Alley in Disney comedy Toothless and had a role in a Seinfeld episode before he abandoned acting in 2006.
Since then, he has gone on to have a career as a car salesman at several dealerships in Los Angeles County.
Malinger began his acting career aged six with a guest star appearance on a 1990 episode of hit teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210.
That year, he also had a small role in Arnold Schwarzenegger action comedy Kindergarten Cop.
In 1991 he appeared on an episode of sitcom Roseanne before getting his big break with Sleepless in Seattle in 1993.
The Nora Ephron-directed hit movie saw Malinger play Hanks’ character Sam Baldwin’s eight-year-old son.
It tells the story of how recently widowed Sam and Jonah move from Chicago to Seattle in search of a new beginning.
Most read in Entertainment
On Christmas Eve, Jonah calls a radio talk show and convinces Sam to speak on air about how much he misses his wife.
Thousands of women write to Sam, including Meg Ryan’s character Annie Reed, and Jonah eventually brings Sam and Annie together.
The movie also features well-known character actors including Bill Pullman, Rosie O’Donnell and Rob Reiner.
To mark its 30th anniversary last year, New York’s Empire State Building and Seattle’s Space Needle - which both feature prominently in the film - were simultaneously lit.
The two landmarks also hosted screenings of the movie and offered visitors a chance to recreate its famous poster.
As his acting career began to wind down in the early 2000s, Malinger studied sales, distribution and marketing operations at Moorpark College and obtained an associate’s degree in 2004.
7
7
His last acting credit came in 2006 when he appeared on CBS police procedural Without a Trace.
Malinger’s LinkedIn page states he is now a finance manager at the Keyes Automotive Group in the San Fernando Valley.
He first started work in car sales at a Honda dealership in Oxnard, a city just northwest of Los Angeles, in 2002.
His LinkedIn bio does not mention his previous work as an actor at all.
It says he is “highly skilled and knowledgeable in finance, leasing and direct lending”, adding that he is a “specialist in Business Development and acquisition, including account management and retention”.
Malinger wrote, “I am highly skilled at training employees to sell and I possess management experience in managing and training sales teams.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
“I also have over 15 years of experience successfully working in the Retail Automotive Industry having had a variety of different positions and responsibilities over the years.”
Approached by The U.S. Sun, Malinger said, “I don’t do interviews anymore, I just don’t have the time.”
7
7
Topics