Mason Gamble starred as Dennis Mitchell in 1993's Dennis the Menace, but what happened to him after the movie? Warner Bros. turned the comic strip into a family-friendly movie more than two decades ago. The movie follows Dennis' adventures as he constantly makes life difficult on his neighbor George Wilson (Walter Matthau). Dennis the Menace did not receive good reviews upon its release, but it was a box office hit, grossing over $115 million worldwide on a $35M budget.
Dennis the Menace is the first acting credit for star Mason Gamble, although it wasn't the first role he had. Mason was cast by Harold Ramis to have a small role in Groundhog Day, but his scenes were cut during the editing process. This made Dennis the Menace the true beginning of Mason's acting career. The starring role was a huge step up for the young actor, who was only six years old at the time of production. But, what did he do next?
Despite the success of Dennis the Menace, Mason didn't immediately return to the big screen, and he wasn't even included in the direct-to-DVD sequel. 1996 proved to be a busy year for him though, as he had two movie roles and an appearance on TV. Mason played McCluckey in Leslie Nielsen's Spy Hard and Brett in Bad Moon before appearing in one episode of Early Edition. Over the next few years Mason appeared in a single episode role in ER, played young Vincent in Gattaca, Dirk Calloway in Rushmore, and Bradey Lang in Arlington Road.
Once Mason became a teenager, his acting career started to slow down. 2001 was his busiest year, as he appeared in The Rising Place and multiple episodes of Kate Brasher. The following year, Mason was in A Gentleman's Game, but he didn't act again for three years. He was in The Trouble with Dee Dee and an episode of Close to Home in 2005, and appeared in one episode of CSI: Miami in 2006. Mason's final acting credit came in 2010 as the lead in Golf in the Kingdom, as he decided to move on to a new phase of his life afterwards.
Mason started acting at a young age, but by the time he was in his 20s, he figured out that it wasn't what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Once he gave up acting, Mason went back to school. He initially studied dentistry at UCLA before switching his major to become a marine biologist. He received a Bachelors degree in that field, but got his Masters in Biology. Mason is now a second-year doctoral candidate in Environmental Science and Engineering at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. So, even though Mason Gamble won't be back in front of the camera anytime soon, the former star of Dennis the Menace is doing his part to try and solve the environmental issues facing the world.