# Erik von Detten

Erik Thomas von Detten (born October 3, 1982) is an American actor and singer. He is known for his roles in Escape to Witch Mountain, Toy Story, Brink!, Meego, The Princess Diaries, Complete Savages, and So Weird. He voiced Erwin Lawson through the full run of Recess (1997–2001) and the series' four successive direct-to-video films.

## Early life

Erik Thomas von Detten was born in San Diego, California, the son of Susan von Detten (née Farber), a photographer, and Volker von Detten. He has three sisters, Dolly, Britta and Andrea, and a brother, Timothy. He has German, English, and Russian Jewish ancestry.

## Career

One of von Detten's earliest roles was Nicholas Alamain on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives from 1992 until 1993, appearing in 55 episodes. Nicholas was revealed to be the secret son of Lawrence Alamain (Michael Sabatino) and Carly Manning (Crystal Chappell), two of the show's major characters. As a result, von Detten was heavily involved in some of the show's main storylines, despite only being 10 years old.
In 1995, when he was 13, von Detten provided the voice of the villainous and heartless toy-tormentor Sid Phillips in Toy Story. He also starred alongside Elisabeth Moss in Escape to Witch Mountain. He starred in the film Christmas Every Day in 1996, played Wally Cleaver in the 1997 film Leave It to Beaver, and in 1998, had the lead as the title character in the Disney Channel original movie Brink!. He followed this up on the television series So Weird , on which he played Clu Bell from 1999 to 2001. Von Detten also appeared in a theatrical release as Josh Bryant in The Princess Diaries in 2001. In addition, he has made several television appearances in shows such as Dinotopia (2002), the first celebrity edition of the ABC reality show The Mole, the third season's Celebrity Mole Hawaii (2003), and Fox's Malcolm in the Middle.
In 2007, he made his stage debut in the children's play The Christmas Princess in Santa Monica. In 2009, he was featured in the music video "Wanted" by pop singer Jessie James. In 2010, he made a brief cameo appearance before he retired from acting in Toy Story 3 reprising his role as Sid Phillips, who is now a garbageman in his 20s.
As of 2018, von Detten worked for Rosland Capital, a precious metals asset management firm.
Von Detten has been married to his wife, Angela, a Taiwanese-American real estate agent, since 2018. They have a daughter, Claire Elizabeth (b. 2019), and two sons, Thomas Henry (b. 2021), and Nicholas (b. 2022).

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1991 | All I Want for Christmas | Choir | |
| 1995 | Top Dog | Matthew Swanson | |
| 1995 | Toy Story | Sid Phillips (voice) | |
| 1996 | Amanda | Kelsey Farnsworth | |
| 1997 | Hercules | Boy #1 (voice) | |
| 1997 | Leave It to Beaver | Wallace 'Wally' Cleaver | |
| 1998 | Brink! | Andy 'Brink' Brinker | |
| 1999 | Tarzan | Flynt (voice) | |
| 2001 | Recess: School's Out | Erwin Lawson / Capt. Brad (voice) |
| 2001 | The Princess Diaries | Josh Bryant |
| 2001 | Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street | Erwin Lawson (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| 2002 | Tarzan and Jane | Flynt (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| 2002 | American Girl | Kenton | |
| 2003 | National Lampoon's Barely Legal | Deacon Lewis | |
| 2003 | Recess: Taking the Fifth Grade | Erwin Lawson (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| 2003 | Recess: All Growed Down | Erwin Lawson (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| 2005 | Smile | Chris | |
| 2010 | Toy Story 3 | Sid Phillips (voice) | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1993 | Days of Our Lives | Nicholas Alamain | Regular role |
| 1993 | Night Sins | Nicholas Alamain | TV film |
| 1994 | In the Best of Families: Marriage, Pride & Madness | Older John | TV film |
| 1994 | Aaahh!!! Real Monsters | Vic / Tough Kid (voice) | Episode: "The Switching Hour" |
| 1995 | A Season of Hope | Tyler Hackett | TV film |
| 1995 | Kidnapped: In the Line of Duty | Sam Honeycutt | TV film |
| 1995 | Escape to Witch Mountain | Danny | TV film |
| 1995 | ER | Ben Larkin | Episode: "Hell and High Water" |
| 1996 | The Bug Hunt | | TV film |
| 1996 | Life with Louie | Additional voices | Episode: "Summer of My Discontent" |
| 1996 | A Stranger to Love | Justin | TV film |
| 1996 | Mr. Rhodes | Milo | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1996 | 7th Heaven | Randy | Episode: "Halloween" |
| 1996 | Christmas Every Day | Billy Jackson | TV film |
| 1997 | Things That Go Bump | Christian | TV film |
| 1997 | Meego | Trip Parker | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1997 | Toy Story Treats | Sid Phillips (voice) | Episode: "Woody's Nightmares" |
| 1997–2000 | Recess | Erwin Lawson (voice) | Recurring role |
| 1998 | You Wish | Jeff Collins | Episode: "Bride and Prejudice" |
| 1998 | Brink! | Andy 'Brink' Brinker | TV film |
| 1998 | The Wild Thornberrys | Adolescent Jaguar (voice) | Episode: "Temple of Eliza" |
| 1999 | Replacing Dad | Drew | TV film |
| 1999–2000 | Odd Man Out | Andrew Whitney | Main role |
| 1999–2001 | So Weird | Clu Bell | Lead Role (seasons 1 & 2); guest role (season 3) |
| 2001 | As Told by Ginger | Kid #2 (voice) | Episode: "The Right Stuff" |
| 2001 | Raising Dad | Brad Singer | Episode: "The Drama Club" |
| 2001 | The Legend of Tarzan | Flynt (voice) | Recurring role |
| 2002 | Do Over | Gary Ross | Episode: "Valentine's Day Dance" |
| 2002–2003 | Dinotopia | Karl Scott | Main role |
| 2003 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Drew Lamerly | Episode: "Privilege" |
| 2003 | Charmed | Newspaper Reporter | Episode: "Baby's First Demon" |
| 2004 | 8 Simple Rules | Erik | Episode: "C.J.'s Party" |
| 2004–2005 | Complete Savages | Chris Savage | Main role |
| 2005 | Malcolm in the Middle | Brad | Episode: "Secret Boyfriend" |
| 2006 | Brandy & Mr. Whiskers | Additional Voices | Episode: "Dog Play Afternoon" |
| 2007 | Girl, Positive | Jason | TV film |
| 2007 | Avatar: The Last Airbender | Chan (voice) | Episode: "The Beach" |
| 2008 | Bones | Ed Dekker | Episode: "Player Under Pressure" |
| 2009 | Family Guy | Shovin' Buddy (voice) | Episode: "Peter's Progress" |
| 2024 | Acting Coach Nightmare | Mark | TV film |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | Animated Storybook: Toy Story | Sid Phillips | |

### Music video

| Year | Title | Role | Artist |
| 2001 | "SuperGirl!" | Student Josh Bryant | Krystal Harris |