Cheaper By The Dozen Kids Then And Now

Piper Perabo (Nora Baker) Then

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Nora Baker was the eldest of the Baker children, throughout the first film she is engaged in a relationship with Hank; he isn't particularly popular amongst the family, and when Mark goes missing and Hank doesn't seem to be interested in helping find him she dumps him. In the second film we see she has moved on to a relationship with Bud, who she is pregnant with. She leaves for Houston with Bud and the baby.

Piper Perabo (Nora Baker) Now

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Following her role as Nora, Perabo went on to appear alongside Jamie Lee Curtis in popular kids film Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and then took her first big television role as Annie Walker in the CIA based series Covert Affairs where she played the lead for 5 seasons. Besides this, her other popular roles come in the form of a supporting role in Looper and she also joined the cast of Yellowstone in 2021.

Hilary Duff (Lorraine Baker) Then

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In the original movie, Lorraine is mentioned to be 16 years old, and appears to be a very stereotypical female teenager. She is very much into her fashion and makeup, and likes to have her own space. She rushes to get the biggest room in the new Baker house when they move in, decorating it with a numbers of posters. In the second film we see her marry Chris, her workmate.

Hilary Duff (Lorraine Baker) Now

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In the same year as the original Cheaper By The Dozen, Duff brought popular kids TV character Lizzie McGuire to the big screen, then proceeded to play this role until the shows end in 2004. Since then she has appeared as the lead in cult classic rom-com A Cinderella Story and in recent years she has returned to our screens with starring roles in both Younger and the How I Met Your Father series'. Besides her acting career, Duff has also released 5 albums, with the most recent, Breathe In Breathe Out releasing in 2015.

Tom Welling (Charlie Baker) Then

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Charlie is a rebellious teenager, and in the first film he is seen to have struggled moving away from his former girlfriend. His frustration at moving causes his siblings to take a distaste at him due to his behaviour, and he struggles to make friends at school, particularly on the football pitch where he is dismissed by the coaches and players as a farm boy. Ultimately, despite him initially wanting to move back to Midland, Mark disappearing leads to him and his father having a moment and he decides to stay, rejoining the family in full.

Tom Welling (Charlie Baker) Now

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Prior to Cheaper By The Dozen, and following the show, Welling played the role of Clark Kent in the WB series Smallville. He reprised this role for a final season in 2017 when the show made a brief comeback. He took an acting hiatus between 2005 and 2013, returning in Parkland, a film about the JFK assassination. He joined the cast of Fox's Lucifer for season 3 where he played the main antagonist Cain and briefly appeared in The Winchesters this year.

Kevin G. Schmidt (Henry Baker) Then

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Henry is aged 12 in the first film and is seen to be the Baker child with to have the strongest relationship with Charlie, but he often annoys both Kim and Jessica. He is regularly seen to be wearing a flatcap, and is actually very talented musically, playing his clarinet; although he tries to do it with his mouth full of food, ew.

Kevin G. Schmidt (Henry Baker)

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Following his appearance as Henry, Schmidt underwent a personal transformation in order to rid himself from being stigmatised as a 'fat kid'. He featured in the sequel to Alvin and The Chipmunks in 2008, the same year he joined the cast of The Young and the Restless where he made 160 appearances as Noah Newman. More recently, he has appeared in movies Randy's Canvas in 2018 and The Legend of Resurrection Mary in 2021.

Alyson Stoner (Sarah Baker) Then

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Sarah is aged 11 in the first film, and is seen as the sporty, bratty troublemaker who always makes fun of her brother Mark for having ginger hair. Throughout the second film, after she has matured a little, she starts comparing herself to her older sisters, questioning if she will ever be as beautiful as them. This is something I'm sure many of you could relate to!

Alyson Stoner (Sarah Baker) Now

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Following Cheaper By The Dozen, Stoner starred opposite Channing Tatum as his younger sister in Step Up and she also voiced Isabella and Jenny in the popular kids animated series Phineas and Ferb. Alongside this she has also appeared in numerous music videos promoting her own music and has continued voice acting as Barbara Gordon in Young Justice and Lauren in Hamster & Gretel.

Jacob Smith (Jake Baker) Then

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Jake is very much the quiet Baker kid, and he is very affectionate towards his family; this is seen when he becomes involved with the kids that are bullying his brother Mark. In contrast to his brother Henry, Jake is more sporty and is seen on his skateboard, and more often than not wearing his beanie.

Jacob Smith (Jake Baker) Then

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Prior to Cheaper By The Dozen, Smith had been acting in spurts from he age of six with appearances as Hansel, opposite Taylor Momsen in 2002's Hansel and Gretel and in Texas Ranger. Following the film however, he only took on a handful of other roles with a brief appearance in historical thriller Troy and a small role in an episode of Without a Trace in 2004. His last credited role came in 2006's Secrets of a Small Town.

Forrest Landis (Mark Baker)

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Mark appears in the first film aged 9 and is the Baker member who feels the most separated from the others, suggesting he doesn't fit in. He runs away following the death of his frog, Beans; but once found he is comforted by Jessica who suggests that without him and the way he is they wouldn't be the 12 Bakers anymore. Family Goals!

Forrest Landis (Mark Baker) Now

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If you can't tell by the image, Forrest Landis isn't on our screens anymore! Following his role as Mark Baker, he made just a handful of other appearances in a singular episode of Boston Legal and as the titular character Thomas in Doubting Thomas: Lies and Spies. In recent years he has taken up skateboarding having not appeared on our screens in 15 years!

Lilliana Mumy (Jessica Baker) Then

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Jessica is one of a set of non-identical twins (the first of two sets) in the Baker family. Unsurprisingly, her and her twin sister, Kim, are particularly close; they often have matching outfits! She is very intelligent for her age, especially when it comes to mathematics as she often randomly spurts about algebra.

Liliana Mumy (Jessica Baker) Now

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Liliana had already appeared in the popular Christmas franchise The Santa Clause as Lucy Miller prior to her appearance in Cheaper. Since then, she has made a number of voice acting appearances as Mertle Edwards in a variety of Lilo and Stitch projects and Rosebud in the Buddies franchise (Santa Buddies, Space Buddies etc). Most recently she voiced the character of Leni in The Loud House series and it's movies/podcasts.

Morgan York (Kim Baker) Then

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As with her twin sister, Jessica, Kim is also seen to be very intelligent, and is often roped in to helping her elder sister Sarah with her pranks. If you were to compare the sisters, Kim would be the slightly less feminine of the two. However, they are both told that they have to stop correcting their teacher at school.

Morgan York (Kim Baker) Now

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Following Cheaper By The Dozen 2, York only appeared on our screens for 11 episodes of Hannah Montana before deciding to retire from acting, claiming she would never return. She decided that her calling was actually writing young-adult novels, something she details on her TikTok page.

Blake Woodruff (Mike Baker) Then

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Mike, despite only being 6 years old is involved in the altercation his elder brother Jake took part in following Mark being bullied. This might be as he mentioned he liked Karate. Throughout the franchise he is very affectionate towards his family, often hugging them regularly.

Blake Woodruff (Mike Baker) Now

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Blake Woodruff made only a handful of appearances on our screens after Cheaper By The Dozen; playing a youthful version of Winston Churchill in Winston and as Noah for a few episodes of The Young and the Restless. He took a ten year hiatus from acting between 2007 and 2017 before appearing as Zach in Victor Crowley which was his last appearance.

Shane Kinsman (Kyle Baker) Then

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Kyle Baker is one of the youngest Baker's and Nigel's identical twin. He enjoys dressing up in costumes and like his elder sister isn't particularly nice to his teacher at school. He is particularly affectionate towards his father within the movies.

Shane Kinsman (Kyle Baker) Now

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Shane Kinsman appeared on our screens as Kyle Baker in both Cheaper By The Dozen films and then went on to perform alongside his twin Brent in an episode of ER and they also played the role of the Scarvo twins, Shane playing Porter for four seasons.

Brent Kinsman (Nigel Baker) Now

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Nigel and Kyle are seen to be pretty much the same character as he also loves to dress up in costumes and outfits, also is seen to be rude to his teacher and also enjoys spending time and playing with his father, played by Steve Martin.

Brent Kinsman (Nigel Baker) Now

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Again, like with his brother Shane, Brent hasn't appeared on our screens since their exit from Desperate Housewives after four seasons where he played the other Scarvo Twin, Preston. They both made uncredited appearances in the comedy film Knocked Up.

Ashton Kutcher (Hank) Then

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Hank was the self obsessed, former boyfriend to eldest Baker child Nora. As a result of his behaviour, he gains the hatred of the Baker Kids possibly due to being an only child in his own family. He gets pranked by the kids alot, having his pants set on fire, and they even soak his underwear in meat leading to the dog attacking him. When he doesn't care about Mark going missing Nora dumps him.

Ashton Kutcher (Hank) Now

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Ashton made his breakthrough in acting as Michael in That 70's Show which continued past Cheaper By The Dozen, he reprised this role for an episode in 2023's That 90's Show. He also had the difficult role of replacing Charlie Sheen in Two and a Half Men following his departure. His most popular recent role was in Netflix's The Ranch, where he played Colt Bennett a former semi-pro football player.

Jonathan Bennett (Bud McNulty) Then

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Bud appears in the second film as the husband to Nora Baker. He is appreciated much more than her ex-boyfriend Hank as he also likes the kids. He clearly wants to support Nora throughout the film always opening doors and helping her up and down the stairs. He wants to take a part-time job even, in order to be around more following the birth of their child.

Jonathan Bennett (Bud McNulty) Now

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Just prior to his role as Bud, Bennett appeared as Aaron Samuels, Lindsay Lohan's love interest in the massively popular Mean Girls movie. He is seen frequently on our screens with recurring roles in shows like: Station 19 and Awkward and he also appears in a number of films like Do Over and The Dawn. Most recently he appeared in Hallmark's LGBTQ Christmas film The Holiday Sitter and as Rafael in Fire Island.

Jaime King (Anne Murtaugh) Then

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Anne is the eldest of the Murtaugh kids in the second film, and often struggles keeping her life on the track that her father wants her to lead. She gets feelings for Charlie Baker during the film, something her Dad can't find out about. During the Labor Day Cup, she is the first of the kids to jump out of their canoe to go and assist the Baker family as Nora is giving birth.

Jaime King (Anne Murtaugh) Now

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Just prior to Cheaper By The Dozen, Jaime played Heather, one of the Vandergeld sisters in comedy film White Chicks. In 2009, King ws cast as Sarah Palmer in the remake of Horror classic My Bloody Valentine and she even featured in Lana Del Rey's Summertime Sadness video. She also had a main role in CW's Hart of Dixie where she appeared as Lemon across four years. More recently she appeared in Ocean's Eight ad had a recurring role as Rose in Black Summer.

And Now.. Behind The Scenes Secrets About Cheaper By The Dozen! Henry Almost Played The Trumpet

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In the movie, Henry played the clarinet - but this wasn't the first choice of instrument for him. He almost

played the trumpet, which would have been a very different (and louder) experience indeed! The actor was given the choice of the two, and he already had experience with the clarinet so he went with that one!

Ashton Kutcher Was Cast At The Very Last Minute

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The role of Hank, as we know, went to Ashton Kutcher, but this wasn't an early decision for the movie. None of the kids knew who was going to be playing the role of Hank until he turned up for the day of shooting - and actor Kevin Schmidt in particular was happy, because he'd worked with Kutcher on The Butterfly Effect!

The Cast Played Sports Together Between Shooting Scenes

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There's a lot of downtime on movie sets, and when you have a bunch of child actors, you definitely have to find something to entertain them for a well! The cast played football and baseball on set between takes, with the kids playing against the older actors like Kutcher and Tom Welling.

The Baker's Family Pet Was Played By Two Different Dogs!

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Gunner in the very first movie was played by two different doggy actors, named Gangster and Blitz! By the time the second movie was due to film, Gangster didn't want a movie career anymore and chose retirement, so another dog stepped in to help Blitz film the scenes!

The Kid Actors Were Basically At Summer Camp

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The shooting of the second movie didn't see a rigorous movie schedule for these young actors - they were basically just relaxing at summer camp. Between takes, they were doing a whole bunch of summer camp activities like fishing and riding on jet skis! Not too shabby.

The Diving Board Cannonball Scene Used CGI

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In the second movie, Carmen Electra does a perfect flip off the diving board - followed by Henry doing a huge cannonball which of course causes an even bigger splash. When it came to editing the movie, and extra-big splash was added in through CGI to make it even funnier.

Steve Martin Would Play Banjo Between Takes!

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If you've been a lifelong fan of actor and comedian Steve Martin, then you'll already know he's a whizz with the banjo. So it makes sense that he'd play a bit of music in between takes on set! Apparently the kid actors loved it. Enjoying free concerts and summer camp vibes? Can't be bad!

Bonnie Hunt Wrote A First Draft Of The Script - That Was Then Scrapped

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Bonnie Hunt was the actress who played the mom of the family - but did you know she also wrote a first draft of the script? She'd written a much darker movie where one of the family members gets ill, and in the end it was scrapped in place of a 'wacky' family comedy.

She Actually Left - But Came Back Once Martin Was Cast

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After her script had been scrapped, and because she wasn't really feeling the idea of a more wacky family comedy, she originally stepped away from the movie project. But after they cast Steven Martin to play the dad, she came back to accept the role of his wife! A good choice.

There's Actually A Third Script

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Did you think Cheaper By The Dozen stopped at number 2? Well, there's actually a number 3 out there! The script was made years ago and almost

went into production, and this script actually took on board a lot of the original material of Hunt's scrapped idea! But they wanted Steve Martin back, and it never got made.

All The Kid Actors Are Friends On Facebook!

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The child actors of the movies 1 & 2 may have long since grown up by now, but that doesn't mean they lost touch! Even though they all live in different places of the globe, they're still connected through the wonders of Facebook! Some of the actors meet up in real life when they can, too.

Neither Hunt Or Martin Were Parents In Real Life

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You'd think that actors filming a movie where they raise a whopping 12 kids would have to draw on some real life experience of being parents - but neither Bonnie Hunt or Steve Martin were actually parents in real life during the filming of the first movie! They'd never had kids. You wouldn't be able to tell, would you?

Jared Padalecki Was Supposed To Play Charlie

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The original actor for Charlie Baker was actually Jared Padalecki, but he ended up not being able to do the movie, and the character was recast as Tom Welling. But then Padalecki was asked back to play 'unnamed bully' because they wanted the bully to be taller than Welling!

Soaking The Underwear In Meat Was Steve Martin's Idea!

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Because of course it was! He's an unbeatable comic, after all. The iconic scene where Kutcher's underwear is soaked in meat and gets the attention from the dog warrants a lot of laughs, and a line from the dad Tom asking where the kids came up with the idea. Well, the actor himself!

Robin Williams Was Considered For The Role Of Tom Baker

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When you watch these movies now, there probably isn't a single person you could think of to do justice to the role of Tom Baker other than the legendary Steve Martin - but another legendary comedy actor was actually considered: Robin Williams. And you just know he would've been awesome in it, too!

The Cast Of 'Punk'd' Were Actually In The Movie

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You'll likely remember a little show called 'Punk'd', led by Ashton Kutcher, where they would play pranks on unsuspecting people. Well, the cast of Kutcher's show actually made an appearance in Cheaper by the Dozen - they played the crew of the 'Oprah Winfrey show'!

The Film Was Actually Based On A Real-Life Family

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You might not think that anyone in real life would have to cope with raising a dozen kids, but the movie was actually based on the real-life Gilbreth family, who had 12 children: an even 6 boys and 6 girls! They didn't have any twins, and every child was its own birth born at once! Ouch.

The 'Pork And Beans' Reference

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It's subtle, but it's there! Mark Baker has a pet frog named 'Beans' in the movie. On the day that the family are due to move away to their new home, he pays a visit to the grave of an old pet - another frog, only this one named 'Pork'. And, of course, this is a reference to that American food staple: pork and beans!

Breaking The Fourth Wall

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If there's going to be someone who probably breaks the fourth wall, it's likely to be a comedian! And that's exactly what Steve Martin did in the first movie, in blink and you'll miss it fashion. At 16 minutes 51 seconds, he looks right at the camera - time to go test your pausing skills!

The Kids Didn't Need To Absail Out The Window

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Kids being kids and making the wrong decisions, of course, but the new bedroom that Mark has includes a slide that goes directly down into the bushes below. So the kids really didn't need to sneak out by absailing through the window when they could've just used the slide!