Even Stevens launched Shia LaBeouf into reluctant superstardom, but fans of the Disney Channel
series still wax poetic about Bernard "Beans" Aranguren , the Stevens' pesky, bacon-obsessed
neighbor played by Steven Anthony Lawrence. Here's what Beans from Even Stevens looks like today.
Steven Anthony Lawrence was around 11 years old when his character debuted in Season
2 of Even Stevens, and his bold audition was what landed him the TV role - but it did more
than that. The young actor actually changed the script before he even landed the part, already
cementing himself in Disney history even if he never made it all the way to the small screen.
"Thanks. I've got skills"
In a 2015 interview with HuffPost, Lawrence revealed that he used to tell
jokes during his auditions as a, quote, "shtick" that would help him stand out in a crowd.
During his Even Stevens audition, he told a joke about a pirate. When he got a second callback,
he saw that his joke had been written into the script. As he recalled:
"But it wasn't even a sure thing yet, so I'm going,
'Oh my God, if I don't book this. It's my joke. I'm gonna be pissed, man.'"
Of course, Lawrence did get the part, and thus one of the most
iconic Disney Channel sidekicks in early aughts history was born.
Steven Anthony Lawrence isn't like other Disney Channel stars who have managed to
amass multi-million dollar fortunes, because Even Stevens never made him all that rich.
In fact, the actor struggled financially while filming the series.
During his interview with HuffPost, Lawrence revealed that he was still living in Fresno,
California while shooting the series about 218 miles away in Los Angeles.
Lawrence and his father ended up putting a lot of miles on their car
making the three-and-a-half hour commute, and spent a lot of money on hotels. As he explained:
"I was living in a motel room five days a week, and I had to be back home during the weekend.
My dad would, you know, God bless his heart, drive me back-and-forth,
giving up his life to help me. So obviously that isn't exactly cheap."
As a result, Lawrence couldn't really afford the trappings of traditional child stardom.
Still, his co-star Shia LaBeouf had his back. Lawrence told HuffPost that his co-star quote
"took it upon himself" to buy him an original Xbox one year when money was
too tight for him to buy one himself. Today, Lawrence is worth an estimated $1 million.
All good things must come to an end, and thus the Disney Channel closed the book on Even Stevens in
2003, after 65 episodes spanning three seasons and a feature length film. When Shia LaBeouf
said Disney quote, "wasn't trying" to pay the demanding salaries of the returning cast,
it seemed like the truth - at least for all the stars who weren't Beans.
The same year Even Stevens ended, LaBeouf proved himself as a serious actor in Holes
and never looked back. Still, that doesn't mean everyone was as happy to leave.
Speaking with HuffPost, Lawrence revealed that the cast had grown so close over the course of
three years that they spent their final day on set fighting off tears. As he put it:
"It was like a family. You know, you see the same people twelve hours a day,
five days a week, for years. You're gonna get a little close to people,
you know. It was really, really sad when the show ended."
And with that, an era was over. Lawrence was barely old enough to be in high school,
and he was already an unemployed actor.
If there's one thing Beans loved, it was bacon - and Steven Anthony Lawrence certainly ate enough
of it through the course of filming to feel utterly sick. The star isn't even sure how
bacon became such a thing for his character. In an interview with HuffPost, he admitted
that it was seemingly haphazardly written into the story during his first week of filming.
Lawrence ate so much bacon during his years on-set that he needed to quit the fat-laden
breakfast treat for two years after filming. He just couldn't handle one more bite. Even today,
the actor prefers Mexican food, though he does still enjoy some bacon now and then.
Even Stevens was undeniably Steven Anthony Lawrence's most
notable project beyond a small role in 2001's Bubble Boy. When the series ended,
the Disney star more or less faded from the public eye, but he never actually left the industry.
Off the heels of his House of Mouse fame, Lawrence landed a role in 2003's Cheaper by the Dozen,
where he appeared alongside fellow former Disney Channel star Hilary Duff and comedy icon Steve
Martin. That same year, he starred in the film adaptation of Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat,
alongside heavyweights like Mike Myers and Dakota Fanning. Two years later,
he nabbed a part in Will Ferrell's Kicking & Screaming and Martin Lawrence's Rebound,
which ended up being the actor's last major project.
Since 2005, the artist formerly known as Beans has mostly picked up minor roles, including cameos in
Weeds, Eagleheart, and the Bratz movie. According to HuffPost, he's also done a lot of commercials
and some music videos, including for the band Dear Blanca and for former Disney star Vanessa Hudgens.
Beyond Steven Anthony Lawrence's acting work, the former child star's most rewarding role is
as a teacher. According to HuffPost, Lawrence has been teaching acting classes since at least 2014,
charging $40 a week. It's a small price to pay for the chance to learn from a
certified Disney Channel star. As he described it:
"Oh, God, I love it. The kids are great. It's almost like working
the stage. It's instant gratification when something clicks for a student.
It's mostly technique of acting and kind of the business of the business."
Here's the question everyone was wondering about: is Steven Anthony Lawrence still
friends with Shia LeBeouf, in spite of all the fame and controversy? It's hard to say. What we
do know is that Lawrence is still incredibly close with his former cast mates. After all,
they sort of grew up together. In the actor's 2015 HuffPost interview, he revealed that he keeps in
touch with most of his Even Stevens family and supports their current projects. Beyond that,
the cast reunited in June 2020 - with the exception of LeBeouf - for a Zoom reunion.
Though you might not see him in many movies or TV anymore, Steven Anthony Lawrence did go viral in
2015, when he was publicly outed as a mall Santa. Okay, technically, he never donned a Santa suit,
but he was one of Santa's helpers. That's a big job in a suburban mall.
According to SFGate, the actor picked up a temporary job at the seasonal Santa photo
booth at Sunvalley Shopping Center in Concord, California. The newspaper speculated that
Lawrence was method acting for a holiday film titled Holly, Jingles, and Clyde, which ended
up never actually being released. Who knows what happened? Maybe he got put on the naughty list.
Either way, Lawrence flaunted his side gig loud and proud,
posting about it on Instagram after his fans figured out what was going on.
Not all former child stars are easily identifiable as adults,
but there's no doubt that Beans from Even Stevens has a recognizable face. That's part of what made
Steven Anthony Lawrence's character so widely beloved. But it's been 20 years. The actor looks
almost nothing like he did when he was 11. So, how the heck is everyone still recognizing him?
"I been through it. There's nothin' special."
In his HuffPost interview, Lawrence admitted that he thinks it's, quote,
"really weird" that he regularly gets recognized in the street or at his day job,
so long after his Disney Channel fame. At the time of this video, he's rocking a beard which
theoretically should make recognition even harder. It's basically incognito mode for your face,
but to be totally frank, it also seems like the type of costume idea that would've worked for
Louis or Beans during some of their regular Even Stevens shenanigans. Maybe that's why
fans have it figured out. Either way, Lawrence isn't fighting his past. As he told HuffPost:
"I feel like I've changed so much when I look in
the mirror. I don't know how people even barely recognize me. But I'll be
walking down the street and people drive by for two seconds and automatically they'll go,
'Oh, my God! You're Beans! Ahhh!' God, even I would have to at least do a double-take."
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