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Keith Coogan played Kenny, the eldest boy who reconnects with his siblings in Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead
The actor, 65, tells PEOPLE about the film’s staying power and what his character’s transformation has meant to him
The film celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, with Coogan remembering some of the fun happening behind the scenes
Keith Coogan is grateful for his role in Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.
The actor, 56, played Kenny, the burnout brother who softened to family life over an unforgettable summer. Speaking to PEOPLE about the film’s 35th anniversary, Coogan explained what he loved about Kenny’s transformation throughout the film.
The character begins as a rock music-loving pothead who isn’t too interested in what’s going on with his family. Beyond getting fed and searching for cash, he doesn’t care to be involved or figure out what’s next for him until the siblings are in a situation where they have to fend for themselves for the summer.
“It was being able to start out as the biggest rat bastard, absolutely just a neglectful brother. And so I got to make all these great choices like ‘I’m going to hole up at Lizard’s. This place is a crock,’ and throwing change at the kids at Chuck E. Cheese to be like, ‘Get out of here.’ Just buying them off,” he shared of the character.
“He’s just unashamed, unabashed that he’s a dirtbag and he doesn’t know he needs to change. So later, he makes the slightest little movement, barely thinks he’s got to do something, barely thinks of people because he’s into something now, he’s into the cooking.”
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“Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead” (1991)
Credit: Warner Bros
Coogan explains that Kenny’s transformation was actually meaningful to a lot of fans who came to love the movie.
“I have worked on after-school specials and movies of the week with these important themes and try to change the world. And I get these people who say they were layabouts. They were on the couch doing nothing. They watched Don’t Tell Mom and they got interested in culinary arts,” he shares.
“They went to culinary academy, and now they’re top chef at five-star resorts and things like that. So I then realized, ‘This is the movie that’s changing people’s lives.’ “
He concludes, “It’s a great arc and I love that he gets redeemed and that’s why I really wanted to play Kenny.”
The movie has become even more special for Coogan because fans have come to love it so uniquely.
“You make a movie in the ’80s or the ’90s, you just hope it makes money and you work again and you book other jobs, maybe work with the cool people that you met on that again. You just want to kind of keep working, but you didn’t know you were going to do something that might kind of hang on,” he explained.
“We kind of knew when they did the DVD release because Warner Bros. did million-dollar ad campaigns, like six-foot-high babysitter legs. We went, ‘Oh, they think it’ll do well on home media. Okay.’ And it did. It found its audience. And then HBO picked it up and played it. You knew it was summer because HBO was playing Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead. It played every year.”
“It’s like the little movie that could and has all sorts of stories on the production of how quickly things come together and the casts that came in. Everybody brings their A game and their uniqueness to it. And it’s a quirky movie. I just love it. A lot of fans love it. There are people that’ll be like, ‘Keith, are you tired of saying dishes are done, man?’ I’m like, ‘Heck no.’ Any actor is happy to get in something that people love or is remembered.”
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