Earlier this week it was announced that Wes Craven was on board to executively produce a television series based on his 1991 classic The People Under the Stairs which will hit SyFy sometime in 2016. With that idea in mind, I revisited the cast list of the movie to see where some of the children have ended up now. I think A.J. Langer has the most interesting story. She was born in May 1974 in the state of Ohio. Shortly after moving to California a few years later, she crossed paths with actor Ernie Lively who would become her acting coach. The classes paid off and in 1987 she booked her first guest spot on “Serie Noire.”
For the next two years she failed to land any gigs, but A.J.’s career really kicked off starting in 1991. At the age of 17 appeared as a guest star on “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose,” followed by playing the supporting role of Alice in The People Under the Stairs. As Alice, she was one of the children who was trying their best to survive the nightmarish events inside the Robesons’ household. Later that year she would also appear in scifi-comedy And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird and starred as one of the leads in “Drexell’s Class” from 1991 – 1992. After the long television stint she was a hot commodity in Hollywood and booked guest spots on “Blossom,” “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper,” “In the Heat of the Night” and “Camp Wilder” all in 1992.
In 1993 A.J. Langer returned to horror with a small role in the war themed Grey Knight and a lead role in Arcade. The films saw her characters dealing with slave traders who bring back an evil voodoo entity, and a virtual reality game that starts brainwashing teenagers. The following year she played one of the lead roles in the critically acclaimed, Golden Globe winning series “My So Called Life” from 1994 – 1995. Then, she worked with another noteworthy horror director, John Carpenter, on his 1996 scifi-thriller Escape from L.A.. Also in 1996 she held another guest spot on an episode of “Seinfeld.”
This would be the normal pacing for A.J. for the next few years. Her other guest appearances include “Touched by an Angel” in 1997, “Fame L.A.” and “Poltergeist: The Legacy” in 1998, and she held a recurring role on “Brooklyn South” during this time. The following year she landed another lead role on a television show with “It’s Like, You Know” from 1999 – 2001.
So, where is A.J. Langer now?
After finishing up with “It’s Like, You Know,” she joined another series as a recurring character on “Three Sisters” from 2001 – 2002. Following a small gap, A.J. returned to television as one of the lead characters on “Eyes” from 2005 – 2007. During that time she met and married royalty, the future Earl of Devon, Lord Charles Courtenay. Soon after marrying the couple welcomed two children and A.J. would take another leave of absence from the entertainment industry to raise them. Four years later she returned again with a recurring role on “Private Practice” from 2011 – 2012 and currently her last credited role on record is in comedy’s Kristin’s Christmas Past in 2013.
