Step By Step Cast: Where The Actors Are Now

Step by step and day by day, we still miss our favorite nostalgic sitcom about a single mom and a single dad working together to raise their children in an occasionally dysfunctional but ultimately loving blended family. But, given that we've already obsessed over "The Brady Bunch" quite a lot recently, we figured it's time to finally give "Step by Step" a chance.

Kidding aside, "Step by Step" was a fine and worthy show in its own right, remixing familiar themes while bringing them into a more complicated, contemporary context. Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Somers' Frank Lambert and Carol Foster created a family that stood apart from the Bradys, and the struggles they faced throughout their relationship lightly challenged what viewers would expect from family sitcoms.

At a time when classic TV series are being rebooted and requeled left and right for new audiences on streaming platforms, it wouldn't be out of line for some fans to wonder whether or not "Step by Step" could make the series a little better "a second time around." For our part, we aren't holding our breath — not after taking a look at what the cast has been up to since the series ended in 1998. While some of the adult actors like Duffy are still acting, the child stars that anchored "Step by Step" chose a wide variety of career paths when they entered adulthood, with many of them leaving the entertainment industry behind for good.

Having played Brendan Lambert, the youngest of the Lambert-Foster clan, actor Josh Byrne joined the cast of "Step by Step" when he was only six years old. If you can believe it, it wasn't even his first role on television — Byrne had appeared on multiple episodes of "Who's the Boss?" and "The Family Man" the year prior to the premiere of "Step by Step."

Byrne left the series before season 7 to focus on his education, though his absence on the show was never addressed narratively. While he shared in an interview with his former co-stars that he briefly considered behind-the-camera work, he ultimately chose to part ways with the entertainment world entirely. He now nurtures a love of history, renaissance fairs, and comic books.

Aside from Bronson Pinchot (the "Perfect Strangers" and "Beverly Hills Cop" actor lasted just a single season as Carol's controversial season 6 love interest Jean-Luc Rieupeyroux) and child actor Emily Mae Young (who took over the role of Carol and Frank's daughter Lily in season 6), Jason Marsden was the final addition to the main cast of "Step by Step." He joined the ensemble in 1995 for the show's 5th season, playing the supporting role of J.T. Lambert's (Brandon Call) friend Rich Halke. (however, Marsden had also previously appeared in a season 3 episode of "Step by Step" as a minor character named Doug). Rich remained a stalwart of the series through its final three seasons, though he did not appear in the series finale.

As "Step by Step" was airing, Marsden found success as a voice actor, landing a starring role in the 1995 Disney cult-classic animated feature "A Goofy Movie." He played Max Goof, the son of the iconic title character voiced by Bill Farmer. He was subsequently cast as the gorilla Mungo in "Tarzan," the best-friend-sidekick Richie Foley in the "Static Shock" series, Danger Duck in "Loonatics Unleashed," and speedster Bart Allen / Impulse in "Young Justice." He has also reprised his role as Max in several Disney projects.

Marsden continues to act on-camera as well, for the most part making one-off guest-starring appearances on TV shows. In 2025, he played security guard Bog in "A Week Away" (pictured above), a Christian series about a religious summer camp produced by Angel Studios.

Sasha Mitchell had already enjoyed a notable amount of success on television by the time he joined the cast of "Step by Step" in 1991. His career came to its first peak in 1989, when he was cast as James Beaumont, the estranged son of legendary TV antihero J.R. Ewing on the landmark CBS western soap opera "Dallas." Mitchell only stayed with the series for two seasons, departing directly to "Step by Step" to play Frank Lambert's (Patrick Duffy) nephew Cody.

Five seasons later, Mitchell left the series in 1995 ahead of its 6th season. The actor had been juggling other sizable commitments throughout, including replacing Jean-Claude Van Damme in the decently popular "Kickboxer" series of films that almost immediately shifted to a direct-to-video production and release strategy. He struggled to break into the mainstream film industry, aside from a small role in the 2003 David Spade comedy "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star." On television, he had small guest starring roles on "JAG," "NYPD Blue," and "ER." He has not appeared in any films or television shows since the 2019 black comedy "Drunk Parents" (pictured above).

The role of Ivy Baker (the mother of Carol Foster) came to Peggy Rea relatively late in her career. The actor, 70 years old at the time of her casting in the 1st season of "Step by Step," had already enjoyed a prolific career on the small screen that stretched back to the early 1950s on shows like "I Love Lucy," "Hazel," and "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." Over the decades that followed, she held down consistent roles on "The Red Skelton Hour," "The Waltons," and "The Dukes of Hazzard."

Neither Rea nor her character were brought back for further seasons of "Step by Step" after the initial outing. While no official reason has ever been given for this change, it could have been a simple scheduling conflict — the year after Ivy Baker was written out of the series, Rea was cast as a major supporting character on the Chuck Lorre sitcom "Grace Under Fire" (pictured above), in which she recurred as the former mother-in-law of Brett Butler's Grace Kelly. 

Rea continued to act occasionally in other TV shows and a handful of films while recurring on "Grace Under Fire," including "Made in America" and "Devil in a Blue Dress," before seemingly entering retirement in 1998. In 2011, Rea passed away at the age of 89.

Though Patrika Darbo only played Carol's sister Penny in the 1st season of "Step by Step," the ABC series helped her increase the momentum of her acting career at a critical stage. After she left the series, she was able to land guest starring roles on some of the most popular TV shows airing at the time, including "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," "Married... with Children," and "Seinfeld." After incidentally having guest-starred on an episode of "Roseanne" in 1990, Darbo was cast to play Roseanne Barr herself in the 1994 TV biopic "Roseanne and Tom: Behind the Scenes." (She is also one of many "Roseanne" alums to eventually guest star on "The Big Bang Theory.")

Heading into the late '90s, she was cast in the films "Babe" and "Speed 2: Cruise Control," before finally being offered a major role on the hit soap opera "Days of Our Lives" in 1998. Since that year, she has appeared in over 500 episodes as fan favorite character Nancy Wesley (pictured above). The role made Darbo a recognizable name in the soap world and earned her a Daytime Emmy Award nomination in 2000. Her most recent appearance was in 2024.

Carol's son, Mark Foster, was portrayed by Christopher Castile throughout all seven seasons of "Step by Step." Castile was only 11 years old when the first episode of the series premiered on ABC, though he had a fair amount of acting credits given his age. Most notably, he had appeared on episodes of "My Two Dads," "The Fanelli Boys," "Empty Nest," and "Are You Afraid of the Dark?," recurred as a voice actor on "Hey, Arnold!," and played Ted Newton in the first two "Beethoven" films.

Castile's work on "Step by Step" earned him multiple Young Artist Award nominations, but he didn't seem too keen on continuing on in the entertainment industry after the series ended. Aside from doing some voice work on the Christian audio drama series "Adventures in Odyssey," he has no other credits since "Step by Step" and can essentially be considered as having retired from acting after the finale. As of 2024, he is happily employed as a passionate public school teacher.

For over 140 episodes across all seven seasons of "Step by Step," Christine Lakin played Frank Lambert's daughter Al. Like Mark Foster actor Christopher Castile, Lakin was very young and new to Hollywood when she was cast in the series (her only credit was in an obscure TV movie) and was just 12 years old by the time the series premiere made it to air. When it came to an end, she continued to pursue acting and found consistent work as a guest star on shows like "7th Heaven," "3rd Rock from the Sun," and "Odd Man Out."

Her most notable works were the amusingly self-referential projects "Lovin' Lakin" and "Hollywood Darlings" (pictured above), both of which satirized her life after child-stardom. She also became an in-demand voice actor in the video game world, lending her voice to iconic projects like "World of Warcraft," "Medal of Honor," Telltale Games' "The Walking Dead," "Rainbow Six: Siege," and "Mass Effect." Readers may recognize her voice from "Family Guy" as well, particularly for her recurring role as news anchor Joyce Kinney. 

In addition to continuing to make guest-starring appearances on shows like "Station 19" and "The Rookie," Lakin has begun directing episodes of TV series like "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" and "The Goldbergs."

After appearing in just four episodes of the little-known '90s sitcom "Davis Rules," then-teenager Angela Watson was cast as a series regular on "Step by Step." For all seven seasons she played Karen Foster, Carol's second-eldest daughter and older sister of Christopher Castile's Mark Foster. Getting cast in such a prominent and ultimately long-running television series surely seemed like a stroke of good fortune for Watson, not least of all because it would mean that — with careful financial management — she would enter adulthood with a few million dollars in savings to keep her future stable.

Sadly, Watson didn't get that chance. When "Step by Step" ended, she discovered that her savings were essentially gone. She alleges that her parents, who were apparently in control of her finances at the time, misused the money without her consent while she was working on the series. She thus dedicated much of her life post-"Step by Step" to fighting for justice for herself and other child actors who find themselves robbed of the resources they had earned as minors due to outright theft or gross financial mismanagement on behalf of the parents. Through her advocacy group CAST (Child Actors Supporting Themselves), Watson has successfully pursued changes in laws regarding the income of child actors, grown a legal action fund for victims, and continued to bring awareness to the exploitation in the entertainment industry.

Watson had a baby in 2025 at the age of 48 with her husband, realtor Brian Nahas, who she can be seen with in silly videos on his YouTube channel from a few years ago (pictured above).

When Brandon Call was cast as Frank Lambert's eldest son John Thomas ("J.T.") on "Step by Step," the young actor (then just 15 years old) had already been acting for nearly a decade. He made his professional debut on the television series "Simon and Simon" in 1984 and was thereafter employed on a litany of TV sets including "Hotel," "Detective in the House," "I Dream of Jeannie... 15 Years Later," "Magnum P.I.," and "The Magical World of Disney." In 1985, he was cast on the NBC soap opera "Santa Barbara," in which he appeared in 70 episodes across three years, and in 1989, he was part of the inaugural season of "Baywatch."

Once Call finished his 160-episode run on "Step by Step," he had been acting for 14 of the 22 years he had been alive. Understandably, he chose to retire after the series finale. The fact that he finished the series at all is impressive, given that he was injured in a drive-by shooting just before production was set to begin on the final season. Call has mostly stayed out of the public spotlight since, but joined many of his former "Step" cast members for a reunion panel at '90s Con (promoted above on Instagram) in 2024. He reportedly revealed at the convention that he currently works in the real estate business.

Stacy Keanan (credited as "Staci Keanan" at the time) was 16 years old when she joined the cast of "Step by Step" as Dana Foster, the eldest child of the Foster clan who preceded Mark and Karen. Keanan had already been acting for several years at this level before "Step by Step" came along, having been part of the main casts of "My Two Dads" and the short-lived Alan Ruck sitcom "Going Places."

After "Step by Step" ended, Keanan continued to act on television and in a few films, though the frequency of roles declined considerably compared to her early career. Between the series finale in 1998 and the year 2012, she guest starred on a single episode of "Diagnosis Murder," appeared in four films (including "Hidden Secrets" and "You Again"), and appeared in one episode of "Lovin' Lakin" starring her former co-star Christine Lakin, with whom she maintained a close relationship following "Step by Step." The two currently host a rewatch podcast where they go through each episode of the series, occasionally with guests from the cast (including Christopher Castile). Keanan also came out of acting retirement to guest star on "Hollywood Darlings."

The reason for Keanan's more relaxed post-"Step" career undoubtedly has to do with her decision to focus on her education. She graduated from Southwestern Law School in 2013 and earned a place in the Riverside County District Attorney's office a year later. As of writing, Keanan is a Deputy District Attorney in Los Angeles, and she has returned to her alma mater as a professor.

Suzanne Somers' career before she was cast as one of the stars of "Step by Step" was prolific — but not free from adversity. After over a decade of solid, consistent work that had led to a leading role on the hit ABC sitcom "Three's Company," the actor's future was thrown into jeopardy when she made the simple request that she be paid the same amount of money as her co-star John Ritter. When producers refused and countered with a jaw-droppingly low figure compared to what she sought, Somers' relationship with the series became so tense that she was ultimately forced to exit the series. ("Three's Company" fans argue the show was never the same without her.)

It wasn't until "Step by Step" that she found a role of the same caliber, playing Carol Foster. The series was such a success for Somers as an actor that she was frequently asked to make cameo appearances as herself on popular TV shows throughout the series' run, including on "The Larry Sanders Show," "Full House," and "The Simpsons." 

After "Step by Step" ended, however, Somers' on-screen career cooled. She appeared in just three films before disappearing from screens big and small in 2001. She pivoted to hosting with mixed success, with neither "Suzanne Somers Breaking Through" nor "The Suzanne Show" lasting more than a year. As a performer, she entered the world of live theater with two productions — the autobiographical one-woman show "The Blonde in the Thunderbird" and her Las Vegas variety act "Suzanne Sizzles."

Throughout the 2000s, 2010s, and early 2020s, Somers was diagnosed with and treated for multiple forms of cancer. In 2023, she passed away at the age of 76 due to complications from breast cancer.

Patrick Duffy has to be one of the luckiest actors in the history of television. Just three years after making his professional acting debut in the TV movie "The Stranger Who Looks Like Me" in 1974, he was cast as the star in "Man from Atlantis," a series of superhero movies produced for NBC in the late '70s that ultimately grew into a full episodic project that ran until 1978. That same year, he debuted in another starring role — altruistic oil heir Bobby Ewing on the groundbreaking CBS soap opera "Dallas." After 13 years and over 300 episodes, the series took its final bow in 1991, just in time for Duffy to step even further into the spotlight with a starring role as Frank Lambert on "Step by Step."

Diving into the industry for two straight decades of uninterrupted, high-profile work finally gave way to a slower period in Duffy's career after the end of "Step by Step." It lasted until 2006, when he was cast as Stephen Logan on the soap "The Bold and the Beautiful." He also regularly worked as a guest star on TV shows like "Diagnosis Murder," "Reba," "Party Down," and "The Fosters," voiced characters on "Family Guy" and "Justice League," and appeared on Christine Lakin's series "Lovin' Lakin" and "Hollywood Darlings." 

In 2012, he returned for the TNT "Dallas" sequel series, which ran for two years. Duffy's most recent project has been the BET series "The Family Business," in which he recurs as Sheriff KD Shrugs. When he appeared on Christine Lakin and Stacy Keanan's podcast in 2024, he smiled back at his time on "Step by Step," expressing gratitude that he and his co-stars were able to act as role models for an unconventional but loving family.