See Gage From 1989's "Pet Sematary" Now at 36
Miko Hughes played the terrifying toddler over 30 years ago.
Miko Hughes cemented his place in horror movie history—specifically, creepy kids in horror movie history—when he starred as Gage in Pet Sematary in 1989. In the Stephen King adaptation, Hughes played a toddler, who returns after dying in a freak accident as a scary, violent, zombie version of himself. The actor was only three years old when Pet Sematary was released, and it was his very first film. In the years that followed, he went on to have a very busy career as a child star before transitioning to teen and adult roles.
These days, Hughes isn't acting as much as he did in his youth, but he's still involved in the industry. He's also keeping his spooky character alive—no pun intended—with all the fans who love the movie. Read on to find out more about his life today.
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He didn't watch Pet Sematary until he was much older.
In an interview with The Convention Junkies in 2019, Hughes shared that because he was so young when he starred in Pet Sematary, he didn't watch the horror movie all the way through until years later.
"I had seen some of the scenes that I was in growing up, but I didn't sit down and watch the whole thing until I was about 12," he explained. "It was fun. It was weird. I knew the story, so I half knew what it was going to be about, but it was half entirely new."
He took on other memorable roles.
Aside from being known as Gage in Pet Sematary, Hughes is also remembered for playing Aaron on Full House, Joseph in Kindergarten Cop, and Dylan in another horror movie, Wes Craven's New Nightmare. His other film and TV appearances as a child actor include Beverly Hills, 90210, Doogie Howser, M.D., Melrose Place, The Nanny, Apollo 13, and Mercury Rising.
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He has a career behind the scenes now.
Hughes continued acting into his teens and young adulthood, but his on-screen career slowed down around the early 2000s. Nowadays, the 36-year-old works in another aspect of entertainment.
"I'm more behind the camera now," he told The Horror Nerd in 2021. "I work in the camera department on film and production—TV, music videos, that kind of stuff."
He has taking on roles on occasion, however. In 2019, he was in the movie The Untold Story, and in 2021 he was in a film titled Floaty. He told The Horror Nerd that he was also working on new project related to the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. "Acting-wise, we're trying to do a Nightmare on Elm Street—like a New Nightmare fan film," he said, but explained that it had been pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
You can meet him at a fan convention.
Hughes is still involved with the Pet Sematary legacy through his attendance at various horror movie fan conventions.
"It's always fascinating how avid the horror fans are," he told Scream in 2016. "I did other work over the years but horror fans are diehard. You don't do conventions for drama or comedy—it's horror."
Hughes also recently took a walk down memory lane quite literally when he documented himself taking a Stephen King tour on his Instagram account.
