Rusty and Audrey Griswold were famously played by a different actor in each of the National Lampoon’s Vacation movies, and that included some huge stars. The Griswold family’s patriarch and matriarch, Clark and Ellen, were consistently played by Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo across the whole franchise — even in the 2015 reboot, two decades after the last movie — but the kids were always replaced with new cast members in each subsequent sequel. It practically became a running joke throughout the series that Clark and Ellen’s kids looked totally different and aged inconsistently from movie to movie.
Part of the reason for casting new actors as Rusty and Audrey in the National Lampoon’s Vacation movies is that child actors age a lot faster than their adult co-stars. Whereas Chase and D’Angelo looked more or less the same in the 14 years between the original Vacation film and the fourth one, Vegas Vacation, the child actors would’ve long since aged into adulthood. Rusty has been played by everyone from Leonard Hofstadter to Andy Bernard to Brian the “brain” from The Breakfast Club, while Audrey has been played by stars from Yellowjackets and Knocked Up.
10 Anthony Michael Hall Plays Rusty Griswold In Vacation (1983)
The role of Rusty originated with Anthony Michael Hall in the original National Lampoon’s Vacation. Hall was a frequent collaborator of John Hughes, who wrote the screenplay for Vacation based on his own short story, “Vacation ‘58,” first published in the National Lampoon. Hughes didn’t direct Vacation, but he made a note of its casting for when he did become a director. After Hall appeared in Vacation, Hughes cast him in several of his classic directorial efforts: Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Weird Science.
Hall played Rusty as a typical teenage boy archetype: he’s boorish, he’s shamelessly gross, and he’s constantly mocking his sister. He also acted as a straight man opposite Chase in Rusty’s scenes with Clark. Vacation was just Hall’s second movie after he played Doc in the Kenny Rogers vehicle Six Pack.
9 Dana Barron Plays Audrey Griswold In Vacation (1983) & Christmas Vacation 2
Dana Barron was the first actor to play Audrey in the National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise. In the original Vacation movie, Barron played Audrey opposite Hall. While Hall established that Rusty is a bit of a nerd, Barron established that Audrey has a rebellious streak. She snuck out of her hotel room after hours and she secretly smoked weed behind her parents’ backs, and Barron leaned into that adolescent rebelliousness.
Barron later reprised her role as Audrey in the made-for-TV sequel Christmas Vacation 2 in 2003. Christmas Vacation 2 focused on Cousin Eddie taking his family on a free vacation to an island in the South Pacific. Audrey tags along after dumping her married boyfriend, Daniel. Barron’s return as Audrey, 20 years after her initial performance, made her the first of the Griswold children to play their part more than once.
8 Jason Lively Plays Rusty Griswold In European Vacation
In the second Vacation movie, 1985’s National Lampoon’s European Vacation, Jason Lively replaced Hall in the role of Rusty. Since it was just two years after the first film, Hall hadn’t exactly aged out of the role — but he had become a much bigger and more in-demand star. European Vacation marked Lively’s second film appearance after playing Chris Brace in Douglas Trumbull’s sci-fi movie Brainstorm in 1983.
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National Lampoon’s Vacation: Why The Griswold Kids Always Change
Throughout 4 Vacation movies in 14 years, Rusty and Audrey Griswold are always played by different actors while remaining teenagers. Here’s why.
Lively played Rusty as being a little older and, as a result, a lot more interested in girls. When they’re at the Eiffel Tower, Rusty is acutely aware that some nearby girls are laughing at him for wearing matching berets with his family. When they go to a raunchy Paris can-can dance show, Rusty attempts to employ the services of a sex worker before his parents catch him.
7 Dana Hill Plays Audrey Griswold In European Vacation
When the producers recast the kids for European Vacation, they brought in Dana Hill to replace her namesake Barron as Audrey. Hill maintained the rebellious streak that Barron had imbued in the character, and she has some of European Vacation’s funniest moments. Hill suffered from a form of diabetes that affected her physical growth, which meant that she continued to play roles as children into her teenage years and adulthood.
As a voice actor, Hill was best known for playing Max Goof in the Disney animated series Goof Troop and Jerry in Tom and Jerry: The Movie. In other movies, Hill played Sherry Dunlap in Shoot the Moon and Ellie Turner in Cross Creek. Due to complications from diabetes, Hill passed away at the tragically young age of 32 in 1996 (via The Los Angeles Times).
6 Johnny Galecki Plays Rusty Griswold In Christmas Vacation
Today, Johnny Galecki is best known for playing Leonard Hofstadter in the hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory. But long before he pined after Penny and shared an apartment with Sheldon Cooper, Galecki was a prolific child actor. Throughout the ‘90s, Galecki played high-profile sitcom roles like David Healy in Roseanne and Danny Nash in American Dreamer. In 1989, Galecki adopted the role of Rusty in the yuletide-themed sequel National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
Whereas Hall had introduced Rusty as a dork, Galecki played him as more of a wise alec who frequently outsmarts his elders. Galecki’s Rusty is cool, witty, and always one step ahead of his dad. While Clark is frantically racing around the house, trying to get his Christmas lights to come on, Rusty is kicking back with plenty of wry one-liners in the chamber.
5 Juliette Lewis Plays Audrey Griswold In Christmas Vacation
Juliette Lewis was cast to play the new version of Audrey alongside Galecki’s Rusty in Christmas Vacation. Lewis took the rebelliousness that Barron and Hill had brought to the character to its natural next step and played Audrey as slightly older and moodier. Lewis’ Audrey is an angsty teenager who’s mortally embarrassed by her family and doesn’t want to be seen in public with them.
In the ‘90s, Lewis would go on to become a huge star with her appearances in indie and arthouse movies. She played Danny Bowden in Martin Scorsese’s Cape Fear (for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress), Mallory Knox in Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers, and Rain in Woody Allen’s Husbands and Wives. Today, Lewis is most renowned for her role as present-day Nat Scatorccio in Yellowjackets.
4 Ethan Embry Plays Rusty Griswold In Vegas Vacation
Ethan Embry was cast to take on the role of Rusty in the fourth movie, Vegas Vacation. In Vegas Vacation, Clark takes his family on vacation to Las Vegas so he and Ellen can renew their marriage vows. Embry plays Rusty as being thrilled to visit Sin City — ecstatic to be around all the showgirls and gamblers — which ties back to the typical teenage lasciviousness that Lively brought to the part in European Vacation.
Embry wasn’t a huge name when he appeared in Vegas Vacation, but in the years that followed, he went on to become a very high-profile star of romcoms and sitcoms. In movies, he played Preston Meyers in Can’t Hardly Wait and Bobby Ray in Sweet Home Alabama. On television, he played Coyote Bergstein in Grace and Frankie and the real Pete Murphy in Sneaky Pete.
3 Marisol Nichols Plays Audrey Griswold In Vegas Vacation
Marisol Nichols was cast to play Audrey opposite Embry’s Rusty in Vegas Vacation. While Rusty is excited about being around the glitz and glamor of Vegas, Nichols plays Audrey as being a little more trepidatious about visiting the notorious party town. This was a stark contrast to previous portrayals of Audrey. In the earlier movies, Audrey was shown to have a wild streak — she smoked pot with her cousin when she was about 13 — so the traditional Audrey would’ve probably loved to go to Vegas.
Vegas Vacation marked Nichols’ movie debut. Her subsequent film roles include Liliana Morales in Big Momma’s House 2 and Captain Angie Garza in Spiral: From the Book of Saw. On TV, Nichols has played such characters as Nadia Yassir in 24, Hermione Lodge in Riverdale, and the voice of Principal Ramirez in The Loud House.
2 Ed Helms Plays Rusty Griswold In Vacation (2015)
In 2015, 18 years after Vegas Vacation, the Vacation franchise came back with a reboot, simply titled Vacation. This movie sees Rusty taking his own family on a road trip to Walley World and facing just as many challenges and tribulations as his father before him. Rusty has grown up to have two sons and works as a pilot for the low-priced airline Econo-Air. In the reboot, Rusty is played by Ed Helms.
At the time, the roles of Andy Bernard in The Office and Stu Price in The Hangover trilogy had made Helms one of the biggest comedy stars in the world. In 2015’s Vacation, Helms’ performance as Rusty is based less on previous portrayals of Rusty and more on Chase’s portrayal of Clark. He’s the goofy suburban dad with a hilariously psychotic streak.
1 Leslie Mann Plays Audrey Griswold In Vacation (2015)
During Rusty’s disastrous road trip with his own family in the 2015 Vacation reboot, they stop off to visit Audrey and her husband at their lavish ranch in Plano, Texas. Audrey is married to up-and-coming news anchor Stone Crandall, played by Chris Hemsworth, and Audrey herself is played by Leslie Mann. Mann is best known for starring in such hit comedies as Knocked Up, Blockers, George of the Jungle, This is 40, and The Other Woman.
Mann’s performance as Audrey is a sad development from the previous versions of Audrey. In the original National Lampoon’s Vacation movies, Audrey was portrayed as a wild, liberated free spirit who seemed to have a very adventurous life ahead of her. But the 2015 National Lampoon’s Vacation reboot traps Audrey in a loveless marriage where she feels like she has no purpose.
Source: The Los Angeles Times
National Lampoon’s Vacation is a 1983 comedy directed by Harold Ramis and written by John Hughes. The film follows Clark Griswold, played by Chevy Chase, as he embarks on a cross-country road trip with his family to reach the fictional amusement park, Walley World. Along the way, they encounter a series of comedic misadventures that test their resolve and family bonds.
- Cast
- Chevy Chase , Beverly D’Angelo , Anthony Michael Hall , Imogene Coca , Randy Quaid
- Runtime
- 99 Minutes