Whatever Happened To 7th Heaven's David Gallagher?
A young entrepreneur, best friend to his little sister Ruthie (Mackenzie Rosman), and the best pal that any dog could ever have. That's Simon Camden, the beloved little brother played by David Gallagher on the hit family TV series "7th Heaven." The show follows parents Reverend Eric Camden (Stephen Collins) and Annie Camden (Catherine Hicks) as they raise Simon and his many siblings while facing the ups and downs of life. Gallagher was there from the very start, first appearing in Season 1, Episode 1, "Anything You Want," which premiered in 1996. Fans would continue to watch him grow while Simon changed throughout the show, including piercing his ear, helping Happy through her pregnancy, grieving the loss of a classmate, and navigating college.
Playing Simon was just one of the many noteworthy roles that Gallagher had during the 1990s and early 2000s. Three years before "7th Heaven," he appeared on the big screen in "Look Who's Talking Now," playing James (John Travolta) and Mollie Ubriacco's (Kirstie Alley) son Mikey. While Simon brought joy to fans of the Camden family, they could also spot him playing the title role in "Richie Rich's Christmas Wish" and hear his voice on the Nickelodeon cartoon "Rocket Power."
Many of the "7th Heaven" cast members have been keeping busy since their smiling faces left the small screen, and for Gallagher, there is no stopping his successful entertainment career. Here is what he's been up to since bidding farewell to "7th Heaven."
You can hear his voice in Kingdom Hearts
TV viewers are not the only people enjoying David Gallagher's acting talents. In 2002, he joined the voice cast for the English version of "Kingdom Hearts" as Riku, a friend and challenger of Sora's (Haley Joel Osment) who is on a mission to find his friends while saving multiple worlds. This is as he runs into several popular Disney characters and the familiar places they live in.
Gallagher has continued to play the role during each new installment, from "Kingdom Hearts II" to "Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep." He most recently lent his voice to 2020's "Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory," which focuses on tossing rhythm-themed challenges at players who dare enter this magical world that gamers have been enjoying for decades. And these are not the only "Kingdom Hearts" projects that Gallagher's been a part of.
In 2003, Gallagher played Riku in the pilot for a "Kingdom Hearts" series that never fully came to fruition. Director and writer Seth Kearsley shared the details in an interview with Inverse, explaining that he spent months rewriting the pilot after realizing that he wasn't happy with his original product. "The whole thing was a favorite memory," he said. "I was convinced that not only that it would go, that it would crush. Instead, I was crushed when it didn't go." He has since shared the 11-minute pilot on YouTube.
He continued to act throughout college
While "7th Heaven" began as a show that mainly chronicles the challenges of growing up, it later focused on the challenges of adulthood as its characters left the nest, starting families of their own while figuring out how their new chapters fit into the Camden family fabric. That includes Simon, who fans would watch go to college before almost tying the knot with Rose (Sarah Thompson) during Season 10, Episode 22, "...And Thank You."
Like his on-screen counterpart, David Gallagher also went to college; he attended the University of Southern California, according to an interview with the Los Angeles Times. He told the news outlet that going to college helped to change his perspective on projects, showing him how to step out of the actor's viewpoint. He also continued acting while working on his studies. "I always tried to keep acting in college," he said. "I had to sort of take a break because my day job, which was '7th Heaven,' couldn't accommodate a full college schedule. So I had to walk from that, get into college, and then I dedicated some spare time back to them."
In August of 2004, the Los Angeles Times reported that Gallagher used Mondays as his day of the week to return to the set of "7th Heaven."
David Gallagher has worked with some of his siblings
Show business is a family business for David Gallagher. His siblings Kyle Casey, Michelle, and Kelly Casey have all worked in the entertainment industry, with jobs ranging from producing to acting to camera operation, and Gallagher has even spent time onscreen with some of his family members. Like her brother, Michelle started in the business at a young age. "7th Heaven" fans can spot her playing Katie Cunningham who becomes a young confidant to Gladys Bink (Eileen Brennan) during Season 1, Episode 12, "With a Little Help from My Friends." She would then return as Katie in Season 5, Episode 12, "One Hundred."
In 2003, Michelle and Kyle joined Gallagher in the comedy "Ten Bucks." Gallagher directed, produced, and co-wrote the piece that features Kyle playing the role of Kevin and Michelle playing a popcorn stand attendant. "Ten Bucks" is currently Michelle's last acting credit. Kyle has gone on to produce several projects throughout the 2010s. As for Kelly, her last acting credit dates back to the 1990s.
He became a producer
David Gallagher became a star thanks to the talent he shares in front of the camera, but he has done plenty of work behind the scenes as well. While he produced "Ten Bucks" in 2003, he also produced a 2007 adaptation of "The Picture of Dorian Gray," in which he plays the title character. The film is based on the book of the same name written by Oscar Wilde in 1890, and tells the tale of an artist who is struck by Dorian's beauty, using him as inspiration for a new painting. However, Dorian hates the painting and dreads the idea of growing old. The cast also includes Noah Segan as Basil Howard, who played Trooper Wagner in the 2019 mystery comedy "Knives Out."
Gallagher told the Los Angeles Times that this was just one of the films he worked on while in college, describing it as a dark indie project that didn't receive much traction. This is one of the many film adaptations of "The Picture of Dorian Gray," with one version of this tale about vanity dating back to 1915 in the era of silent movies.
Gallagher has played several roles in crime dramas
David Gallagher has traded in family drama for crime dramas, guest starring on popular series. This includes a recurring role on "Numb3rs," which follows FBI agent Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) and his mathematician brother Charlie (David Krumhotz) as they solve cases. Gallagher joined the series in 2006, playing Buck Winters, a teenager who loves an older woman and becomes her accomplice in several crimes. He first appears in Season 3, Episode 1, "Spree," which finds Lou Diamon Philips playing Agent Ian Edgerton, who is searching for Buck and Crystal Hoyle (Kim Dickens). Buck's story continues in Episode 2, "Two Daughters." He would not return until Season 5, Episode 11, "Arrow of Time," in which he escapes from prison, ending his storyline.
During his hiatus from "Numb3rs," Gallagher kept up appearances on TV — first as Rick Bates, a waiter who murders his parole officer, on "CSI: Miami" during Season 6, Episode 1, Dangerous Son." He then joined "Bones" as Ryan Stephenson, the son of two televangelists, during Season 4, Episode 7, "The He in the She." This was followed by his role as Jeff Ellis, a suspect in a nurse's disappearance, in Season 7, Episode 9, "Push Comes to Shove."
2012 was a banner year for him in terms of crime drama appearances. He can first be spotted on "CSI: NY" before jumping into another role on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." He could then be found on "Vegas" and "Criminal Minds."
He once joined the world of Superman
In 2009, David Gallagher paid a visit to "Smallville," playing Zan as the popular series worked to bring him and his twin sister Jayna (Allison Scagliotti) together during Season 9, Episode 8, "Idol." DC Comics fans may recognize these characters under their famous moniker: Wonder Twins. It's a name that they truly live up to on "Smallville" as they begin the episode with Jayna shape-shifting into a mountain lion while Zan turns into ice that covers the road, causing a limo to crash. This is all in an attempt to detract attention after they accidentally trapped a group of undercover police officers into a wooden crate later found by Lois Lane (Erica Durance) and Clark Kent (Tom Welling).
Zan also uses their antics to attract attention toward The Blur, who has inspired him to become a superhero, something that he and his sister seem to be struggling with due to their failed attempts to save people and stop crime. While this is his only appearance in the TV series, the twins' misadventures in crime-fighting are chronicled in some of the "Smallville" comics. And their history goes well beyond this portion of DC, with the twins making their first-ever appearance in the 1970s during "Super Friends" #7.
He brought the life of a screenwriter to the movies
While David Gallagher has spent plenty of time beefing up his small screen credits since "7th Heaven," he is still collecting movie credits, including the 2011 dramatic comedy "Trophy Kids." It tells the story of Max Wolfowitz (Ryan Eggold), a 20-something who hopes that making a film will give him the fame he desires, and he enlists Reid Davis (Gallagher) to write the screenplay. In an interview with Hollywire, Gallagher and director-slash-co-writer Josh Sugarman explained that the movie is really about Generation Y's overall mindset. "It's about a generation of kids who had grown up their entire lives being told by their parents and by their teachers and by the media how special they were and that moment ... when they get out in the world and realize that perhaps they're not as special as they thought they were," said Sugarman.
As Max works to live up to his potential, Reid faces struggles while writing Max's film about a young man's party-centered lifestyle. Gallagher told Hollywire that it's a process that challenges how Reid truly sees himself. "I really related to his sense of self-doubt with his art and wanting to be really great and wanting to live up to as special as he was told he was and struggling with that," he said. The film won two awards at "Best of the Fest" at the Breckenridge Festival of Film in 2011, scoring awards in the categories of ensemble cast and best visual effects.
David Gallagher has worked alongside J.J. Abrams
In 2011, David Gallagher stepped into the science fiction genre as camera store operator Donny in "Super 8," written and directed by J.J. Abrams with Steven Spielberg producing. Donny helps two kid filmmakers after their camera breaks following an unexplainable train crash in 1979. Gallagher told Entertainment Weekly that he was given a dummy script when first auditioning for the film. He received the part after sending in a photo of himself fishing, and he had a clear vision for his character. "My goal became, how do I portray this '70s stoner, the comic relief, and not be goofy or the 'stupid stoner.' I wanted Donny to be likable, not too overly animated or too hazy. I wanted Donny to be a real guy who just really wanted to get stoned, but instead had all of this stuff happen around him."
While the film boasts plenty of names that have spent a considerable amount of time in the entertainment industry, the story is carried by a young ensemble cast. Gallagher told the Los Angeles Times that watching these kids reminded him of his childhood. "Every now and then they sort of tripped me out and sent me down a memory lane where I would just look at them on set and be like, 'Oh my god, I remember, you know, being your age and being on a set and running around or having fun,'" he said, adding that he liked the way that Abrams treated the cast.
You can see him as a werewolf on The Vampire Diaries
David Gallagher returned to The CW in 2011. He stepped into the paws of a werewolf during two episodes of "The Vampire Diaries," which follows Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) who realizes that supernatural beings are walking amongst humans. Gallagher plays Ray Sutton during Season 3, Episode 1, "The Birthday," and Episode 2, "The Hybrid." Ray runs into vampire Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley) and vampire-werewolf Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan) at a bar. Ray is turned into a vampire-werewolf before being killed.
But there was almost a "Vampire Diaries" that saw Gallagher in a more prominent role. He told Entertainment Weekly that he read for the pilot with the potential of playing either Stefan or Damon Salvatore, a role that was given to Ian Somerhalder. "I think ultimately, it was sort of difficult to place me because lately in my career, I've been leaning toward things with a little bit darker sensibility ... and that clashed with the work that people knew me for at the time."
Executive producer Julie Plec told the publication that his role in "Super 8" impressed her, even though she had no clue that he was playing Donny until a friend pointed it out. The part of Ray followed soon after. "He's a really smart, committed actor and he grew up on a TV show that defined him in a certain way," she said. "He's actually absolutely nothing like that as an actor. That's why it's exciting to give him an opportunity to really show off his dark and edgy chops."
He continues to play dramatic roles
Dramatic roles with a dark side continue to be a focus for David Gallagher, given his recent list of credits. In the 2017 TV movie "Born and Missing" (also known as "Babynapped")he plays Brian, a husband and father who is on the search for his missing child after his wife Ashley Thompson (Vanessa Evigan) is killed in a car accident. Not to mention that her best friend Kristen Anderson (Kaitlyn Black) disappears amid the crash, all while Kristen is grieving the loss of her own baby.
He then joined CBS' revisioning of the classic crime-fighting series "S.W.A.T." in 2020, playing Sawyer during Season 3, Episode 11, "Bad Cop," which has the team hot on the trail of a gang that is targeting casinos. Sawyer is just one of the criminals wearing white masks and blue jumpsuits, and he comes face to face with Sergeant Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson (Shemar Moore) and Sergeant David "Deacon" Kay (Jay Harrington) as he holds his love Rachel (Veronica Wylie) hostage before she begins shooting at Hondo and Deacon who reveal that she is the real mastermind of the criminal operation.
It looks like he won't be stopping his foray into crime dramas anytime soon.
He's still connected to his TV siblings
It's been more than 15 years since David Gallagher made his final appearance on "7th Heaven," leaving the series during the final episode of Season 10 and saying goodbye just one season before the show ended. However, he has continued to stay in touch with other members of the Camden family. In 2017, Beverley Mitchell, who played big sister Lucy, posted a photo to her Instagram account featuring herself standing with Barry Watson, Gallagher, and Camden matriarch Catherine Hicks. The caption read, "All the feels!" with a note that they missed Jessica Biel and had thanks for the show's creator, Brenda Hampton
A year later, @beverleymitchell took to Instagram to wish Gallagher a happy birthday by posting a photo of the two as kids. Mitchell told Today in 2018, "I am the glue of '7th Heaven.' If you want to talk to anybody you gotta come through me, 'cause I will find them, and I will tell you where they are, and I will give you their contact info."