What The Shining Twins Look Like Today

Decades after its release, Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" continues to chill viewers and make everyone do a double take whenever they spot a spooky hotel. Two of the most unforgettable characters from the film are the apparitions known as the Grady twins, whom Danny Torrance (Danny Lloyd) sees in the Overlook Hotel's hallway. The Gradys are played by Lisa and Louise Burns, and the siblings' acting careers peaked with "The Shining," which changed horror movies forever. But why didn't they go on to become stars?

According to the Burns' comments to the Daily Mail, acting schools didn't accept them because they had already secured professional credits by working on the 1980 Kubrick film. "I went to an audition for RADA [Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts] and they said they couldn't accept me because I'd been in the movie, that made me a professional actress and they didn't accept professionals," Louise said.

Feeling deflated about their options in the movie business, the twins chose different paths in life: Lisa became a lawyer, and Louise pursued a career as a scientist. However, the pair still make occasional appearances on the con circuit, where fans have the chance to meet and take photos with "The Shining" twins.

"The Shining" book differs from the movie in many significant ways. Just ask author Stephen King, who still has many gripes about how Stanley Kubrick treated his original story. One of the biggest changes made is to Alexie and Alexia Grady, who aren't twins in the novel. In the book, they are still former caretaker Delbert Grady's daughters, who are murdered by their father after he becomes possessed by the Overlook Hotel, but they are described as eight and 10 years old.

According to the Burns sisters, Kubrick didn't plan to cast twins at all. "Stanley was never looking for twins, but we went along anyway," Lisa told the Daily Mail. "If we hadn't auditioned then the roles would probably have gone to two girls of different ages, like the characters in the book. It certainly worked in our favor because Stanley decided twins were just spookier."

It proved to be a masterstroke in the casting department, as the Grady twins became synonymous with the unsettling nature of "The Shining" and considered among the scariest kids in horror movie history. As a matter of fact, it's impossible to think of the film without their creepy presence. They're as important and memorable as Redrum and Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) swinging his ax in the direction of his family.