This article was one of Herald Entertainment’s best-read stories of 2023

Former childhood Hollywood actor Jimmy Kartz, who made a name for himself after playing Bruce Bogtrotter in Matilda, is now unrecognisable after a major career change.

The now 38-year-old is known for his memorable role in the 1996 hit where he was forced to eat cake in front of the whole school.

Matilda was his big acting break before going on to star in the medical drama ER, which featured George Clooney.

In 1998 he also played a role in Adam Sandler’s film The Wedding Singer.

But after numerous roles in Hollywood he sensationally left the acting world behind and instead focused on his education.

In 2017 he graduated as a doctor at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The now 38-year-old Karz looks unrecognisable.

Jimmy Karz looks a far cry from his character in Matilda. Photo / Instagram

Speaking about his time working on Matila, he told The Do, a medical publication, that the famous cake scene took forever to shoot.

“That scene took about three weeks to film, from what I recall. I had to be on set all day, and I had to wear the same outfit every day.

“The chocolate was already encrusted on this shirt I was wearing. For continuity’s sake, every day I had to have the chocolate painted on my face the way it was painted on the day before.

“I despised the smell of chocolate for a few weeks after that.”

Jimmy Karz played Bruce Bogtrotter in Matilda. Photo / Sony Pictures

Karz said he had taken up osteopathic medicine as he wanted to focus on “helping the whole patient”.

He also disclosed how he went from acting into medicine.

“After undergrad, I worked as a production associate for MTV News for nearly two years. I realised I wanted to do more service-oriented work. I was really into community gardening at the time, and I began volunteering to teach people from low-income communities how to grow their own food.

“Through gardening, I learned a little bit about biology and chemistry, enough to realise I wanted to delve more into science. I went back to school to study biochemistry, which led me to medicine. I liked osteopathic medicine’s focus on helping the whole patient, and I was interested in learning manual techniques to help patients.”