‘Coven Academy’s Devon Sawa Struggled With Being Recognized For ‘Casper’ Years After Starring In Role: “I Gotta Embrace It”

Devon Sawa opened up about starring in the fantasy film Casper and struggling to embrace the fandom around it.

In a recent interview, the Coven Academy actor revealed why it was difficult for him to talk about the role that many millennials remember him for.

“Doesn’t matter what I do nowadays. It doesn’t matter how cool the project is, I will always have to say, ‘Can I keep you?’ to somebody at some point,” Sawa told People. “There will always be Casper stuff.”

Sawa starred in the 1995 film as Casper in human form opposite Christina Ricci. One of the most memorable scenes has Sawa asking, “Can I keep you?” Because of the film’s popularity, Sawa was constantly reminded of that line and role, which took him time to embrace.

“There was a time in my life I was like, ‘I don’t wanna talk about Casper. How dare you? I’m a thespian,’ you know?” Sawa said. “But… I gotta embrace it. It’s why I’m here. It’s what got me here.”

After Casper (1995), Sawa went on to star in Now and Then (1995), The Boys Club (1997), Wild America (1997), Final Destination (2000), among others. His television credits include Action Man (1995), Nikita (2010), Hawaii Five-0 (2018), MacGyver (2020), Magnum P.I. (2021), Chucky (2021), Hacks (2022), Murder in a Small Town (2024), Twisted Metal (2025), among others.

Sawa is currently one of Freeform and Disney+’s Coven Academy stars, playing warlock teacher Mr. Peter Cole. In the series, he shares credits with Tiffani Thiessen, Malina Weissman, Malachi Barton, and more.