If you grew up rewinding VHS tapes until they squealed, Tami Stronach probably lives rent-free in your memory. She was ten when she played the Childlike Empress in The NeverEnding Story, and 41 years later, fans still tell her she shaped their childhood. She hears it a lot. And she doesn’t roll her eyes.
“It’s really special,” Stronach told PEOPLE. “It doesn’t get old. I feel so lucky to be a positive memory for people.” She laughs about how a role with just two scenes became forever. Two scenes. That’s it. Wolfgang Petersen barely guided her, which helped. She auditioned three times, made choices early, and stuck to them. Petersen trusted her.
She figured the Childlike Empress was ancient. “She’s 300 years old,” ten-year-old Tami decided, because that felt ancient. Now she’s 52 and finds that idea adorable. Time does that. So does losing your incisors right before filming. She wore a custom denture in one scene and kept her mouth closed in the other. Not method acting. Survival.
After the 1984 release, Germany went wild. The US followed later through VHS. Fame followed too, briefly, and it wasn’t cute. She dealt with stalkers. Wedding rings from grown men. Scripts that made no sense for a child. Her family opted out. No drama. Just a meeting and a decision. Don’t get damaged.
Instead, she danced. She built work she controlled. She co-founded Shoehorn Theater and Paper Canoe Company with her husband Greg Steinbruner in 2015. She lived.
Now she’s back on screen in Man and Witch: The Dance of a Thousand Steps, released July 28 and 30. She plays a witch. Steinbruner plays a cursed goatherd. The cast includes Christopher Lloyd and Sean Astin. The tone nods to Monty Python and The Princess Bride, with heart intact. “People want to feel hopeful,” she says. That’s the brief.
Nostalgia keeps growing. The theme song popped up on Stranger Things in 2019 and hooked another generation. At conventions, fans light up when Stronach reunites with Atreyu actor Noah Hathaway. Tami Stronach totally gets it. “The whole point… is to not have the kid inside you die.” She’s still guarding that idea. And judging by the smiles, you probably are too.
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