What Ralphie From ‘A Christmas Story’ Is Doing Today

Peter Billingsley has come a long way from his Red Rider BB Gun days, both in front of the camera and behind it. Billingsley is still best known for starring in A Christmas Story as Ralphie, though he continued to act and work in Hollywood for years afterward. Here’s a quick breakdown of what Billingsley has been up to in all that time.

Billingsley was 12 years old when A Christmas Story came out, though he had been acting since he was 2 years old in commercials and a few other early film roles. He continued acting in the years that followed, branching into TV more and more with guest appearances on Who’s the Boss?, Punky Brewster, The Wonder Years and Highway to Heaven. However, like many child stars, Billingsley said that the work began to slow down when he was a young man and he no longer looked the way people expected him to.

Luckily, Billingsley found success behind the camera as well. As an adult, Billingsley produced three of comedian Vince Vaughn’s biggest hit movies: Four Christmases, The Break-Up and Couple’s Retreat. He also produced the Jumanji spinoff Zathura: A Space Adventure, and he got in on the ground floor of the MCU by producing 2008’s Iron Man.

Billingsley also has some impressive credits in the TV world. He’s an executive producer on the Netflix Original series F is For Family, which is a huge property for the streaming giant. He worked as an EP on TBS’s Sullivan & Son as well.

Finally, Billingsley made a cameo in another Christmas classic that many fans might have missed. In Elf, Billingsley portrays Ming Ming, the Christmas elf in charge of Santa’s workshop who can’t bring himself to scold Buddy (Will Ferrell) for his poor production rates.

For fans of A Christmas Story, of course, Billingsley’s most notable work as an adult is the streaming movie A Christmas Story Christmas. It features an adult Ralphie heading home to the Parker house for Christmas in 1973, just as his father “The Old Man” has passed away. It was released on HBO Max in 2022 and is still streaming on Max now. The movie has generally positive reviews from fans and critics alike.

Billingsley keeps a pretty low profile online — perhaps for the same reason he prefers to be behind the camera these days rather than in front of it. The Christmas icon did have a profile on Twitter, though he has made little mention of the movie that brings him into homes across America at this time every year. He also hasn’t tweeted anything in over three years. You can stream A Christmas Story and A Christmas Story Christmas both on Max right now.