Dazed and Confused Cast Then and Now: Cult comedy's lead stars through the years

The cast of ‘Dazed and Confused’ went on to become prominent Hollywood stars over the years

Directed by Richard Linklater, the coming-of-age comedy 'Dazed and Confused' featured an ensemble cast, most of whom had their breakout role in the film and went on to become some of the biggest names in Hollywood. While the film had disappointing box office result when it was released in 1993, grossing less than $8 million in the US, as per Box Office Mojo, it went on achieve cult classic status in the following years. Similarly, several of the film's leading and supporting actors also became prominent stars over the years. As the film celebrates it's 30th anniversary, here's a look at the lives and careers of some of its cast members.

Jason London as Randall 'Pink' Floyd

Jason London was a newcomer when he landed the role of Lee High School's star footballer, Randall "Pink" Floyd, in 'Dazed and Confused' (1993), which went on to become one of his most popular roles of all time. That same year, he appeared in the music video of Aerosmith's song 'Amazing' alongside Alicia Silverstone. After 'Dazed,' London enjoyed continued success in films like 'To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar' (1995), 'Broken Vessels' (1998), 'The Rage: Carrie 2' (1999), 'Spent' (2000), and 'Out Cold' (2001). He also appeared in the NBC miniseries 'Jason and the Argonauts' (2000), the ABC Family series 'Wildfire' (2005) and many direct-to-video entries in the 'Dracula and The Prophecy' series. The actor made news in 2021 after being arrested for public intoxication in Mississippi. More recently, he appeared on films 'Blood Harvest' and 'Half Dead Fred' (both 2023).

Ben Affleck as Fred O'Bannion

Ben Affleck began his Hollywood career as a child actor before garnering attention for the role of Fred O'Bannion, a high school senior tasked with hazing the incoming freshman, in 'Dazed and Confused'. Shortly after, he earned his first leading role in 'Glory Daze' (1995). Nearly three decades after his appearance in 'Dazed and Confused,' Affleck has not only established himself as one of the most prominent Hollywood actors but also a successful director, screenwriter and producer. Over the years, he has appeared in more than a dozen of blockbusters, including 'Armageddon' (1998), 'Shakespeare in Love' (1998), 'Pearl Harbor' (2001), 'The Sum of All Fears' (2002), 'Daredevil' (2003), 'Gone Girl' (2014), 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' (2016), 'The Accountant' (2016), 'Justice League' (2017) and 'The Last Duel' (2021). Affleck also served as the director of films like 'Gone Baby Gone' (2007), 'The Town' (2010), 'Argo' (2012) and 'Live by Night' (2016). He even won one Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting (1997) and another for Best Picture for 'Argo.' Affleck has also been in the spotlight for his marriage and eventual divorce with Jennifer Garner as well as his reconciliation and marriage to Jennifer Lopez. This year, Affleck returned to his role of a director for the acclaimed sports drama 'Air' (2023), where he also starred as Phil Knight.

Matthew McConaughey as David Wooderson

Matthew McConaughey is another prominent figure in Hollywood who earned his breakout role in 'Dazed and Confused'. His portrayal of David Wooderson, an older guy who is yet to move on from high school life, also gave birth to McConaughey's iconic catchphrase, "Alright, alright, alright." After appearing in a slew of supporting roles, McConaughey established himself as a leading actor in 'A Time to Kill' (1996). He went on experience continued success in films like 'Contact' (1997), 'Amistad' (1997) and U-571 (2000). In the 2000s, McConaughey became popular for starring in a string of rom-coms including, 'The Wedding Planner' (2001), 'How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days' (2003) 'Failure to Launch' (2006), 'Fool's Gold' (2008) and 'Ghosts of Girlfriends Past' (2009). Following a two-year hiatus from film acting, McConaughey appeared in several critically-acclaimed films in 2011, such as 'The Lincoln Lawyer', 'Bernie', and 'Killer Joe'. He gained further prominence for roles in films like 'Magic Mike' and 'Mud' (both 2012). McConaughey won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in 'Dallas Buyers Club' (2013). His further acclaimed roles came in films like 'The Wolf of Wall Street' (2013), 'Interstellar' (2014) 'Sing' (2016), 'The Gentlemen' (2019) and 'Sing 2' (2021). McConaughey also earned considerable praise for his role in the 2014 HBO series 'True Detective.' The actor published his memoir ‘Greenlights’ in 2020. Earlier this year, he voiced for the role of Elvis Presley on the Netflix animated series ‘Agent Elvis’. Following Kevin Costner’s exit from the ‘Yellowstone’ series in May 2023, a separate series related to the original show featuring McConaughey in a new title role was announced by creators.

Joey Lauren Adams as Simone Kerr

Joey Lauren Adams earned her first major film role in 'Dazed and Confused', playing Simone Kerr, a senior cheerleader. That same year, she appeared in the 'SNL' spinoff film 'Coneheads'. Adams had a brief relationship with actor-director-producer Kevin Smith and became a key part of his 'View Askewniverse' film universe. She reunited with her 'Dazed' co-star Ben Affleck in Smith's films 'Mallrats' (1995) and 'Chasing Amy' (1997), for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination. Outside Smith's movies, Adams appeared in projects like 'Bio-Dome' (1996), 'A Cool, Dry Place' (1998), 'Big Daddy' (1999) and 'The Break-Up', among many others. She went on to appear in many smaller films over the years before earning a guest role in the TV Series 'Veronica Mars' in 2005. Adams also dabbled into directing with the 2006 film 'Come Early Morning.' She made a return to TV in 2010 on the Showtime series 'The United States of Tara'. She also starred in the American sitcom 'Still the King' between 2016 and 2017. Adams is married to Brian Vilim. Some of her most recent works includes the 2022 comedy film 'Tankhouse' and a three-episode appearance in the sitcom 'The L Word: Generation Q', that same year.

Adam Goldberg as Mike Newhouse

Adam Goldberg's portrayal of nerdy high school teen Mike Newhouse in 'Dazed and Confused' was his second major screen role after 'Mr. Saturday Night' (1992). Since his breakout, Goldberg has made a name for his character work in film and TV, appearing in notable films like 'The Prophecy' (1995), 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998), 'A Beautiful Mind' (2001), and 'Deja Vu' (2006). He also had leading roles in films like 'The Hebrew Hammer' (2003) and '2 Days in Paris' (2007). Goldberg has also appeared in prominent TV shows like 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent', 'Friends', 'My Name Is Earl', 'The Unusuals', 'The Jim Gaffigan Show' and the first season of 'Fargo'. Since 2021, he has been starring opposite Queen Latifah on the CBS series, 'The Equalizer'. Goldberg is also known for his work as a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, filmmaker and photographer.

Milla Jovovich as Michelle Burroughs

A young model and actress at the time, Milla Jovovich earned a small role as Michelle Burroughs in 'Dazed and Confused' before appearing in a string of action and science-fiction films. At 16, she married her 'Dazed' co-star Shawn Andrews in 1992, before their marriage was annulled. Jovovich was also briefly married to director Luc Besson and appeared in his films like 'The Fifth Element' (1997) and 'The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc' (1999). She further won over audience with 'Zoolander' (2001). Between 2002 to 2016, Jovovich garnered immense popularity playing the role of Alice on the 'Resident Evil' franchise. She is currently married to 'Resident Evil' director Paul W S Anderson and has appeared in a several of his films, including 'The Three Musketeers' (2011), 'Monster Hunter' (2020) and more recently, 'In the Lost Lands' (2023).

Renee Zellweger as Nesi White

Renee Zellweger was just 23 years old when she had an uncredited cameo role in 'Dazed and Confused'. That same year, she appeared in the ABC miniseries 'Murder in the Heartland.' Over the years, Zellweger established herself as one of the most prominent multi-award winning Hollywood stars. She also became one of the world's highest-paid actresses by 2007. Zellweger appeared in films like 'Reality Bites' (1994) and 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation' (1995) before garnering widespread acclaim for her roles in 'Jerry Maguire' (1996), 'One True Thing' (1998) and 'Nurse Betty' (2000), winning a Golden Globe award for the latter. She also received consecutive Academy Award nominations for her work in 'Bridget Jones's Diary' (2001) and 'Chicago' (2002). Zellweger received the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for 'Cold Mountain' (2003). Following an acting hiatus, the actress reprised her role as the titular character of 'Bridget Jones' Baby' (2016). She appeared in her first major TV role in the Netflix series 'What/If' (2019) before earning the Academy Award for Best Actress for her work in 'Judy' (2019). In 2022, Zellweger starred in the NBC Crime miniseries 'The Thing About Pam'.

Cole Hauser as Benny O'Donnell

Cole Hauser played the role Benny O'Donnell in 'Dazed and Confused', another football team member tasked with hazing newcomers of Lee High School. Following the comedy, Hauser appeared in several popular films including 'Higher Learning' (1995), 'Good Will Hunting' (1997), 'Pitch Black' (2000), '2 Fast 2 Furious' (2003), 'Paparazzi' (2004), 'The Cave' (2005), 'The Break-Up' (2006), 'A Good Day to Die Hard' (2013), 'Olympus Has Fallen' (2013) and 'Transcendence' (2014), among others. He gained further prominence on TV, appearing on shows like 'K-Ville', 'High Incident', 'Chase' and 'Rogue'. Hauser garnered more acclaim since appearing in 'Yellowstone' as Rip Wheeler, starting 2018. He is married to former actress and photographer Cynthia Daniel.

Rory Cochrane as Ron Slater

Similar to several of his co-stars, Rory Cochrane also had earned his breakout role in 'Dazed and Confused', playing Ron Slater, an stoner upperclassman. After his memorable work in the '90s comedy, Cochrane went on to appear in 'Empire Records' (1995), 'Hart's War' (2002), 'A Scanner Darkly' (2006), 'Public Enemies' (2009), and 'Black Mass' (2015). He reunited with 'Dazed' co-star Affleck for a role in the latter's directorial debut, 'Argo'. Cochrane also had TV roles in 'The Company', '24', 'Reprisal' and is best known for playing Tim Speedle in eight seasons of 'CSI: Miami'. In 2023, Cochrane appeared in Matt Ruskin's historical drama, 'Boston Strangler'.

Anthony Rapp as Tony Olson

Anthony Rapp played the role of Tony Olson in 'Dazed and Confused' before becoming a prominent Broadway star. He is best known for portraying Mark Cohen in 'Rent', a role he reprised for the 2005 film adaptation as well as the 2009 'Rent' national tour. Rapp also enjoyed significant success in films and TV, appearing in movies like 'School Ties' (1992), 'Six Degrees of Separation' (1993), 'Twister' (1996), 'Road Trip' (2000), 'A Beautiful Mind' (2001), 'Winter Passing' (2005), 'Danny Roane: First Time Director' (2006), and 'Junction' (2012), among many others. Rapp also starred in several TV shows, including 'Star Trek: Discovery'. The actor made headlines in 2017 when he accused Kevin Spacey of making inappropriate advances towards him in 1986, when he was 14. Rapp is currently engaged to his partner Ken Ithiphol.