Where Is the ‘Dazed and Confused’ Cast Now? See the Stars Today

Ben Affleck as Fred O’Bannion

Affleck tackled the role of angry soon-to-be super-senior Fred O’Bannion, who took pleasure in paddling freshmen during Lee High School’s annual hazing ritual.

You’re probably already well aware of what Affleck has been up to since Dazed and Confused. He’s an in-demand actor and director, a two-time Oscar winner — one for Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting (1997) and his second for Best Picture for Argo (2012) — a father of three with ex Jennifer Garner and was married to Jennifer Lopez from 2022 to 2024 after a first go at love 20 years prior.

Amidst all that, Affleck has also starred in more than a dozen extremely successful movies, such as Shakespeare in Love (1998), Armageddon (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), The Last Duel (2021) and The Accountant 2 (2025). His directing credits include Gone Baby Gone (2007), The Town (2010), Argo (2012), Live by Night (2016) and Air (2023).

Joey Lauren Adams as Simone Kerr

Joey Lauren Adams played Simone Kerr, the girlfriend of Lee High School’s star football player.

Adams reunited with Affleck for 1997’s Chasing Amy, joked with Adam Sandler in 1999’s Big Daddy, played Jennifer Aniston‘s best pal in 2006’s The Break-Up and has also dabbled in writing and directing with the 2006 film Come Early Morning. She reprised her Chasing Amy role in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) and Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019). On television, Adams had a recurring role on United States of Tara and starred opposite Billy Ray Cyrus on Still the King.

In 2014, Adams married cinematographer Brian Vilim.

Matthew McConaughey as David Wooderson

McConaughey played David Wooderson, an older guy who hadn’t quite moved on from high school or high school girls, memorably saying, “I get older, they stay the same age.”

Dazed and Confused also features the origin of McConaughey’s iconic catchphrase, “Alright, alright, alright.”

Since starring in Dazed and Confused, the former PEOPLE Sexiest Man Alive has found blockbuster success in dramas, rom-coms and comedies, including Contact (1997), Amistad (1997), U-571 (2000), The Wedding Planner (2001), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) and Failure to Launch (2006).

Beginning with 2011’s The Lincoln Lawyer, McConaughey had a remarkable streak of critically-acclaimed films, including 2011’s Bernie (which reunited him with Dazed and Confused director Richard Linklater), 2011’s Killer Joe, 2012’s Mud, 2012’s Magic Mike and 2013’s Dallas Buyers Club, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

He has since appeared in films like The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Interstellar (2014) and The Gentlemen (2019). He also received rave reviews for his role in the first season of HBO’s True Detective.

Together, McConaughey and his wife Camila share three children: Levi, Vida and Livingston.

Milla Jovovich as Michelle Burroughs

Ukrainian model-actress Jovovich had a small role in the film as hippie Michelle Burroughs. But off-screen was another story: At just 16, she married Dazed and Confused costar and on-screen beau Shawn Andrews, then 21, only to have her mom annul the marriage a few months later.

Then, her career picked up from there. After winning over audiences in The Fifth Element (1997) and Zoolander (2001), Jovovich starred in the action film Resident Evil (2002), which was followed by five sequels.

She married Resident Evil director Paul W. S. Anderson in 2009 and has appeared in many of his films, including The Three Musketeers (2011), Monster Hunter (2020) and In the Lost Lands (2025).

Jovovich and Anderson have welcomed three children.

Renée Zellweger as ‘Girl in Blue Truck’

At just 23, Zellweger had a quick, uncredited cameo as “girl in blue truck,” seen funneling a beer through a bong at a party.

Though Zellweger scored major acting awards — including two Oscars — for her work in films like Jerry Maguire (1996), Nurse Betty (2000), Chicago (2002), Cold Mountain (2003), Miss Potter (2006) and Judy (2019), her most commercial success has come as the leading lady in the Bridget Jones series, which returned for a fourth installment in 2025.

Zellweger has also starred on television on Netflix’s What/If and NBC’s The Thing About Pam, and appeared in a few episodes of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building.

Since 2021, Zellweger has been dating television personality Ant Anstead.

Jason London as Randall ‘Pink’ Floyd

Newcomer Jason London landed the role of rebellious football star Randall “Pink” Floyd, who weighs the decision of whether or not to sign a pledge promising to remain drug-free in order to play football his senior year.

After Dazed, London appeared in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999), Out Cold (2001) and several direct-to-video entries in the Dracula and The Prophecy series, among many other films and television appearances. He also starred in the short-lived ABC Family series Wildfire.

London married in 2011.

Parker Posey as Darla Marks

Parker Posey seemingly had a ball playing Darla Marks, a hazing-happy cheerleader who nailed one-liners like, “Wipe that face off your head, b—-.”

In 1997, TIME magazine dubbed Posey “Queen of the Indies” for her frequent — and often critically-acclaimed — roles in dozens of independent films, including Party Girl (1995), The Doom Generation (1995) and subUrbia (1996).

She also became a favorite of director Christopher Guest, who cast her in his comedies Waiting for Guffman (1997), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), For Your Consideration (2006) and Mascots (2016).

Along with her indie (film) cred, Posey has starred in plenty of mainstream movies as well, including You’ve Got Mail (1998), Scream 3 (2000), The Sweetest Thing (2002), Blade: Trinity (2004) and Superman Returns (2006).

The actress has also juggled a steady stream of TV jobs with a recurring role on The Good Wife and as a lead on Netflix’s Lost in Space. Most recently, she starred in season 3 of HBO’s The White Lotus.

Cole Hauser as Benny O’Donnell

As Benny O’Donnell, Cole Hauser was another member of the football team looking to paddle incoming freshman.

Following Dazed and Confused, Hauser appeared in supporting roles in several popular films including Higher Learning (1995), Good Will Hunting (1997), Pitch Black (2000), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), The Break-Up (2006), A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) and Olympus Has Fallen (2013).

Hauser has been even more successful on television, starring on the shows High Incident, K-Ville, Chase and Rogue. He later gained more recognition playing Rip Wheeler on the hit series Yellowstone.

Hauser married actress-turned-photographer Cynthia Daniel in 2006. They share three children.

Anthony Rapp as Tony Olson

Tony Olson, played by Anthony Rapp, spends most of the film commentating on how absurd the behavior of his classmates is — but that doesn’t stop him and his pals from joining in at the party at the moon tower.

Rapp became a star on Broadway and is best known for originating the role of Mark Cohen in Rent, a part he reprised in the 2005 film adaptation and on the 2009 national tour. He later starred in an autobiographical Off-Broadway production about his experience starring in Rent titled Without You.

The actor has also had success in film and on television, appearing in the movies Twister (1996), Road Trip (2000), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Winter Passing (2005) and Junction (2012). Among his many television roles, Rapp starred on CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Discovery as Lt. Commander Paul Stamets.

He made headlines in 2017 after accusing Kevin Spacey of making inappropriate sexual advances toward him when he was 14. In 2022, Spacey denied the allegations and was found not liable in a civil trial due to insufficient evidence.

Rapp and his partner, Ken Ithiphol, are parents to son Rai Larson Ithiphol, whose middle name is a possible tribute to late Rent creator Jonathan Larson, and son Keony Lee Ithiphol.

Adam Goldberg as Mike Newhouse

Joining Rapp in his intellectual group, Adam Goldberg‘s Mike Newhouse nevertheless gets into a scuffle during the moon tower party but ultimately stands up for himself.

Though perhaps most widely known for his memorable three-episode role as Chandler’s crazy roommate Eddie on Friends, Goldberg has worked on plenty of projects since Dazed and Confused. He appeared in the films Saving Private Ryan (1998), A Beautiful Mind (2001), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) and Zodiac (2007), among others.

Goldberg has been active on television, including appearing on shows like Fargo, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Taken and The Equalizer.

Beyond acting, Goldberg is also a musician. In 2009, he released an album, Eros and Omissions, a collaboration with Flaming Lips drummer Steven Drozd. Goldberg and Drozd previously composed the music for the film I Love Your Work (2005).

Goldberg has had two sons with his wife, artist and designer Roxanne Daner.

Rory Cochrane as Ron Slater

Ron Slater, the film’s resident stoner who has interesting theories about George and Martha Washington, was played by Rory Cochrane.

Two years after Dazed and Confused, Cochrane starred in another cult-favorite ’90s film with a killer soundtrack, Empire Records (1995). His other credits include Hart’s War (2002), A Scanner Darkly (2006), Public Enemies (2009), Black Mass (2015) and Boston Strangler (2023).

He reunited with Affleck for 2012’s Argo, playing Lee Schatz — one of the six American diplomats whose rescue from Iran during a hostage crisis was dramatized in the Oscar-winning film.

Cochrane appeared on The Company, 24 and Reprisal on TV, but he’s best known for playing Tim Speedle in the first eight seasons of CSI: Miami.