The Only Major Actors Still Alive From Say Anything
"Say Anything" marked America's transition into the 1990s by sealing off the heyday of feel-good high-school rom-coms and goth rock in the '80s. It was a major and much-needed send-off that is probably still an all-time favorite among many a Gen-X-er today.
The coming-of-age hit from 20th Century Fox featured breakout stars like John Cusack and Ione Skye. Even the supporting roles were played by soon-to-be major players like Pamela Adlon or the children of mega-famous stars like Jason Gould.
But not every actor featured in the 1989 romance movie survived into 2024. Unfortunately, John Mahoney, who played Diane's hypercritical (and hypocritical) father, James Court, passed away back in 2018. The late actor was the oldest major cast member by quite a few years and was in his late 70s when he passed. Before his death, Mahoney had an incredible career in film and television — his supporting role as Martin Crane in "Frasier" alone earned him two Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations. Mahoney also starred in critically acclaimed films like "Barton Fink" by the Coen brothers and "Moonstruck" starring Cher and Nicolas Cage.
Thankfully, 1989 was not that long ago yet, and most of the major actors from "Say Anything" are still alive today. What's more, many of them are still working in the entertainment industry, and a few even have exciting projects on the horizon. Luckily, I dug into the details so you don't have to.
John Cusack (Lloyd Dobler)
Cusack has been a huge Hollywood figure for decades now, but when he starred in "Say Anything," he was just at the beginning of his long and storied career. In addition to snagging supporting roles in the coming-of-age '80s mega-hits "Sixteen Candles" and "Stand By Me," Cusack had previously starred in films like Savage Steve Holland's cult dark comedy "Better Off Dead." However, it was "Say Anything" that truly launched him into the stratosphere and made him the heartthrob of the moment.
Later in his career, Cusack turned his attention to more off-beat films. He plays a version of himself in the 1992 Hollywood satire from legendary filmmaker Robert Altman, "The Player." The actor also starred in the 1999 film "Being John Malkovich" by writer-director duo Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman. He even co-wrote the comedies "Gross Pointe Blank" and "High Fidelity," which he also starred in alongside the likes of Minnie Driver and Jack Black, respectively.
The "Say Anything" star is still working today — he's still only 57, after all! In recent years, he has primarily been appearing in action films like the 2022 movie "Pursuit" and the 2019 Western "Never Grows Old." He is slated to star in the heist film "My Only Sunshine" and recently shot the spy thriller "Fog of War," which is currently in post-production.
Ione Skye (Diane Court)
The female lead in "Say Anything" was also a breakout role for a young Skye. Cameron Crowe's 1989 rom-com was quite the way for her to kick her career up a notch!
In the '90s, Skye ended up starring in a lot of lesser-known films with actors that are now A-listers but were still relatively unknown at the time. She played Kit Hoffman in the 1990 drama "Mindwalk" (which also starred Sam Waterson of "Law & Order" fame) and appeared opposite Drew Barrymore in the '92 crime film "Guncrazy." A few years later, she co-starred in "Dreams for the Insomniac" with Jennifer Anniston and acted opposite Paul Rudd in the off-beat comedy "The Size of Watermelons."
Skye is still acting today but has moved primarily into television in more recent years. The actor broke into TV through the ensemble comedy series "Arrested Development," in which she first appeared in 2005 as Mrs. Veal, a role she later reprised in 2013 and 2019. Skye also had a recurring role in the ensemble crime show "Good Girls" back in 2020 and a single episode cameo in the mini-series "Beef" as "A Mysterious Woman" just last year.
Up next, Skye is slated to star in the indie film "Messy" from debut actor-director Alexi Wasser, which is currently in post-production. The romantic dramedy also stars Adam Goldberg, Thomas Middleditch, and several indie darlings including Jack Kilmer, Peter Vack, and Wasser herself.
Lili Taylor (Corey Flood)
"Say Anything" was Taylor's second time in a supporting role for a major '80s rom-com after her breakout role in "Mystic Pizza." She continued starring in films throughout the '90s before joining her former co-star Cusack in the 2000 comedy "High Fidelity."
Although her first ever role was in television, Taylor broke back into it in '98 with a guest appearance in "X-Files" after several years of focusing on movie-making. She later had a recurring role as Lisa Kimmel in the nine-time Emmy Award-winning series "Six Feet Under." The actor went on to have guest and recurring roles in "The Good Wife," "Hemlock Grove," "Gotham," and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."
Taylor is still working in film and television today and played the Perron family matriarch in "The Conjuring." She has since appeared in the Emmy-nominated series "Perry Mason" and, the following year, led the 2021 drama "The Winter House," which was shot just before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most recently, Taylor starred as Cecilia Abbott in Amazon's Prime Video series "Outer Range." Up next, she is slated to play Mary Todd Lincoln in the 2024 series "Manhunt," which is set during the Reconstruction era in the wake of Abraham Lincoln's assassination.
Pamela Adlon (Rebecca)
Pamela Adlon — then Segall — was already a rising star when "Say Anything" was released. Her first-ever role was in "Grease 2," which released in 1982. Later in the '80s, Adlon nabbed recurring roles in the Emmy-nominated "The Facts of Life" and the Elliott Gould-led series "E/R."
Adlon would subsequently launch her voice-acting career, starting with the animated film "FernGully: The Last Rainforest" and moving on to the English dubs of Studio Ghibli's "Princess Mononoke" and "Kiki's Delivery Service" in the '90s. Her voice-acting career has only continued to flourish since then, as she's gone to lend her voice to major kids' animated series like "Recess" and "Adventure Time," along with adult animated shows like "Rick & Morty." Most notably, she voiced Bobby Hill in the popular animated series "King of the Hill" (which won her an Emmy in 2002) and recently voiced Sonya Pointsetta in the "Big Mouth" spin-off "Human Resources."
Of course, the actor has not limited herself to animation. Adlon's lead performance in the dramedy series "Better Things" earned her two Emmy nominations. The series, which ran from 2016-2022, was co-created by Aldon and disgraced comedian Louis C.K. She additionally wrote for C.K.'s auto-fictional comedy series "Louie" in the 2010s and is still acting in live-action projects today, having most recently appeared in "History of the World: Part II" (a Hulu series follow-up to the 1981 Mel Brooks comedy film "History of the World: Part I").
Adlon is slated to reprise her role as Bobby in the "King of the Hill Revival" show currently in pre-production. She will also voice Jocelyn Light in the "Daria" spin-off "Jodie," which is in production as of January 2024.
Amy Brooks (D.C.)
Her supporting role in "Say Anything" was only the second acting gig for Amy Brooks, but it would also be one of the last. She is the daughter of successful writer-producer James L. Brooks, best known for creating mega-hit series like "The Simpsons," "Taxi" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Perhaps unsurprisingly, he was also an executive producer on "Say Anything."
Amy Brooks later had a supporting role in "I'll Do Anything," which was written and directed by her father. This was her final role as an actor. She has since worked in multiple departments of film production, including serving as an assistant editor on a TV movie in 2001.
In more recent years, Brooks has moved into producing. The 53-year-old co-produced the coming-of-age film "The Edge of Seventeen" alongside her father. She also produced the Judy Bloom adaptation "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret?" which was released in 2023.
Loren Dean (Joe)
Although Corey's boyfriend isn't a huge role in "Say Anything." snagging a small part in one of the better-known rom-coms of the '80s was a huge win at the very start of Dean's career. The same year, he also landed a recurring role on the popular soap opera "As the World Turns" and would later play minor characters in major films like "Gattaca," "Apollo 13," and the Clint Eastwood-directed "Space Cowboys."
The actor has since gone on to make guest appearances in procedural series like "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," and the medical drama "Grey's Anatomy." Dean even had a recurring role in "Bones" as Dr. Brennan's estranged brother Russ. Most recently, he supported Brad Pitt in the 2019 space film "Ad Astra."
Dean is presumably still working today, although he's yet to appear in any films or TV shows since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and doesn't appear to be actively working on any projects. The actor may have decided to quit the entertainment industry after over 30 years, but only time will tell for certain.
Jason Gould (Mike Cameron)
Did you know that Mike Cameron in "Say Anything" was played by Barbra Streisand and Elliott Gould's son? Just before they were launched into undeniable Hollywood stardom, the two acclaimed actors met on the set of the stage-musical "I Can Get It for You Wholesale." The show happened to be Streisand's Broadway debut, which earned her a Tony nomination at just 19 years old. She and Gould married soon after and had Jason only a few years later in 1966, but separated while he was still a small child.
Jason Gould first appeared on the silver screen in 1972, acting alongside his mother in the romantic fantasy "Up the Sandbox" before the age of 10. In his teenage years, he returned to acting in the short-lived series "The Bronx Zoo" and the Kevin Bacon-led romantic dramedy "The Big Picture." After his big role in "Say Anything," Gould went on to play a supporting role in Streisand's sophomore directorial feature "The Prince of Tides."
Gould's final role was a version of himself in "Inside Out," a self-directed satirical short for the anthology film "Boys Life 3." The actor played Aaron, a child of nepotism struggling to make it in the entertainment industry, and appeared opposite his real-life father and fellow nepo baby Alexis Arquette in the cast. The former actor-director has since moved into music, where he also inherited some major chops from his mother.
Joan Cusack (Constance Dobler)
A young Joan Cusack was shockingly uncredited for her small role as Lloyd's sister in "Say Anything," despite having already joined the ensemble of "Saturday Night Live" in the mid-'80s and supported the likes of Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, and Sigourney Weaver in the Academy Award-winning film "Working Girl." Nevertheless, fans of the 1989 high school romp remember her brief appearance as Constance Dobler well. She is, of course, John Cusack's real-life sister and her biggest roles in subsequent years have been in films like "Addams Family Values," "School of Rock," and "Toy Story 2" (in which Joan Cusack voices the toy cowgirl Jessie, a role she has since reprised in other "Toy Story" sequels and TV specials).
In the 2010s, she scored a major role in the boundary-pushing family dramedy "Shameless" as Sheila Jackson, an agoraphobic who is brought out of her shell with the help of the outrageous Gallagher clan and her scandalous daughter Mandy. She has also been known to flex her funny bone in comedies like "Pop Star: Never Stop Never Stopping" and Amy Schumer's "Snatched," but she has primarily stuck to children's media in recent years. For example, she voiced Mrs. Krum in the 2019 animated holiday film "Klaus" and played Justice Strauss in Netflix's television adaptation of "A Series of Unfortunate Events."
Cusack most recently reprised her voice-acting role as Jessie in the videogame "Disney Speedstorm," which was released in 2023. She is slated to star in the short film "Arrive Alive" opposite Willem Defoe from television director Jeremiah S. Chechik.