What The Cast Of Labyrinth Looks Like Today

Jim Henson's 1986 film "Labyrinth" is a deeply beloved classic among kids of a certain age. It's especially memorable among those kids of a certain age for the performance from David Bowie, playing a weirdly sexy goblin lord in tights. At the beginning of the film, the main character, the 16-year-old Sarah (Jennifer Connelly), wants nothing more than to live in a fantasy world, happy to remain in her pretty-princess phase indefinitely. However, when Bowie's goblin king kidnaps her baby brother Toby (Toby Froud), she learns that living in such a world is wild and off-putting. Most of the film is a random, light adventure, but one scene points out that Sarah is unduly clinging onto her childhood trinkets.

She learns the lesson of I Corinthians 13:11: When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

But at the very end of the film, after Sarah has rescued Toby from the Goblin King and returned to her bedroom back on Earth, she is told she can summon her fantasy friends anytime. She has to put away her childish things, but then is allowed to take them out again on a whim. It's no wonder that Millennials gravitated toward the movie; it was a generation that deliberately used fantasy as a post-9/11 coping mechanism. Many people in their late 30s now attend "Labyrinth"-themed balls.

The film, however, feels more free-form and loose than what is described above. Terry Jones of Monty Python fame wrote the screenplay, and he didn't have a good sense of pacing or theme. The movie is more of a picaresque adventure than an essay — and millions adore it for that reason.

Bowie passed away in 2016, but the rest of the cast is still with us, and many of them are still performing. Here's what they're up to in the present.

"Labyrinth" was only Jennifer Connelly's fourth credited film performance; she had previously appeared in "Once Upon a Time in America," the bug-themed Dario Argento thriller "Phenomena" (a.k.a. "Creepers"), and "Seven Minutes in Heaven." She worked persistently into adulthood, becoming the crush object of millions after her films "The Hot Spot" (1990) and "Career Opportunities" (1991). Connelly then went on to appear in various Hollywood films like "The Rocketeer," "Higher Learning," and "Mulholland Falls," and was utterly dazzling in the awesome sci-fi freakout "Dark City."

Connelly was typically asked to play girlfriends and femme fatales during this phase of her career, so her acting range was, sadly, never tested. Subsequently, some found her performance in Darren Aronofsky's "Requiem For a Dream" (2000) – in which she played a slowly deteriorating heroin addict — to be a revelation. She would later go on to win an Academy Award for her performance in Ron Howard's "A Beautiful Mind," in which she plays Alicia Nash, the long-suffering wife of John Nash (Russell Crowe), the film's protagonist.

Connelly's career has continued apace with its variety ever since, with the actor appearing in both horror duds (like "Dark Water") but also soulful indie dramas like "Reservation Road." In 2014, she re-teamed with Aronofsky for his gonzo Biblical epic "Noah," and that film is certainly worth a look. She would later turn up in the ridiculous 2019 would-be blockbuster "Alita: Battle Angel."

More recently, Connelly appeared in "Top Gun: Maverick," one of the most successful and acclaimed films of its year, as well as the 2023 movie "Bad Behaviour," where she played a former child actor. She is now starring in the Apple TV+ sci-fi series "Dark Matter" and played one of the main roles in the TV series version of "Snowpiercer." Connelly has enjoyed a long career in the public eye. Her creative ventures are easy to keep track of.

Toby Froud is the son of puppeteer and designer Wendy Froud and Brian Froud, the concept designer for both "Labyrinth" and Jim Henson's other '80s fantasy film, "The Dark Crystal." Indeed, Toby's parents met on the set of "The Dark Crystal," so his very existence is contingent on fantasy puppets. Toby was only a baby when he starred in "Labyrinth," although he appeared on camera a lot. Froud likely doesn't remember his time on set, but he at least has a filmed record of appearing onscreen with David Bowie.

Thanks to his parents, Froud began working in special effects and puppetry as a young man, serving as an apprentice in Jim Henson's Muppet Workshop in 1999. His first professional gig came in 2005 when he was hired as a sculptor and designer by the Wētā Workshop to make creatures for "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." He eventually became a regular employee of Laika, the stop-motion animation studio, and he worked on its films "ParaNorman," "The Boxtrolls," "Kubo and the Two Strings," and "Missing Link." He also made puppets for the Academy Award-winning 2022 stop-motion film "Pinocchio." In 2017, he served as an executive producer on a fantasy film called "Yamasong: March of the Hollows," a movie featuring the voices of Whoopi Goldberg, Abigail Breslin, Nathan Fillion, Peter Weller, and George Takei.

Due to his family's family legacy, Froud was hired as a design consultant for the short-lived Netflix prequel series "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance." He was likely hired to comment on his parents' work from the original feature. The show ended up him winning him the Outstanding Special Effects in a Photoreal or Animated Project award from the Visual Effects Society. In 2014, Froud wrote and directed his own short film, "Lessons Learned." It seems that he has spent his whole life, from infancy until age 40, living among puppets and monsters. Not an unpleasant career.

Sarah's father and stepmother don't play a huge role in "Labyrinth." They only appear at the beginning of the film to let Sarah know they'll be going out for the evening, and that she has to babysit her baby brother when she would rather be cavorting in a glade writing angsty poems. The stepmother character, Irene, is merely a little snippy with Sarah, although her status as a stepmother implies some sort of familial drama, i.e. Sarah's mother is divorced, dead, or missing. The screenplay doesn't delve into any of that.

Irene is played by Canadian actor Shelley Thompson, who has spent the bulk of her career on stage. As a student, she moved to England and studies at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, which led to a job with BBC radio as well as multiple readings of audiobooks. (Look for her on Audible.) She also starred in the British kiddie sitcom "Mike and Angelo" for all five of its seasons, playing Mike's mother Rita. When she moved back to Canada, Thompson took up residence at many local and prestigious theaters, shifting her focus to writing and directing.

Most visible across the pond, Thompson appeared in the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"-esque Canadian comedy show "Trailer Park Boys." There, she played Barb Lahey, a character who showed up in 85 episodes of the original series along with the various "Boys" TV specials.

These days, Thompson is constantly busy, playing voice roles in animated shows and video games, and appearing in dozens of short films. She has also been in multiple low-budget indie films and soulful dramas, including, most recently, "The Good House" starring Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline. Thompson made her feature film directorial debut with "Dawn, Her Dad & the Tractor" in 2021.

Brian Henson, the son of "Labyrinth" director Jim Henson, also followed in the family puppeteering business, starting his professional career in 1981 with "The Great Muppet Caper" (which was similarly directed by his father). Henson also voiced and played the mild-mannered Jack Pumpkinhead in the scary kid flick "Return to Oz" and served as an animatronic puppeteer for "Santa Claus: The Movie." In 1986, director Frank Oz (also a Muppet performer) hired Henson to serve as one of the chief puppeteers for Audrey II in the incredible musical film "Little Shop of Horrors." Henson has been surrounded by puppets his who life, having even appeared on Muppet segments of "Sesame Street" as a child.

To play Hoggle in "Labyrinth," Henson voiced the character off-camera while manipulating the animatronic Hoggle mouth using a remote-control hand-mounted "puppet" rig. An actor named Shari Weiser played Hoggle on camera, with additional puppeteers manipulating Hoggle's eyes and other facial features. Hoggle, then, was played by a whole team of people who had to work in unison.

Henson would continue to be involved with puppet projects after "Labyrinth," including 1990's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (where he served as one of the lead puppeteers for the turtle's masks). He also worked on the animatronic mice in Nicolas Roeg's "The Witches." That same year, Jim Henson died, so Brian Henson became something of a secondary leader of the Muppet franchise. Brian Henson subsequently directed the crackerjack 1990s Muppet movies "The Muppet Christmas Carol" and "Muppet Treasure Island." The talented actor Steve Whitmire took over Jim Henson's role as Kermit the Frog for these films.

Henson's last feature was the lambasted — but wonderfully whimsical — "The Happytime Murders" in 2018. (That film was unjustly nominated for two Razzie Awards.) Most recently, Henson played the voice of the Muppet ape Sal Minella in the Disney+ special "Muppets Haunted Mansion."

The arrogant, foxlike Sir Didymus was played by longtime Muppet performer Dave Goelz while being voiced by David Shaughnessy, an English actor perhaps best known for his voice work. He has been acting professionally since the late 1970s (back when he appeared in many local stage productions) and made his screen debut in 1979, playing a doctor in the British war series "Danger UXB." Throughout the 1980s, he appeared in numerous BBC programs like "Minder" and "The Clairvoyant" before starring in "Labyrinth." Shortly thereafter, Shaughnessy landed a gig playing Gentleman Starkey in the underrated animated series "Fox's Peter Pan and the Pirates." Shaghnessy has only appeared on camera in two films: he played an unnamed character in the 1986 British spy thriller "The Whistle Blower," and he appeared in the gloriously dumb slasher flick "Death Spa."

As a director, Shaughenssy is a stalwart soap opera handler who's helmed episodes of "Santa Barbara" (three episodes), "The Young and the Restless" (13 episodes), "Days of Our Lives" (90 episodes and counting), and "The Bold and the Beautiful" (a whopping 254 episodes). Directing has come to constitute the bulk of his career, with acting becoming a secondary pursuit. His directing has also won him four Daytime Emmys. It's rare that an actor can star in one of the more beloved films of the 1980s and then proceed to dominate adult TV in a wholly different realm of entertainment.

In the mid-2000s, Shaugnessy returned to voice acting. He's since appeared in dozens of video games and animated shows, including "Big Hero 6" and series of both the "Star Wars" and Marvel variety. Specifically, he portrayed the characters Drell and Narvin in "Star Wars Resistance" and Ulysses Klaue in "Avengers Assemble," in addition to voicing an "Old Man" in the animated anthology show "Tales of the Jedi." In 2024, Shaughnessy similarly lent his vocals to the video game "Indiana Jones and the Great Circle," in which he played Marcus Brody (the role previously portrayed in the "Indiana Jones" movies by the late Denholm Elliott).

The tall and strong Ron Mueck played the gentle sasquatch-like character Ludo in "Labyrinth," which required him to wear a massive, heavy monster costume that put constant strain on his body. Nevertheless, he still managed to give Ludo's voice and body a believable heft. Indeed, Ludo may be the best puppet in the film.

Mueck, however, is not known for acting, having only racked up a few credits to his name. In addition to "Labyrinth," he played a storyteller in "The Tale of the Bunny Picnic" and the Gryphon in the 1985 "Alice in Wonderland" update "Dreamchild." Speaking of storytellers, Mueck helped sculpt and design the prototype makeup for Jim Henson's anthology series "The Storyteller." Henson evidently wanted the host of that series to be a puppet, but Mueck's makeup convinced Henson that a live-action actor wearing puppet-like makeup would look a lot better. The Storyteller himself was played by John Hurt.

While Mueck did have to endure the heavy Ludo suit for "Labyrinth," he didn't dream of acting for a living. He is better known in the arts world for his striking and acclaimed hyperrealistic sculptures. He has made outsize human skulls, 16-foot children, and a notably large woman in bed. His works have been featured in museums all over the world and are currently being exhibited in the Museum Voorlinden in Wassenaar in the Netherlands. (The exhibition features his sculptures "Mass," "Big Baby II," and "Man in Blankets.") Mueck sculpts from his personal memories, so his art feels deeply intimate. Any Dutch readers should seek his artwork out.

Although they don't lend their voices to "Labyrinth," several of the best known Muppet performers did provide their puppetry skills to the film. Dave Goelz, for instance, is perhaps best known as the voice and puppet performer behind the Muppets Gonzo, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, and Zoot from the Electric Mayhem. On "Labyrinth," he helped with the puppetry on Sir Didymus and the talking bird hat (both voiced by Shaughnessy), as well as a door knocker, a guard, and a Fiery (a wild ape/bird monster).

Back in the 1970s, Goelz first met his longtime Muppet collaborator Frank Oz at a puppeteers' convention in Oakland. (Oh, to be at that con!) Oz, who was leading a workshop, invited Goelz to visit the set of "Sesame Street." There, he was introduced to Jim Henson and became one of Henson's closest co-workers, even designing several of The Muppets for their debut on "Saturday Night Live." Goelz has been a part of The Muppets ever since, most recently working on the 2023 TV series "The Muppets Mayhem."

Oz, meanwhile, met Henson when they were both still teenagers. The pair loved puppetry and working on their respective passion projects. Oz and Henson began developing their Muppet characters as early as 1963, with Oz going on to become the longtime voice and puppeteer for Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and Sam Eagle. His career has been enormous ever since. He voiced and performed the diminutive alien Yoda in multiple "Star Wars" projects, and he eventually moved to directing, helming high-profile Hollywood productions like "Little Shop of Horrors," "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," "What About Bob?," and "Bowfinger." In "Labyrinth," Oz also played the Wise Man, a character voiced by the late Michael Hordern.

Danny John-Jules is perhaps best known to sci-fi fans as the Cat in the cult British comedy "Red Dwarf." His character was a humanoid evolution of a colony of cats living on the titular spaceship for two million years, and he was obsessed with fashion. John-Jules is a talented dancer and voice performer whose talents were well-suited for "Labyrinth," in which he played two of the Fierys (a species of creature that could remove their own heads).

John-Jules has had a prolific children's TV career besides. In addition to appearing on "Red Dwarf" from 1988 all the way through its revival in 2020, he also starred in 26 episodes of the British kids series "Maid Marian and Her Merry Men" and 74 episodes of the 2002 educational series "The Story Makers." He additionally showed up in the crime comedy show "Death in Paradise" and the teen action series "M.I. High." British readers may know him well.

In terms of his film projects, John-Jules played a singer in Frank Oz's directorial debut "Little Shop of Horrors" and had a small role in Guillermo del Toro's vampire flick "Blade II," playing one of the vampire mercenaries who aids Blade (Wesley Snipes) in tracking down a vicious pack of Reapers. He also lend his voice to the Aardman Animation film "Arthur Christmas" and most recently appeared in the biopic "Creation Stories," a film about Alan McGee (Ewan Bremner), the founder of Creation Records.