What Happened To The Cast Of Fast Times At Ridgemont High?

Over 40 years after its release, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" remains one of the funniest stoner comedies ever made. Helmed by first-time director Amy Heckering (over a decade before she would direct "Clueless") from a screenplay by then-newcomer Cameron Crowe (before his work on "Almost Famous" and "Jerry Maguire"), the 1982 film followed a group of slacker kids as they navigate the socially volatile waters of sophomore year at Ridgemont High School.

"Fast Times" famously boasts an ensemble cast that includes several actors who would go on to become massive stars, some in tiny roles you may not remember. We took a look back at the "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" cast to see where their careers took them after they graduated from sneaky hooks up and joints to Academy Award-winning roles in major feature films.

Here's what happened to the "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" cast.

Leading the cast of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (despite refusing to audition) was Sean Penn, playing the role of surfing stoner Jeff Spicoli. After the release of the film, Penn's career continued to soar. He appeared in the films "Bad Boys" (1983), "Casualties of War," "State of Grace," and "Carlito's Way." By 1995, he received his first Academy Award nomination for playing death row inmate Matthew Poncelet in the Tim Robbins film "Dead Man Walking" — ironically, he lost to one of his "Fast Times" co-stars, an actor who was making his feature film debut in a very minor role, and was a complete unknown when the film was shot a decade earlier. But we'll get to him a bit further down.

After several more roles (including in "The Thin Red Line"), Penn's next shot at an Oscar came in 1999 with the Woody Allen mockumentary "Sweet and Lowdown," in which he starred as a reclusive jazz musician. He did not win (losing to Kevin Spacey for "American Beauty"), nor did he win when he was controversially nominated in 2001 for playing the title role in "I Am Sam" (losing to Denzel Washington for "Training Day"). Finally, in 2003, Penn took home the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for playing grieving father Jimmy Markus in Clint Eastwood's "Mystic River." He won the award again in 2009 for playing the title role in the biopic "Milk," about the gay activist and politician Harvey Milk.

Penn, now 64 years old, continues to act — including cameoing as himself in various films and television shows, an opportunity he's enjoyed frequently since a 1997 episode of the Ellen DeGeneres sitcom "Ellen." Most recently, he played himself in an episode of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," as well as in the Starz comedy series "CAUGHT." As for more traditional acting roles, Penn played Jack Holden in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Licorice Pizza" in 2021, and is slated to appear in the director's 2025 effort "One Battle After Another." 

A director and outspoken political activist, he has also directed several films about causes he cares about, including the 2023 documentary "Superpower," which follows Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the currently ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. He is currently working on a documentary about assassinated Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

As talented as she is artistically ambitious, Jennifer Jason Leigh seemingly sought out challenging roles off the beaten path after playing Stacy Hamilton in "Fast Times." Notable peaks from her career in the '80s include the psychological thriller "The Hitcher," leading a television adaptation of the William Inge play "Picnic," and "Miami Blues." In 1993, she played a role in Robert Altman's ensemble comedy film "Short Cuts," which received a special award at the Golden Globes.

The following year, she landed parts in the Coen Brothers' lesser-known comedic effort "The Hudsucker Proxy," as well as the biopic "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, " in which Leigh received her first Golden Globe nomination for playing Dorothy Parker. As the late '90s turned into the 2000s, Leigh's credits included the Stephen King film "Dolores Claiborne," "Georgia," "The Machinist" with Christian Bale, and Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York." The 2010s saw her recur on popular TV shows like "Weeds" and "Revenge," before finally earning her first Academy Award nomination in 2015 for playing the murderous outlaw Daisy Domergue in the Quentin Tarantino period western "The Hateful Eight."

More recently, Leigh has appeared in films such as the presidential biopic "LBJ" (playing first lady Lady Bird Johnson), Alex Garland's science fiction thriller "Annihilation," and in the Benedict Cumberbatch miniseries "Patrick Melrose." Also on television, she played flawed but relatable mother Elsa Gardner on Netflix's "Atypical," Holocaust survivor Chava Apfelbaum on Amazon Prime Video's "Hunters," and led the fifth season of FX's "Fargo" anthology series as ruthless CEO Lorraine Lyon. She is currently slated to appear in Bart Layton's star-studded film "Crime 101," which also stars Monica Barbaro, Chris Hemsworth, Barry Keoghan, Mark Ruffalo, and Halle Berry.

Stacy's older brother Brad Hamilton was played by Judge Reinhold, a fast-rising star at the time who had already starred in the Bill Murray comedy "Stripes" and was poised to make his big break off of "Fast Times." He followed this role up with parts in several films, at least two of which would go on to become '80s classics. In 1984, he played Detective Billy Rosewood in the Eddie Murphy comedy "Beverly Hills Cop" (and returned for every sequel thereafter). That same year, he appeared in the comedy horror film "Gremlins," which starred one of his fellow "Fast Times" classmates.

Reinhold settled into his role as a prominent Hollywood supporting player throughout the '90s, memorably guest starring on an episode of "Seinfeld" as the overbearing "close-talker" Aaron. In 1994, he took on another key role in "The Santa Clause" as Neil Miller, the well-meaning but condescending therapist who marries the ex-wife of Tim Allen's reluctant Santa successor Scott Calvin. Reinhold played Neil in two sequels that were released in the following decade. During this era in the late-'90s and early-2000s, Reinhold (like Sean Penn) began playing himself in various TV shows, notably making light of his pun-friendly first name in the "Clerks" animated series and as a fake judge on "Arrested Development."

In the late-2010s, Reinhold's career in acting seems to have slowed to a stop, following appearances in little-known films like 2017's "Bad Grandmas." Seven years later, however, he came out of this potential retirement briefly to reunite with Murphy for "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F" in 2024.

Though Robert Romanus has continued to act since playing high school huckster Mike Damone in "Fast Times," it remains his most iconic role to many. He guest-starred on an episode of "CHiPS" after the film was released, then joined the cast of "Days of Our Lives" in 1983 as Marvin "Speed" Selejko. He remained with the series until 1985.

His career stayed mostly on television, with a recurring role in the series "Fame" and guest-starring roles on "MacGyver," "The Facts of Life," "21 Jump Street," "Alien Nation," "Will and Grace," "Cold Case," "Family Guy," "CSI," and "Code Black." His most recent role was in the low-budget 2023 horror movie "In the Shadows." He is set to reunite with most of the cast and director Glenn Martin for another horror movie titled "Sacred Grounds: Forbidden."

Similarly to Robert Romanus, Brian Backer (who played Mike Damone's friend Mark Ratner) also remains best known for "Fast Times." Backer came to the stoner film from the world of theater, earning acclaim and a prestigious Tony Award for playing a supporting character in the Woody Allen play "The Floating Light Bulb" during its 1981 run on Broadway.

Backer continued to act in comedy movies, though most readers are likely not to have heard of them, apart from "Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol." Other credits include "Moving Violations" and "The Money Pit." He also appeared on TV shows like "Charles in Charge," "Growing Pains," and "Santa Barbara." After an eight year hiatus from acting on-screen that seemingly began in 2004, Backer reunited with "Fast Times" director Amy Heckerling for the 2012 comedy "Vamps," which starred Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter as struggling vampires in New York City.

Linda Barrett, the best friend and co-worker of Jennifer Jason Leigh's Stacy Hamilton, was played by Phoebe Cates, an actor who had only appeared in one film at the time of her casting in 1982 (the period drama "Paradise"). She followed this role up with prominent roles in lesser-known films like "Private School" and "Baby Sister," before Steven Spielberg cast her as the lead role in "Gremlins." This brought Cates more attention in Hollywood as a leading lady, and she returned for the "Gremlins" sequel in 1990 ("Gremlins 2: The New Batch").

But by the late '90s, Cates' career had slowed down significantly, with her ultimately retiring after a final film appearance in 1994's "Princess Caraboo." She came back for a single film in 2001, "The Anniversary Party," which was written and directed by Leigh and Alan Cumming, starring them both. She also reprised her "Gremlins" role in 2015 for the LEGO video game "LEGO Dimensions." Otherwise, she has completely retired from acting.

Brad Hamilton's girlfriend Lisa in "Fast Times" was played by Amanda Wyss, an underrated '80s horror movie actor who had one of the scariest scenes in the "Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise (in the original 1984 film, she played Tina Gray). She also appeared on popular TV series at the time, including "St. Elsewhere," "Cheers," "My Two Dads," and "Cagney and Lacey."

As the '80s wrapped up, Wyss began to transition to film acting with roles in "Powwow Highway," "The Final Days," and "Gunsmoke: To the Last Man," in addition to recurring as Randi MacFarland in the "Highlander" TV series. She returned to television full time throughout the '90s, with guest-starring roles in "Murder, She Wrote," "Walker, Texas Ranger," "NYPD Blue," "ER," "Charmed," "Diagnosis Murder," and "Dexter." Most recently, she's appeared on "Station 19" and "The Rookie."

Brad Hamilton's friend Arnold was played by Scott Thomson, who had appeared in a handful of TV episodes prior to landing his role in "Fast Times." Two years after the film premiered, he was cast as Chad Copeland in the farcical "Police Academy," a role which he reprised in both "Police Academy 3: Back in Training" and "Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol." Around this time, he also appeared in "Fantasy Island," "RoboCop," and "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

Thomson's next major role came in 1996 with the disaster film "Twister," in which he played tornado hunter Jason "Preacher" Rowe. He took on fewer roles in the 2000s and 2010s, though he also reunited with Amy Heckerling for "Vamps" in 2012. In 2016, he appeared in his final film role in the sports drama "Greater."

Given his status as one of Hollywood's most iconic and legendary actors, it may surprise you to learn that Forest Whitaker's path to success wasn't exactly a straight upward trajectory following his role as high school football star Charles Jefferson in "Fast Times." His career immediately after the film's release was filled mostly with one-off guest-starring roles on shows like "Hill Street Blues," "Diff'rent Strokes," and "The Fall Guy," as well as a role in the two-part miniseries "North and South."

In 1986, however, he began landing roles in popular movies like "The Color of Money" and "Platoon," followed by "Good Morning Vietnam" and the Jean-Claude Van Damme action drama "Bloodsport." In 1989, he earned critical acclaim and Golden Globe nomination for his performance as saxophone player Charlie Parker in the Clint Eastwood biopic "Bird." 

Whitaker's film career was unstoppable past this point, with the actor appearing in multiple movies every year through the late '90s. This run included hits like "The Crying Game," "Smoke," "Mr. Holland's Opus," and the cult Jim Jarmusch action-crime drama "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai." This relatively consistent string of hits ended in 2000, with a role in the catastrophically bad "Battlefield Earth." Whitaker's career slowed down somewhat after this, through the first half of the 2000s (save for a noteworthy role in David Fincher's "Panic Room," a recurring role on "The Shield," and an Emmy Award-nominated guest-starring role on "ER").

In 2007, Whitaker won his first Academy Award for the film "The Last King of Scotland," in which he starred as Ugandan president Idi Amin. In the 2010s, the second act of his career continued to flourish with a lauded performance as a lifelong domestic worker for U.S. presidents in Lee Daniels' period drama "The Butler." That same year, he began leading the short-lived "Criminal Minds" spin-off, "Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior." The latter half of the 2010s brought prominent supporting roles in the "Star Wars" and Marvel Cinematic Universe franchises, playing Rebel Saw Gerrera in "Rogue One" and various TV shows in a galaxy far, fary away and Wakandan advisor Zuri in "Black Panther" for the latter. Most recently, he recurred as Gerrera in the acclaimed Disney+ series "Andor," and led the historical crime drama "Godfather of Harlem" for five seasons.

As one of the older actors in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," Ray Walston (who played Ridgemont High history teacher Mr. Hand) had already appeared in years worth of films and television shows, including 1958's "South Pacific," "The Sting," "The Six Million Dollar Man," "The Incredible Hulk," and the Robin Williams "Popeye" film. Walston's career continued at this pace, with regular guest-starring roles in TV shows and supporting roles in films.

On TV, he could be seen as the title character in "My Favorite Martian," as well as appearing in "Newhart," "Night Court," "The Smurfs," "Murder, She Wrote," "LA Law," "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Ally McBeal," and "7th Heaven." Most notable, he played Judge Henry Boone on the '90s drama series "Picket Fences," winning two Emmy Awards during its run. In 1986, he reprised his role as Mr. Hand for the short-lived, short-titled TV series "Fast Times," which attempted to adapt the film with a mostly new cast. In 2001, at the age of 86, Walston passed away.

Mr. Hand's fellow teacher Mr. Vargas in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" was played by Vincent Schiavelli, whose career after the film also consisted largely of small supporting roles in major films and guest-starring roles on popular television shows.

Notable highlights include "Taxi," "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension," "Amadeus," "Night Court," "The Fall Guy," "Moonlighting," "Knots Landing," "Ghost," "Batman Returns," "The X-Files," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." He returned to Ridgemont High with Ray Walston for the "Fast Times" series and memorably played Dr. Kaufman in the Pierce Brosnan "James Bond" film "Tomorrow Never Dies." 

Schiavelli died in 2005 at the age of 57, due to complications from lung cancer. He acted intermittently throughout the 2000s, and continued to appear in films posthumously through 2019.

If Brad's co-worker at All-American Burger looked familiar, that's because the actor Nicolas Coppola — yes, as in the nephew of "Godfather" director Francis Ford Coppola — is actually Nicolas Cage. This was Cage's first feature film role, and (with some help from his uncle) it quickly led to him becoming one of the most successful and recognizable American actors in Hollywood history.

Cage was cast by Coppola in several films after "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," including "Rumble Fish" and "Peggy Sue Got Married." He staked his claim as a leading man in the Norman Jewison-John Patrick Shanley romantic comedy "Moonstruck," in which he played the male romantic lead opposite Cher. This was followed by performances in "Vampire's Kiss" and "Honeymoon in Vegas," which helped establish his unique acting style. In 1996, he was nominated for his first Academy Award for playing Ben Sanderson, a depressed screenwriter struggling with alcoholism and suicidal thoughts in tragedy film "Leaving Las Vegas." He won the award for Best Actor, beating out co-star Sean Penn. 

After that, he was a certified movie star, cast to lead '90s and early-2000s classics like "The Rock," "Con Air," "Face/Off," and "Gone in 60 Seconds." He earned his second Oscar nomination for "Adaptation," then continued to bounce back and forth between studio franchise projects ("Ghost Rider," "National Treasure," "Kick-Ass," "The Croods") and more artistic projects like "Lord of War." As the 2010s progressed, however, Cage began appearing in more low-budget and direct-to-DVD films, causing some to question whether his star was fading.

He proved critics wrong in 2018, delivering one of his greatest performances yet in the horror film "Mandy." This has led to the currently-ongoing Nic Cage renaissance, which has brought about films like "Pig," "Renfield," "Dream Scenario," and "Longlegs," as well as the self-referential faux-biography "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent." In 2018, he was cast in the animated film "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" as the brooding black-and-white Spider-Man Noir, a character he is set to reprise in a live-action series for Amazon Prime Video. He's also set to film a "Lord of War" sequel, a John Madden biopic, and a biblical film called "The Carpenter's Son."