Black Hawk Down Cast: Where The Actors Are Now

Lauded as one of the greatest war films of all time, "Black Hawk Down" is as difficult to watch now as it was when it was released over 25 years ago. The 2001 Ridley Scott film drew widespread critical acclaim when it was released for its technical mastery, relentless, pulse-pounding pacing, and painstaking dedication to depicting the actual realities of warfare. Set during the Somali civil war in 1992, it follows a wide array of real military personnel from multiple branches of the U.S. armed forces as they attempt to salvage and survive a mission that goes horribly wrong.

Scott and producer Jerry Bruckheimer found a staggering amount of fresh talent for the film, many of whom were almost immediately poised to become the next class of Hollywood movie stars after the film was released. For both these young actors and the veteran performers also featured in the film, the following decades were marked by innumerable box office hits, critically acclaimed films, and television shows, and in some cases, the honors of prestigious awards.

Brendan Sexton III was cast in "Black Hawk Down" after starring in the Morgan J. Freeman movies "Desert Blue" and "Boys Don't Cry." Though the role of Private First Class Richard "Alphabet" Kowalewski was relatively small compared to his previous work, being part of such a stacked ensemble kept his momentum in the film industry.

Sexton continued to appear in movies and eventually began guest-starring on television shows as well, including Rian Johnson's Peacock detective series "Poker Face" (pictured above). In 2025, he appeared in the found footage horror film "Shelby Oaks," the highly-anticipated directorial debut of film critic Chris Stuckman.

After playing Staff Sergeant Jeff Struecker in "Black Hawk Down," Brian Van Holt landed starring roles in the 2005 horror movie "House of Wax" (playing the dual roles of twin serial killers Bo and Vincent Sinclair) and the short-lived HBO dramedy "John from Cincinnati." In the 2007 series, he played Mitch "Butchie" Yost II, the son of Bruce Greenwood's Mitch Yost and the heir to a professional surfing dynasty, who struggles with lingering childhood trauma and addiction. The series was canceled after one season.

Van Holt has appeared on several TV shows since, and was reportedly almost cast to lead Amazon Prime Video's "Reacher" series. In 2022, he played tiger wrangler John Reinke on the Peacock miniseries "Joe vs. Carole" (a dramatization of the viral Netflix docuseries "Tiger King," pictured above).

Technical Sergeant Timothy A. Wilkinson was only the third credit of Ty Burrell's acting career, and it was far from indicative of the kinds of roles that would go on to define it. He is undoubtedly best known for starring in the long-running ABC sitcom "Modern Family," in which he played the juvenile yet lovable dad Phil Dunphy (pictured above).

Burrell was nominated for nine Primetime Emmy Awards throughout the show's staggering 11-season (and 250-episode) lifespan, winning Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2011 and 2014. Burrell also memorably appeared in "Key and Peele," "Finding Dory," and "The Incredible Hulk."

Orlando Bloom's minor role as Private First Class Todd Blackburn was immediately overshadowed in the actor's career, as he debuted the same year as the elven archer Legolas in "The Lord of the Rings." The role arguably remains his most iconic, with Bloom reprising it in all three films of the original trilogy and the last two films of the "Hobbit" prequel trilogy.

The other defining role of Bloom's career has been blacksmith-turned-pirate Will Turner in Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise (which the actor is open to reprising under the right circumstances). In 2025, he starred alongside Bryce Dallas Howard and Nick Mohammed in the Amazon Prime Video film "Deep Cover" (pictured above).

The war genre was kind to young "Thomas Hardy" as he was starting his career. He was cast as Specialist Lance Twombly in "Black Hawk Down" after playing small roles in Steven Spielberg's "Band of Brothers" and the Daniel Craig feature "The Trench."

Tom Hardy rose to prominence as an actor in the 2010s, thanks in large part to his collaborations with Christopher Nolan — particularly "Inception" and "The Dark Knight Rises" (in which he starred as the villain Bane). In 2015, he played the title role in George Miller's critically acclaimed "Mad Max: Fury Road" and was nominated for an Academy Award for his supporting role in "The Revenant" the following year.

Recently, Hardy has finished carrying Sony's "Venom" franchise to a trilogy of box office hits. He currently stars in the Paramount+ series "MobLand" (pictured above).

Eight years after playing Master Sergeant Gary Gordon, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau landed a major role in the core ensemble of HBO's "Game of Thrones." For all 8 seasons of the massively popular series, he played the dishonorable swordsman Jaime Lannister, earning Emmy nominations in 2018 and 2019.

Since that series' infamous end (which Coster-Waldau himself admitted was somewhat inevitable), the actor has appeared in several independent films, including "Against the Ice" (which he co-wrote). In 2025, he starred in the BBC miniseries "King and Conqueror," playing William the Conqueror himself (pictured above).

Jeremy Piven did an about-face after playing 160th Airborne Officer Clifton Wolcott in "Black Hawk Down." His next major project was the HBO entertainment dramedy series "Entourage," in which he starred for eight seasons as the ruthless agent Ari Gold. He was nominated for four Emmys for his work (winning three) and reprised the role in a 2015 sequel film.

Piven led the series "Mr. Selfridge" and "Wisdom of the Crowd" (pictured above) in the late 2010s, the latter of which was canceled amid allegations of misconduct against the actor. He has worked on various indie films throughout the 2020s.

Glenn Morshower stayed close to military characters after playing Colonel Thomas Matthews in "Black Hawk Down," landing the prominent recurring role of Secret Service Special Agent Aaron Pierce on the hit Fox thriller series "24." He appeared frequently throughout its seven-season run.

Morshower went on to appear in the first four installments of the "Transformers" film series, and landed notable roles on "The Resident" and the Netflix dramas "Ozark" (pictured above) and "Bloodline." In 2024, he played President Andrew Johnson in the Apple TV miniseries "Manhunt."

Cast as Lieutenant Colonel Gary L. Harrell in "Black Hawk Down" while playing Governor James Devlin on the hit HBO prison drama "Oz," Željko Ivanek returned to the world of television after the film's release. In the late 2000s and 2010s, he had memorable roles on "Heroes," "The Event," "Banshee," and the FX legal thriller "Damages" (winning an Emmy Award for playing sociopathic civil attorney Ray Fiske). He also appeared in the films "Seven Psychopaths" and "Argo."

From 2014 to 2019, Ivanek played White House Chief of Staff Russell Jackson on CBS' "Madam Secretary." Most recently, he has starred on "The Walking Dead: Dead City" as the vicious ex-Savior known as "The Croat" (pictured above). 

Landing a major supporting character in a franchise fresh off of playing Captain Mark Steele in "Black Hawk Down" was a blessing and a (unforgivable?) curse for Jason Isaacs. From 2002 to 2011, he became well known for playing the regally villainous, blonde-haired wizard Lucius Malfoy in the "Harry Potter" film series.

The role largely dominated his career until 2025, when he was cast somewhat against type as spiraling businessman Timothy Ratliff on the 3rd season of the HBO anthology series "The White Lotus" (pictured above). For his work on the series, he was nominated for his first Emmy award.

Sergeant Dominick Pilla remains one of Danny Hoch's most memorable acting roles, on par with his turn as Louis "Jumbo" Falsetti in "We Own the Night." The 2007 film starred Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix, and was directed by James Gray.

In the 2010s and 2020s, Hoch could be seen in popular shows and movies like "BlacKkKlansman," "She's Gotta Have It," "The Knick" (pictured above), and the Netflix miniseries "Maniac." In 2023, he had a supporting role in the Steven Soderbergh HBO miniseries "Full Circle."

After playing Corporal Jamie Smith in "Black Hawk Down," Charlie Hofheimer went on to guest star on a litany of popular television shows, including "Numb3rs," "NCIS," "Cold Case," "The Good Wife," and "Rizzoli and Isles." He also had a minor role in M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village."

In 2010, he was cast on the AMC drama "Mad Men" as Abe Drexler (pictured above), the eventual romantic interest of Elisabeth Moss' Peggy Olson. In 2024, he had a supporting role in the Apple TV miniseries "Lady in the Lake."

Tom Guiry was somewhat of a surprising face in "Black Hawk Down" as Sergeant Ed Yurek. The actor was — and arguably still is — best known for playing soft-spoken left-fielder Scotty Smalls in "The Sandlot."

Since the short-lived NBC series "The Black Donnellys" (in which he starred as troubled Irish mobster James Donnelly), Guiry has continued to act infrequently, popping up in shows like "Elementary" and "Chicago Justice" and even movies like "The Revenant." In 2024, he was arrested for allegedly damaging a car.

Ioan Gruffudd is one of several "Black Hawk Down" actors to get swept up in the superhero craze, having played a significant role as Lieutenant John Beales in the 2001 film. In 2005, he was cast as stretchy scientist Reed Richards — aka Mister Fantastic – in Fox's "Fantastic Four." He returned for a sequel in 2007, after which the studio began planning an ill-fated reboot with new actors.

Gruffudd has recently led multiple television series, including ABC's "Forever" and the Australian medical drama "Harrow." In 2024, he played corrupt politician Adam Lockwood in "Bad Boys: Ride or Die" (pictured above).

Apart from playing Officer Michael Durant in "Black Hawk Down," Ron Eldard is probably best known for playing Colton Rhodes (a notable associate of Walton Goggins' Boyd Crowder, pictured above) on the FX western "Justified." He also played Louis Dainard in J.J. Abrams "Super 8" (the troubled father of Elle Fanning's Alice) and early Apple employee Rod Holt in "Jobs."

Eldard has not acted since the 2018 film "Higher Power."

For the first decade after playing Sergeant First Class Kurt "Doc" Schmid in "Black Hawk Down," Hugh Dancy had a somewhat muted acting career. It wasn't until he was cast as the disturbed criminal profiler Will Graham in NBC's "Hannibal" that broader audiences realized his talent.

Since "Hannibal" ended in 2015, Dancy has had major roles on "The Path," "Homeland," and "Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man." Since 2022, he has played district attorney Nolan Price on "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" (pictured above).

Kim Coates (who played Master Sergeant Chris Wex in "Black Hawk Down") has actually reunited with one of his old Delta Force buddies, playing Silk Stockings leader Bruegel on "The Walking Dead: Dead City" since its second season (pictured above). He's also had recent recurring roles in the miniseries "American Primeval" and "White House Plumbers."

Coates' most well-known role after "Black Hawk Down" was as Alexander "Tig" Trager in the FX crime drama "Sons of Anarchy." He appeared in seven seasons and over 90 episodes, and reprised the role in the spin-off "Mayans M.C."

Gabriel Casseus has had a relatively quiet acting career since playing Specialist Mike Kurth in "Black Hawk Down." He mostly guest-starred on various TV shows, including "CSI: NY," "Grey's Anatomy," "Law and Order: Trial by Jury," and "24" (as Starkwood mercenary Robert Galvez).

On film, Casseus had a role in the 2009 family action comedy "G-Force." He also had a supporting role in both sequels in the "Chocolate City" series, which follows a group of erotic dancers (anchored by Michael Jai White and Robert Ri'chard).

Sam Shepard was already a prolific actor when he was cast as Major William F. Garrison in "Black Hawk Down," nominated for an Academy Award ("The Right Stuff"), an Emmy Award (the TV movie "Dash and Lily"), and two Tony Awards (for writing the plays "Buried Child" and "True West"). In the 2000s and 2010s, he appeared in "Killing Them Softly," "Mud," and "August Osage County."

In 2017, Shepard died due to complications from ALS at the age of 73. Before his death, he had starred as ailing patriarch Robert Rayburn in the Netflix family drama "Bloodline" (pictured above).

Ewen Bremner had already co-starred with another famous "Ewan" in the 1996 film "Trainspotting" before they both landed prominent roles in "Black Hawk Down." (Bremner specifically played Specialist Shawn Nelson.) In 2017, they both returned for the long-awaited sequel "T2 Trainspotting," with Bremner reprising his role as heroin addict Daniel "Spud" Murphy.

That same year, Bremner played Charlie, a marksman struggling with PTSD, in "Wonder Woman." From 2022 to 2023, he starred as first mate Buttons in the beloved HBO pirate comedy "Our Flag Means Death" (pictured above).

Apart from appearing in the infamous Oscar-winner "Crash," Sergeant First Class Jeff Sanderson actor William Fichtner's first major post-"Black Hawk Down" role was in the television series "Prison Break." He played FBI special agent Alexander Mahone starting in season 2.

Fichtner has continued to play recognizable roles in popular films and TV shows since. Highlights from the 2010s and 2020s include "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," "Independence Day: Resurgence," and the series "The Company You Keep" (pictured above). As of writing, he's slated to appear in the 2nd season of Netflix's acclaimed thriller comedy series "Beef."

Breaking through the Australian soap "Something in the Air," Eric Bana started to gain notice in Hollywood thanks to his work as Sergeant First Class Norm "Hoot" Gibson in "Black Hawk Down." Unfortunately, his first testing ground as a leading man was in Ang Lee's polarizing "Hulk" film in 2003.

Since the film was released to largely negative reviews, Bana has turned in solid performances in "Troy," "Munich," J.J. Abrams' rebooted "Star Trek," and "Lone Survivor." Since 2025, he has executive produced and starred in the well-reviewed Netflix crime drama "Untamed" (pictured above), playing a special investigator for the National Park Service.

Despite his talent, Tom Sizemore struggled in the decades after he appeared in "Black Hawk Down," playing Lieutenant Colonel Danny McKnight. He lived with an addiction disorder that was known by many in Hollywood since as early as 1998's "Saving Private Ryan."

Between concerns about his health, his behavior while intoxicated, and various legal troubles, including a dismissed lawsuit alleging he had abused a child actor, Sizemore's career was essentially over by the late 2000s. He spent the last years of his life acting in a string of low-budget genre movies — appearing in so many in such a short amount of time that, even after he died in 2023 (Sizemore, who was 63 at the time, suffered a brain aneurysm), he still has roles in over a dozen films yet to be released as of writing.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

Throughout the 2000s, Ewan McGregor's career was dominated by his role in the "Star Wars" prequels. He was cast as Obi-Wan Kenobi two years before he would play Specialist John "Grimesey" Grimes in "Black Hawk Down."

Aside from reprising the role for a Disney+ miniseries in 2022, McGregor has had a quietly impressive filmography (including roles in "Moulin Rouge," "August Osage County," and "Doctor Sleep") punctuated by fascinating TV projects. He has five Emmy nominations as of writing, winning Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series in 2021 for playing the titular fashion designer in the Netflix series "Halston" (pictured above). Since 2024, he has led the Paramount+ adaptation of "A Gentleman in Moscow."

Josh Hartnett anchored "Black Hawk Down" as Staff Sergeant Matt Eversmann, a role that earned him wider recognition at the start of his career. It eventually led him to catch the attention of Christopher Nolan, who talked with him about what neither knew would be the role of a lifetime — Bruce Wayne in "Batman Begins." Despite wanting to work with Nolan (being particularly interested in starring in his magician thriller "The Prestige"), Hartnett turned down the role out of fear of being typecast. (Of course, both movies ultimately went to Christian Bale, who quickly built a reputation as one of the most transformative actors in Hollywood.)

Hartnett's career thereafter lacked significant cinematic hits, but eventually built to a reunion between him and Nolan for the massive 2023 film "Oppenheimer" (pictured above). His charming turn as physicist Ernest Lawrence led to a career resurgence, which has included starring roles in the M. Night Shyamalan horror film "Trap" and the action film "Fight or Flight" and a recurring role on "The Bear."