This year will mark the 25th anniversary of the release of Can’t Hardly Wait, a seminal teenage movie, that has become a cult classic since its release, and is still being watched by new generations of teenagers every year. The film also meant one of the first opportunities for many ’90s actors, who, until then, hadn’t been given the opportunity to shine. After Can’t Hardly Wait, many of those performers went on to have incredible film and TV careers. Here’s where the cast of the film is today.

Jennifer Love Hewitt

     Sony Pictures Releasing

Jennifer Love Hewitt played the cool cheerleader and Prom Queen, Amanda Beckett, who gets dumped at the start of the movie and finds someone better by the end of the party. Love Hewitt was already part of the hit show Party of Five, and had shot I Know What You Did Last Summer when this movie was released, catapulting her acting and singing career. She kept doing films like The Tuxedo, Garfield, and Heartbreakers. Since then, she has become a staple on TV, as she has led many series over the years, including Time of Your Life, Ghost Whisperer, and The Client List. Since 2018, she’s been playing Maddie Kendall in the hit series 9-1-1.

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Ethan Embry

Ethan Embry was cast as Preston Meyers, a teenager with a long-time crush on Amanda Beckett (Love Hewitt). During the party, he decides to finally confess his feelings to her. Embry had already had lead roles in both Empire Records and The Wonders before this film, and has kept working steadily since then, as he has 100+ credits under his name. After a lead role in the show Brotherhood, his career has been mostly on TV. Embry has played roles in shows as diverse as Once Upon a Time, Sneaky Pete, and Stargirl. In 2022, he finished his run on Grace and Frankie as Coyote Bergstein, and was part of Gerard Butler’s Last Seen Alive.

About casting Embry, co-writer and co-director Deborah Kaplan told The Ringer: “So, we had him read for Preston and there was something so charming and winning and endearing, because he read the part with some distance,” Elfont says. “Somehow Ethan was able to make it really sympathetic; he just had an openness and innocence.”

Seth Green

Seth Green played Kenny Fisher, the character determined to lose his virginity at the party before high school was over. Green had been a kid actor and was already playing Scott Evil in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. After Can’t Hardly Wait, his career only kept going up, and since then, he’s been on and done everything. Green was in TV shows like Buffy: the Vampire Slayer, Four Kings, and Dads; movies like The Italian Job, Party Monster, and Old Dogs; and lent his voice to Family Guy and Howard the Duck in many cameos in the MCU. He even started his own show: Robot Chicken. You might’ve seen him last as Radio DJ in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, and listened to his voice in Stargirl.

Peter Facinelli

Peter Facinelli played jock Mike Dexter, who dumps his girlfriend Amanda (Love Hewitt) under the idea that he’ll be hooking up with many college girls next year. After the movie, Facinelli played supporting roles in Riding in Cars with Boys and The Scorpion King, before being cast in the role most people know him for; Dr. Carlisle Cullen in the Twilight franchise. Since then, he’s been a part of shows like Nurse Jackie, Damages, Supergirl, and S.W.A.T. In 2022, he appeared in an episode of Roar and in God Save the Queens. He has seven projects listed for 2023, so we’ll be seeing a lot more of Peter Facinelli in the next few months.

Lauren Ambrose

Lauren Ambrose was Denise Fleming in Can’t Hardly Wait; the antisocial character who only goes to the party to support her pal Preston, and ends up finding much more than she expected. Ambrose’s most famous role is as Claire Fisher on Six Feet Under, and she also had a big role on Broadway as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. Since the acclaimed HBO show ended, Ambrose has kept working on TV in shows as different as Amy Sherman-Palladino’s The Return of Jezebel James, Torchwood, and the revival of The X Files. Ambrose has been playing Dorothy Turner in Apple’s Servant for the last three years, and she’s just been cast in Yellowjackets as adult Van, and we can’t wait to see her play the character in the present.

Charlie Korsmo

Charlie Korsmo had the role of vengeful geek William Lichter in the film, as he wanted to punish bully Mike Dexter, before trying beer and losing his focus. Korsmo was a child actor who played parts in Dick Tracy, What’s Up with Bob, and was one of the most important characters in Hook. That was his last role before Can’t Hardly Wait, eight years later. Since then, he’s only done one role, in 2018’s Chained for Live, and has become a teaching law professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, leaving his career as an actor behind.

Jason Segel

Jason Segel played a small role in the film as a stoner kid nicknamed Watermelon Guy in what was his film debut. Since the movie, Segel has had many great performances, both in comedy and drama, proving he has the skills to be a great actor. About casting Segel in the movie, co-writer and co-director Harry Elfont told Time: “We knew how funny Jason was, but there wasn’t a bigger part for him, so we were, like, let’s cast him as this watermelon guy,”

Segel has been a staple of both TV and movies in the last two decades, having both hits like Forgetting Sara Marshall or How I Met Your Mother, while also doing indie projects like The End of the Tour or Dispatches from Elsewhere (that he also created). Last year, he had a big role as fumbling coach Paul Westhead in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, and there’s already been a teaser for his next show, Shrinking, where he’ll star with Harrison Ford.

Jaime Pressly

Jaime Pressly played a small role as Beth, one of Amanda’s friends. Back then, she was almost unknown and gained notoriety playing a similar high school role in 2001’s Not Another Teen Movie, and continued her movie career with Joe Dirt, and I Love You Man. Most people still might recognize her as Joy Turner from My Name is Earl. After many years doing TV movies and guest star appearances, she came back as a lead actor in I Hate My Teenage Daughter. In the last year, she’s been part of two shows: the successful Mom and Welcome to Flatch.

Selma Blair

Selma Blair had the smallest of roles in the movie as “Girl Mike hits on”. That appearance was the start of a great period of work for Blair, as she became a staple of the ’90s and 2000s’ rom-com world, being part of memorable movies like Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde, and The Sweetest Thing. She played supporting characters in movies for years, like in Hellboy, before going to TV, where she led Kath & Kim, was part of Charlie Sheen’s Anger Management, and played Kris Jenner in American Crime Story. The actress revealed in 2018 that she had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, but for now, that hasn’t stopped her acting, as last year she played Glenn McAllister in Far More with Adrian Grenier and Drea De Matteo.

Jerry O’Connell

In Can’t Hardly Wait, Jerry O’Connell played an uncredited role as Trip McNeely, the former big man on campus who shares wisdom (and beer) with Mike Dexter, telling him what his future might look like. O’Connell was a child actor who played Vern Tessio in the memorable Stand By Me. After he hit puberty and changed his image, he appeared in this film and, from there, in Jerry Maguire, Scream 2, and Mission to Mars. The actor has appeared in shows like Ugly Betty, Scream Queens, and Billions, and starred in Crossing Jordan for six years. In the last year, he’s been in Play Dead, Tab Time, and has been one of the lead voices in Star Trek: Lower Decks. He already has two projects lined up for 2023 and might be back in the Sliders reboot.