Independence Day cast then and now as iconic movie celebrates 30th anniversary
After weeks of build up to the 250th Anniversary of the United States’ independence from the United Kingdom, today is finally the day where American’s across the country will be celebrating.
Trump has previously organised the ‘Freedom 250’ event with the UFC where they held a fight card on the White House lawn in honour of the upcoming anniversary.
When thinking about iconic American figures however many will look to the fictional nowadays more than they will the real, and the 250th anniversary marks the 30th anniversary of the iconic film Independence Day.
I’m not saying that the fictional idea of a young fighter pilot president who is also capable of giving rousing speeches is what many will be hoping for in the current state of America, but Bill Pullman is still eight years younger than the current President having filmed Independence Day 30 years ago.
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The film, released in time for the real-life Independence Day in 1996, was a huge success both critically and financially.
Directed by Rolland Emmerich the movie had an iconic cast whose success in the years since range from Oscar winners to Dennis Quaid’s brother who has had an incredibly colourful time of it.
Will Smith – Captain Steve Hiller
Of all the actors in this iconic film, Will Smith is probably the one you need no reminder of what he’s been up to. Smith wasn’t even the first choice for the film, Ethan Hawke turned the role down after saying he thought the script was terrible.
Smith was already a household name from Fresh Prince, and has gone on to win an Oscar and appear in films that have grossed $10 billion. Ever since he slapped Chris Rock things have been more quiet, and his recent music was slammed, but you’d imagine his upcoming I Am Legend 2 will sort out any residual image issues.
Bill Pullman – President Thomas J Whitmore
It’s easy to forget just how stacked the cast of Independence Day was, with Bill Pullman playing the president who gave the film’s iconic speech in which he declared Earth’s independence day. Pullman was already a pretty well known name from Spaceballs and Sleepless in Seattle.
He has received a steady stream of acting jobs ever since, with his son Lewis Pullman himself becoming a successful actor who will star alongside his dad in the upcoming Spacebals sequel, and was most recently seen in Netflix’s The Boroughs.
Jeff Goldblum – David Levinson
Another name that really? I don’t need to tell you what he’s been up to ever since.
It’s easy to forget that when Independence Day came out it was the second highest grossing film ever at the time, and Goldblum also starred in the highest: Jurassic Park.
Goldblum has been an on-screen presence ever since with Jurassic Park sequels, the terrible Independence Day sequel we all pretend didn’t exist, alongside Marvel projects, and is a frequent collaborator of Wes Anderson.
Mary McDonnell – First Lady Marilyn Whitmore
Mary McDonnell played the First Lady during the film and was best known at the time for her role in E/R as Dr. Eve Sheridan. Being in Independence Day is clearly a recipe to a long happy career in Hollywood because Mary has worked regularly ever since across TV and Film.
She starred in Donnie Darko, Scream 4, the wildly underrated Fall of The House of Usher for Netflix, as well as the upcoming Baywatch reboot, Fargo, and reunited with Pullman on The Boroughs.
Randy Quaid – Russell Case
Buckle in gang, because this is by far the wildest of the updates. Everyone remembers Randy Quaid, brother of Dennis Quaid, as the loveable crackpot pilot in Independence Day, who everyone thinks is crazy for his theories about aliens but he turns out to be right. Ever since though has been a wild ride.
In 2009 Randy and his wife were arrested for allegedly defrauding an innkeeper, and in September of 2010 were charged with burglary over occupying the guest house of a vacant home they used to own in Santa Barbara, with the couple claiming they lost it due to a transfer that happened using a forged signature. After they failed to appear in court warrants were issued for the couple’s arrest, but they had already fled to Canada in an attempt to seek asylum.
They were set to be deported in 2015 when, one week prior to their deportation date, they crossed the border and were arrested. The charges were later dropped. He is a big Trump supporter, including supporting the false conspiracy that the 2020 election was ‘stolen’.
Dennis revealed he and his brother are not close in 2024, saying: “Randy doesn’t like me to talk about what’s going on with him. All I can say is that I really love my brother, and I miss my brother.”
Mae Whitman – Patricia Whitmore
One of the best things about 90s movies is finding child roles being filled by actors who went on to be stars. Mae Whitman plays the President’s young daughter and has gone on to have a very successful career.
Whitman has gone on to star in Perks of Being a Wallflower, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Good Girls, and Arrested Development.
Topics: Will Smith, TV and Film, Film, Celebrity, US News
Michael Slavin