In 1996, an amazing addition came to the world of horror, as Scream was released. This film, directed by Wes Craven, had a star-studded cast and followed the story of Sidney Prescott, a young woman who started being tormented by a butcher known as Ghostface.
And sure, lots of scary flicks star young women, and many of them focus on creepy stalkers, but Scream did things differently. There was comedy thrown in, and characters and fans alike thought about who the attacker could have been, and what should be done or not be done, in order to stay alive and survive. In fact, the characters openly discussed the clichés found in most horror films, and Sidney Prescott never pulled those dumb moves like going somewhere alone empty handed, running up the stairs instead of outside and/or believing that the bad guy was actually dead (since they always come back for one...last...scare!).
I could go on and on about the awesome details of this movie and about those found in its sequels, Scream 2, 3 and 4, but this is about the cast — that star-studded cast. Where are these actors and actresses now? What have they been up to for the last two decades? Have we seen them in anything else? Let’s find out…
15 Neve Campbell
Neve Campbell was the star of Scream, playing Sidney Prescott, one of the smartest and strongest characters out there, in any genre! After introducing the world to this character, she starred in The Craft in 1996, Wild Things in 1998, Panic in 2000, The Company in 2003, and Skyscraper in 2018. She also starred in House of Cards from 2016–2017, and in March 2006, she made her West End theatre debut, in a version of Arthur Miller's Resurrection Blues. Other television shows that have been graced with her presence include Medium, The Simpsons, Grey's Anatomy, and Mad Men. And, of course, Campbell played Sidney Prescott in Scream 2, 3 and 4.
Outside of acting, she married Canadian actor Jeff Colt in 1995, but the couple divorced in May 1998. In 2005, she started dating actor John Light, and the two got married on May 5, 2007, then divorced in 2011.
In August 2012, Campbell and her current partner, actor JJ Feild, welcomed their son Caspian into the world. She and Feild have been dating since 2012, and this year, on Valentine’s Day, they watched Hamilton, had dinner at Aureole in Bryant Park, and participated in some light PDA — how cute is that?!
14 David Arquette
David Arquette played Dewey Riley in Scream, who was the local deputy sheriff and who was also a brother to Tatum Riley, Sidney's best friend.
While playing this character, he met Courteney Cox. The two fell in love and were married in 1999. Together, they have a daughter, Coco Arquette, who was born in 2004. They then filed for divorce in June 2012, and while separated from Cox, he started dating Entertainment Tonight correspondent Christina McLarty. In 2014, they had a son together, they were married in April of 2015. Their second son came in 2017.
Arquette has also appeared alongside Cox on Cougar Town, appeared in the Sega video game ESPN NFL 2K5, appeared in the 2001 EA video game SSX Tricky, danced in season 13 of Dancing with the Stars, starred alongside his sister in the TV show Medium, and even appeared in a Rascal Flatts' music video for their song "Why Wait."
In 2007, he directed The Tripper (which was also released as a comic), and he has already signed on to direct Glutton, a 3D psychological thriller. He has also had a music career, as he was part of two bands: Ear2000 and Washington's Red Museum. He is also part owner of the Bootsy Bellows nightclub, which was named after his mother, who was a burlesque dancer named Bootsy Bellows. The final thing to mention that Arquette has been involved with the wrestling world, which he began in 2000.
13 Courteney Cox
In the Scream movies, Courteney Cox portrayed Gale Weathers, a fiesty journalist and writer.
Other works that Cox has been seen in (besides, of course, Friends) include The Runner in 1999, 3000 Miles to Graceland in 2001 and The Shrink Is In in 2001. In 2009, Cougar Town premiered, which stars Cox as a newly single 40-year-old mother on the hunt for new experiences. Cox even directed two of the show's 15 episodes of season three! She also appeared on Web Therapy, Lisa Kudrow's (Phoebe from Friends!) online web series.
In June 2012, Cox furthered her career by directing (and making a cameo appearance) a Lifetime television movie called Talhotblond.
In her personal life, as mentioned, she married David Arquette on June 12, 1999, had their daughter on June 13, 2004, and split from him in 2010. The two remain close, though, and even run Coquette Productions together.
Love wasn't lost though, because in 2013 Cox began dating Snow Patrol band member Johnny McDaid. The two later became engaged a year later!
This summer, they will apparently get married in McDaid’s hometown of Derry, Northern Ireland. As if that wasn't cool enough, they might even have a second ceremony in Malibu, California. Oh, and guess who is the maid of honor? That’s right: Jennifer Aniston, who is also the godmother of Cox’s and Arquette’s daughter!
12 Skeet Ulrich
Skeet Ulrich played Billy Loomis in Scream, Sidney’s boyfriend and one of the attackers.
The same year he played Billy Loomis, he also had his first notable role on screen, as Winona Ryder’s boyfriend in Boys. He was also in The Craft, which put him and Neve Campbell together again, and in As Good as It Gets, which put him and Jamie Kennedy together again.
On TV, Ulrich appeared on series such as Law & Order: LA, Miracles, Into the West, CSI: NY, The Magic of Ordinary Days, and Jericho, and he lends his voice to Robot Chicken. Last year, he started playing Forsythe Pendleton Jones II, the father of Jughead Jones on Riverdale, and he was in the Lifetime film I Am Elizabeth Smart, which is based on the 2002 abduction and captivity of Elizabeth Smart.
In 1997, Ulrich married English actress Georgina Cates, and they now have twins: a son Jakob Dylan and daughter Naiia Rose. However, they divorced in 2005, and in February 2013, Ulrich went to court against his ex since he apparently owed his ex-wife over $200-thousand in missed child support payments.
Nowadays, he is now twice divorced (after getting married again in 2012) but considering how amazing his Riverdale career is going, and that he just got done filming two projects, things are on the mend for Ulrich.
11 Matthew Lillard
Matthew Lillard played Stu Macher in Scream, Billy’s friend and accomplice.
Since then, he has continued acting and started voice acting, directing, and producing. He was seen in SLC Punk in 1998, Summer Catch in 2001, Without a Paddle in 2004, The Descendants in 2011, Trouble with the Curve in 2012, Return to Nim's Island in 2013, and both Scooby-Doo (2002) and all of the Scooby-Doo video games.He also has starred and guest starred on House, Criminal Minds, The Bridge, and Twin Peaks.
But he's more than just an actor, he has produced and directed his first feature film called Fat Kid Rules the World and will reprise the voice role of Shaggy in a crossover episode of Supernatural.
Lillard married Heather Helm in 2000, and together, they have three children. He also took part in a Dungeons & Dragons tournament, against members of the Quest Club Gaming Organization in 2005, at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California. And he loves D&D so much that his company, Beadle & Grimm’s Pandemonium Warehouse, is going to release the Platinum Edition Dungeons & Dragons: Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, which will come with battlemaps, 20-plus miniatures, encounter cards, bonus artwork and props for this role-playing game ; a “luxury item that he built for serious players”!
10 Rose McGowan
In Scream, Rose McGowan was Tatum Riley, Sidney’s best friend.
Now, she is a well-known activist, actress, author, model, and singer. She was on Charmed from 2001–2006 and on Once Upon a Time. Her films include Going All the Way, Devil in the Flesh, Jawbreaker, Ready to Rumble, The Black Dahlia, Death Proof ,and Fifty Dead Men Walking.
In 2014, she directed a short film called Dawn, and in 2015, Tangerine Entertainment named her as director for a thriller called The Pines.
McGowan’s voice has also been heard in video games, like Darkwatch and Terminator Salvation, she appeared in the comic book adaptation of Conan the Barbarian, and in September 2015, she released her debut single, "RU486." McGowan is also an activist, speaking out for human rights, donating to various Boston Terrier rescues (she even has two of her own!) and taking a stand against discrimination in Hollywood (as she has recently been speaking out against, in particular, Harvey Weinstein).
And as for her love life... For three-and-a-half years, she was with Marilyn Manson, but that relationship ended in 2001. In 2007, it was announced that McGowan was engaged to director Robert Rodriguez, but that relationship ended two years later. In 2013, though, she became engaged and then married to artist Davey Detail, but that relationship ended in 2016.
9 Jamie Kennedy
Jamie Kennedy portrayed Randy Meeks in Scream, one of Sidney’s friends and the resident horror movie expert.
Despite how lovable he was in Scream, he did earn a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Actor after he played the lead role in Son of the Mask. He has done far more than that, though!
He created a production company called Wannabe Producers, he wrote and starred in Malibu's Most Wanted, he lent his voice to the video game ESPN NFL 2K5, he wrote an autobiography called “Wannabe: A Hollywood Experiment,” and he had a reality show that featured his stand-up comedy that was called The Jamie Kennedy Experiment. He has also appeared in shows such as Criminal Minds, Ghost Whisperer, The Cleveland Show and Fanboy & Chum Chum, and he has been in a few other films, like Tremors 5 in 2015.
Outside of his career in Hollywood, there are two other things to know about this Scream star: After being on Ghost Whisperer, Kennedy dated the star of that show, Jennifer Love Hewitt, for a year. He is also active in California's tourism campaign and was even in some commercials with Arnold Schwarzenegger, back when he was governor. Kennedy may be a silly man, but he's smart, too.
8 Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore played Casey Becker, who was the first character to be slain in Scream.
After that, she went on to star in hits like Ever After, The Wedding Singer, 50 First Dates, and Blended. She has a production company called Flower Films, which produced some films she starred in, like Never Been Kissed, Charlie's Angels, Donnie Darko, Fever Pitch, and Whip It. She also stars in the Netflix series Santa Clarita Diet.
Barrymore is also a model and spokeswoman for CoverGirl, has her own fashion brand on Amazon called Dear Drew, and has worked closely with the United Nations World Food Programme.
When she was just 16, she got engaged to Leland Hayward, but it was called off a few months later. Following that, she was linked, engaged, married, and divorced to several times; to men such as Tom Green and Justin Long, and in 2012, she married art consultant Will Kopelman, the son of former Chanel CEO Arie Kopelman.
Together, they have two daughters: Olive and Frankie. Unfortunately, the couple divorced in 2016. And as far as I know of, the leading lady is single. So we shall see what is next! Another fun fact is that she is also the godmother of Kurt Cobain’s and Courtney Love's daughter, Frances Bean Cobain.
7 Liev Schreiber
Liev Schreiber was in Scream, too, and he played Cotton Weary, the original suspect in the slaying of Maureen Prescott, Sidney's mother.
Since then, Schreiber has gone on to be in films like The Hurricane, A Walk on the Moon, The Sum of All Fears, The Manchurian Candidate, The Omen, and Kate and Leopold. He is a classical actor, earning recognition and praise for roles in plays like Hamlet, Henry V, and Macbeth. He has also narrated numerous documentaries and has shifted from acting to more directing.
In the past few years, Schreiber played the mutant supervillain, Victor Creed/Sabretooth, in the Marvel Comics film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. He's also portrayed Storm King, the main antagonist in My Little Pony: The Movie and Spots in Isle of Dogs.
He is also set to star in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, an upcoming animated film.
In 2007, after years of being together, Schreiber had a child with actress Naomi Watts: a son named Alexander Pete, whom they call him Sasha (which is sweet nickname in Russian for the name Alexander). The following year, they welcomed their second son, Samuel Kai, into the world. In 2010, Watts said there would only be a third if they could guarantee it would be a girl or even twin girls, but in 2016, the couple separated.
6 Henry Winkler
Henry Winkler—a long-time and popular actor—had a small role on Scream, as Principal Himbry.
Since then, he has been seen in Adam Sandler movies like The Waterboy, Little Nicky, Click, and You Don't Mess with the Zohan. He became the executive producer for the Disney Channel original series So Weird and even appeared in an episode.
He was seen in films like Holes and Here Comes the Boom, and on shows like Arrested Development, Children's Hospital, Parks and Recreation, and Royal Pains. Winkler is the star and the executive producer of the TV show Better Late Than Never, too. In 2006, he also appeared in his first pantomime at the New Wimbledon Theatre in London in 2006, playing Captain Hook, a role he has reprised several times.
He is an author, too, with 19 books, including a series of children's books about a boy who is dyslexic—just like Winkler—and a book in 2011 that is called I've Never Met an Idiot on the River, which is a collection of his photographs and reflections, all about his love of fly fishing and life with his family.
I could go on and on...but let us just remember him as this goofy principal in this great scary movie.
5 W. Earl Brown
In Scream, W. Earl Brown was Kenny, Gale’s cameraman.
And even though he faced an unfortunate end (one that had to be toned down in order to avoid an NC-17 rating), he is a well-known actor, writer, producer, and musician and is best known for being on the HBO series Deadwood.
The films that Brown has been in include There’s Something About Mary, Being John Malkovich, Vanilla Sky, Dancing at the Blue Iguana, The Alamo, The Master, The Lone Ranger, Brother's Keeper and Wild.
On television, however, he has been seen in American Horror Story, Bates Motel, Rectify, Justified, Six Feet Under, NYPD Blue, X-Files, The Mentalist, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Seinfeld, and True Detective. Brown also lent his voice to the horror video game The Last of Us and is part of a band called Sacred Cowboys, which even performed at Stagecoach 2009.
Another fun fact: the final one that I will provide about this actor, is that when Brown first moved to Los Angeles for acting, he wound up in Wes Craven's New Nightmare and had a minor role in Craven's Vampire in Brooklyn. I guess he likes Craven, and guess the feeling is mutual, which is a good thing for Scream fans!
4 Joseph Whipp
Dewey was not the only cop around and the only guy trying to get to the bottom of these slayings. No, Joseph Whipp was around, too, as Sheriff Burke.
In fact, Whipp, a 76-year-old actor is usually cast as police officers in his films and television series! One of his first roles was as a prison guard, in 1979s Escape from Alcatraz, and he played a cop in A Nightmare on Elm Street — another horror classic. His most recent film was from 2010, and it was called World's End. When it comes to TV, Whipp starred in the soap operas Generations from 1989–1990 and on General Hospital the following year. He has also appeared on The Dukes of Hazzard, Golden Girls, Night Court, Cheers, ER, Monk, and The Middle.
Whipp was also a drama teacher at Carlmont High School in the 1970s, so even though he did not have the biggest role and even though he is not as well-known as, say, Courteney Cox, he is a talented actor who has been studying and perfecting the art for years. And who knows... He may pop up (and will probably do so as a cop) in the next film or television show that we watch!
3 Roger L. Jackson
Roger L. Jackson may not look familiar to some...and that is because he was the voice of Ghostface! So while his name may not be as big and popular as some of the other stars within this list, his role is huge and helped make this horror franchise what it is.
He is a voice actor who has been heard on television shows like Adventure Time, The Book of Pooh, The Buzz on Maggie, Codename: Kids Next Door, The Powerpuff Girls, Robot Chicken, and Teen Titans Go! And he has done voice work for tons of video games, such as Alice: Madness Returns, Back to the Future: The Game, Dead or Alive 2, Dishonored, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout 4, and The Walking Dead — just to name a few! Jackson also voiced Mr. Mucus in the advertisements for Mucinex for 10 years, beginning in 2004.
But he is best known for his best role: scaring fans and characters by taunting them through the phone with a creepy and mysterious voice in Scream, Scream 2, Scream 3 and Scream 4!
I'm not sure how this talented man got into voice acting, but it's clearly working for him, considering he's had a steady resume since the early '90s. That's not something everyone can say they've done.
2 Linda Blair
Don’t get confused: Yes, Linda Blair was the star of The Exorcist, playing the possessed Regan, a role she reprised in Exorcist II: The Heretic. After that, though, she took a year off from acting, and when she returned, it was for a Wes Craven film called Stranger in Our House, based on the novel by Lois Duncan.
Almost two full decades later, she reunited with Craven for a cameo in Scream, playing an annoying reporter. It was not a big role, but horror fans loved it!
Following Scream, she played Rizzo in a Broadway revival of Grease, she guest-starred on Supernatural, she is in the comedy webseries Whoa!, and she will be in an upcoming films called Landfill.
Blair is also an animal rights activist and humanitarian and an advocate for teen HIV/AIDS awareness. She has her own animal organization called the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation, and she is the co-author of a book called Going Vegan!.
In her personal life, she dated Rick Springfield when she was just 15, as well as the bassist for Deep Purple, the guitarist for Styx, and the actor Wings Hauser.
Rick James also wrote "Cold Blooded" about her, and then she got pregnant by him and had an abortion without his knowledge. To match her wild spirit, in the ‘70s, she was charged with drug possession and conspiracy to sell drugs, resulting in three years' probation and 12 major public appearances in front of young people, where she talked about the dangers of drug abuse.
1 Wes Craven
Wes Craven, of course, directed Scream, but he also appeared as a janitor, which was dressed like Freddy Krueger. In Scream 2, he appeared as a doctor, in Scream 3, he was the "man with video camera on studio tour," and in Scream 4, he played a coroner in deleted scenes. How fun is it that he popped up in all of these films?! He did more than that, though...
He directed hits like Scream 4, My Soul to Take, Red Eye, Cursed, Scream 2, and Scream 3.
He produced Dracula 2000, The Hills Have Eyes I and II, The Last House on the Left, Scream 4, and 10 episodes of Scream: The TV Series.
He even wrote (full movies, as well as character creations) My Soul to Take, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes I and II, Freddy vs. Jason, as well as several shorts about Freddy Krueger!
On August 30, 2015, he passed away, due to brain cancer, just four weeks after turning 76. The 10 episode of Scream: The TV Series was dedicated to him, and his legacy lives on — especially in the world of horror flicks — with greats like Scream and more.
Sources: imdb.com, wikipedia.org, pagesix.com, wikipedia.org, wikipedia.org, radaronline.com, wikipedia.org, imdb.com, wikipedia.org, imdb.com, imdb.com, syfy.com, wikipedia.org, imdb.com, wikipedia.org, wikipedia.org, wikipedia.org, imdb.com, wikipedia.org, wikipedia.org, wikipedia.org, imdb.com, wikipedia.org, wikipedia.org, imdb.com, wikipedia.org