Whatever Happened To The Cast Of World War Z?

This summer will mark the 10-year anniversary of Marc Forster's "World War Z," an epic blockbuster adaptation of the novel by Max Brooks. Considering what a tumultuous journey the film endured from page to screen, ranging from constant rewrites, a third act that was completely reworked in the middle of filming, and a production that went way over budget, it's kind of a small miracle that the film was released at all, not to mention being a moderate critical and financial success. In fact, it did so well that talks of a sequel (and potential franchise) were begun almost immediately after its release.

The film is semi-fondly remembered now for being a pleasurable enough zombie thriller that exceeded expectations, even if it wildly differs from the source material. Though talks of that potential sequel stalled out in 2019 due to reported budget issues (which is a pity, since Brad Pitt's frequent "Fight Club" collaborator David Fincher was being eyed to helm), the cast involved with the first entry have all gone on to have interesting lives and careers in the decade since. Here is what the cast of "World War Z" has been up to since the movie came out.

For most audiences, Mireille Enos' role as the concerned wife to Brad Pitt's former U.N. investigator is the most prolific of her career to date. Before that, she'd spent almost 20 years working in various TV roles, including guest spots for shows ranging from "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" to "Rescue Me," as well as more substantial work like an extended supporting run on HBO's "Big Love." Prior to being cast in "World War Z," she gained notoriety for playing the lead detective in AMC's "The Killing" opposite Joel Kinnaman. Since appearing in the zombie film, Enos has made sure to keep busy.

Within a year of the film's release, she appeared as part of the impressive ensemble casts of two very different crime films: Ruben Fleischer's "Gangster Squad" and David Ayer's "Sabotage." She played the lead for two seasons of ABC's "The Catch" alongside Peter Krause and played the calculating antagonist of "Hanna," which adapted Joe Wright's hit thriller into a series for Prime Video. Though fans of the latter show were disappointed in 2021 to learn that its third season would be the last, the multitalented Enos returned to TV in early 2023 with a role opposite Bob Odenkirk in AMC's "Lucky Hank."

Around the time he played an army captain in "World War Z," James Badge Dale was already starting to make a name for himself as a character actor. After turning in minor, but memorable, performances in films ranging from Martin Scorsese's "The Departed" to Joe Carnahan's "The Grey," Dale had a somewhat prolific summer in 2013, playing heavies in both Shane Black's "Iron Man 3" and Gore Verbinski's "The Lone Ranger," as well as Marc Forster's film (he also played Lee Harvey Oswald's brother in the JFK assassination drama "Parkland" that year).

Though he has yet to become the next big action star, Dale has still come pretty darn close a few times, such as in 2016 when he took on prominent military roles in both "13 Hours" for director Michael Bay and "Spectral" for Netflix. Beyond that, he received acclaim for his leading roles in 2018's "The Standoff at Sparrow Creek" and 2020's "The Empty Man," and became a central part of the Starz crime series "Hightown" as a detective heading up the primary investigation of the first two seasons. He will reunite with his "Hold the Dark" filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier for the upcoming thriller "Rebel Ridge."

South African actor Fana Mokoena may not be the biggest name among the "World War Z" cast, but as the protagonist's former boss at the U.N. who is now overseeing various rescue efforts, he becomes a critical point of contact for Pitt's character and a key source of exposition throughout the film. Before being cast here, Mokoena was already building up a steady body of work, appearing as a general in Terry George's historical drama "Hotel Rwanda" and playing the lead in South African TV drama "The Lab."

The same year as "World War Z," the actor also starred opposite Idris Elba as an anti-apartheid fighter in the biographical film "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom." After a few more credits in 2015 (including playing a specialist in crime thriller "Cold Harbour" and a minor role in the mini-series adaptation of Lawrence Hill's novel "The Book of Negroes"), Mokoena seems to have stepped away from acting to focus on political activism, becoming a full member of the National Assembly of South Africa between 2016 and 2020. He now serves on the Central Command Team of his country's Economic Freedom Fighters party, as a member of the War Council.

Peter Capaldi was officially announced as the twelfth actor to take on the lead in "Doctor Who" on August 4th, 2013. This was less than two months after "World War Z" had its June 21st premiere in the U.S. It's hard to know whether someone behind-the-scenes knew something ahead of time, or if it's just a massive coincidence, but the fact that his character in the film is credited as W.H.O. Doctor is pretty incredible. Prior to this, the actor was perhaps best known for playing foul-mouthed British government worker Malcolm Tucker on BBC's "The Thick of It" and its film spinoff "In The Loop."

The Scottish actor of course went on to play the Twelfth Doctor for three seasons before passing the mantle to Jodie Whittaker in 2017. Outside of that, he's found time to appear in both of Paul King's beloved "Paddington" films, as well as nabbing standout supporting roles in films as diverse as Armando Iannucci's "The Personal History of David Copperfield" and James Gunn's "The Suicide Squad." He can be seen front-and-center opposite Jessica Raine in the Prime Video thriller series "The Devil's Hour," and is set to headline the upcoming detective series "Criminal Record."

According to IMDb, "World War Z" marks the feature film debut of English actor Kingsley Ben-Adir, though you'd be forgiven for not realizing that while watching the film. Apparently, he had a line of dialogue with Brad Pitt that was ultimately cut, leaving his mysterious Officer Hawkins uncredited in the final film (he can still be seen early on when Pitt first arrives at the U.N. outpost, but only for a few seconds). While this war against the undead may not have been the big break for his career that he was hoping for, Ben-Adir's profile has risen significantly in the past few years. 

After garnering acclaim for his work on TV projects like "The OA" and "Peaky Blinders," the actor broke out in a huge way when in 2020 he played a pair of major historical figures. As former President Barack Obama, he had to contend with the concerning leadership style of his successor in Showtime's "The Comey Rule," and as Malcolm X, he engages fellow Civil Rights-era Black celebrities about their moral obligations in Regina King's stage adaptation "One Night in Miami ..." Later in 2023, he will get the chance to showcase his villainous chops by playing the leader of an alien rebellion in Marvel's Disney+ series "Secret Invasion."

As the oldest of Brad Pitt's daughters in "World War Z," (she was 14 when the film was released) Abigail Hargrove had to balance a lot of intense emotion for a performer so young. This is especially impressive, considering that she only has two other credits on IMDb: a pair of short films entitled "The Butterfly Circus" (released in 2009 and co-starring Doug Jones) and "The Firebird" (released the same year as her feature debut in 2013).

Though Hargrove has yet to gain any additional film or TV credits outside of a few red carpet appearances as herself, she was keeping a fairly active presence on Twitter as recently as 2020, which she would occasionally use to talk about her experience with the film or commiserate with her on-screen sister Sterling Jarins. She also still lists herself as an actress in her bio, which may just be a reference to her previous work or an indication she'd like to get back in front of the camera one day. On February 11th, 2020, she used co-star Brad Pitt's Oscar win as an opportunity to advocate for a sequel to "World War Z."